Skilled Employer Sponsored Regional visa subclass 494 (Provisional)

This visa is for skill workers sponsored by their employers in regional areas. With this visa, you can live, work and study only in designated regional areas of Australia (include all of Australia except for Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane) and travel to and from Australia as many times as you want while the visa is valid. Also, you can include members of the family unit in your application.

This visa has two main streams called Labour Agreement Stream and Employer Sponsor stream; there is a third stream called Subsequent entrant special for family unit members whom want to join you in Australia after you have summited your application.

General eligibility criteria

You can be in or outside Australia when you apply for the visa and when the department decide on your application. If you are applying in Australia, you must hold either of the following visa otherwise your application will not be valid: a substantive visa, or a Bridging visa A, Bridging visa B or Bridging visa C.
You must be under 45 years of age when you apply for the visa. There are some exceptions that might applies to you.
You must have at least Competent English to be granted this visa.
You must have your skills assessed as suitable for the nominated occupation by the relevant assessing authority. The assessment will show that you have the skills to work in the nominated occupation.
Have relevant skills, qualifications and work experience. You must demonstrate that you have the skills, qualifications and work experience necessary to perform the nominated occupation. You must undertake a skills assessment to demonstrate this.
You must have been employed in the nominated occupation for at least 3 years on a full-time basis and at the skill level required for the nominated occupation. Generally, you should have gained your experience within the last 5 years. The period does not need to be continuous. The department might consider equivalent part-time work but do not consider casual work.
The Applicant and any family members applying for the visa must meet immigration health and character requirements.
You might not be eligible for this visa if you have had a visa cancelled or refused while you were in Australia.

Labour Agreement Stream

This stream is for skilled workers nominated by employers who have a labour agreement. Labour agreements are developed between the Australian Government (represented by the Department) and employers. The nominated occupation must be the subject of a labour agreement between the Commonwealth and the nominator. This is a provisional visa. You can stay in Australia for a period of 5 years from when your visa is granted. If eligible, you can apply for permanent residence after 3 years from the time your visa is granted.

Employer Sponsor stream

The skilled Employer Sponsored Regional visa subclass 494 is a temporary visa that lasts for 5 years. It commenced on 16 November 2019 and essentially replaces the Regional Sponsored Migration Scheme visa (subclass 187). This visa addresses labour shortages in regional areas. Employers sponsor skilled workers to fill positions that cannot be filled by appropriately skilled Australian workers. You may be eligible to apply for permanent residency after 3 years of holding this visa. With this visa, you can live, work and study only in designated regional areas of Australia (include all of Australia except for Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane) and travel to and from Australia as many times as you want while the visa is valid. Also, you can include members of the family unit in your application.

Specific eligibility criteria for this stream

You must be nominated by an employer whose business is lawfully operating in Australia. You must be employed to work in the nominated occupation and in a position within the sponsoring business or an associated entity of that business, located in a designated regional area of Australia. Before you can apply for the visa, your employer will need to lodge a nomination application for you. They will only be able to do this if they are an approved work sponsor or have at least lodged an application to become a standard business sponsor.
The skills assessment must be undertaken before your application is lodged. A skills assessment obtained for a Temporary Graduate visa (subclass 485) is not a valid assessment for this visa. You do not need to complete a skills assessment if at the time of application, you held a Temporary Work (Skilled) visa (subclass 457) or Temporary Skill Shortage visa (subclass 482) for the nominated occupation and in order to be granted that visa, you were required to demonstrate your skills by providing a suitable skills assessment. There are some exemptions to this criterion that might applies to you.

Subsequent entrant

This visa is for members of the family unit of a Skilled Employer Sponsored Regional (SESR) (Provisional) visa (subclass 494) holder who are applying separately for their SESR visa and wish to join the primary SESR visa holder in Australia. This visa allows you to stay in Australia up to five years. You can live, work and study only in designated regional areas of Australia (include all of Australia except for Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane).

Eligibility criteria

You must be under 45 years of age when you apply for the visa.
You must have a family member who is a primary SESR visa holder, or main applicant for a SESR visa, to be able to lodge a subsequent entrant visa application.
Be nominated by the primary SESR visa holder’s work sponsor. The work sponsor (employer) with the most recent approved nomination in relation to the primary SESR visa holder, or main applicant for a SESR visa, must agree (or have agreed) in writing to include you as a family member in the nomination.
You must show that you have Functional English. If you can’t show that you have Functional English, you will need to pay the second instalment.
The Applicant must meet immigration health and character requirements.
You might not be eligible for this visa if you have had a visa cancelled or refused while you were in Australia.

There are several factors that can lead to a successful visa application according to your personal circumstances that usually are not commonly known or published on the Department of Immigration website. Our specialist immigration lawyers will do an assessment of your eligibility for skilled migration and your options for a successful application. Contact us today.