Skilled Employer Sponsored Regional (Provisional) Visa - Subclass 494

This visa is issued to help regional businesses in Australia hire a skilled foreign worker where they cannot find an Australian employee to meet their job requirements. Therefore, your occupation must be on the relevant skilled occupation list issued by the Department of Home Affairs.  

Secondly, you must check if you satisfy all general requirements of visa 494 together with the specific requirements for the visa stream that you are applying for. Once you meet all the requirements, you can start asking your employer to lodge the nomination for you.  

Before you can apply for a 494 visa, your employer must create an account on ImmiAccount and lodge a nomination application to the Department of Home Affairs. The application requirements differ between streams, however generally your employer needs to assure that (1) his/her business is operating lawfully and actively, (2) he/she actively advertise the job but can’t find an appropriate Australian worker, (3) having you working for this employer is a genuine need, (4) having a legal contract with you, and (5) the salary paid to you is in accordance with at least the Australian market salary rate.   

Once your employer is approved to be a sponsor and nominates you for a skilled occupation position, you can apply for a 494 visa.  

Before lodging for a 494-visa application, you must prepare all required documents ready to submit. These documents vary depending on which stream you are applying for, but they may include identity documents, skills and qualifications documents, English language certificate, health and character checks, and second applicants’ documents if any. Read the next section of this blog to know more about the requirements of visa 494.  

Importantly, you must lodge the application no later than 6 months after your employer’s nomination is approved by the Department of Home Affairs.

• This stream is for a family member of a main applicant of a SESR 494 visa or of a primary SESR visa holder. You must satisfy this requirement.  
•  You must be nominated by the employer who sponsored the primary SESR visa holder/applicant. This means that the work sponsor (employer) must agree to include you as a family member in the nomination.  
• You must have received an IELTS (or equivalent English test) score of 4.5 or higher in each component. If you don’t meet the English requirement, the additional cost of AUD4,890 will be applied. This extra cost is called as a second instalment.  
• You must have a good character record and be of good health. 
• You have not had a visa cancelled or a previous application refused. 

• Are nominated by an Australian university to work as university lecturer or faculty head at Academic level B, C, D, or E.  
• Are nominated by an Australian scientific government agency to work as a scientist, researcher, or technical specialist at ANZSCO skill level 1 or 2.   
• Are holding a New Zealand citizen’s family member (subclass 461) or Special Category (subclass 444) visa and have worked for your sponsoring employer in the nominated position for at least 2 years in the last 3 years.   

To be eligible for the Subclass 494 visa, the most important things are you typically need to have a job offer from an employer in a designated regional area and your employer must agree to nominate you for this visa. Your employer must also be an approved sponsor. For other requirements, please refer to the section “What are the requirements for a 494 visa?” in this blog.  

A Subclass 494 visa in Australia is typically valid for up to five years, which means you can travel from and to Australia for up to 5 years.  

Below are highlighted conditions of a 494 visa:  

8578 – Must notify of certain changes  

8579 – Must live, work and/or study in a regional area  

8580 – Must provide evidence of your address to demonstrate your residency  

8608 – Must work in approved employer and occupation only  

All regions in Australia, except for Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane, are considered regional areas for migration purposes.  

The processing time for a 494 visa is quite long, as per below:  

90% of the Employer Sponsor Stream are processed within 14 months.  

90% of the Labour Agreement Stream are processed within 6 months.  

The Subclass 494 visa is a temporary visa, but it can lead to permanent residency in Australia after holding it for three years. 

One of the most popular pathways to permanent residency (PR) from a Subclass 494 visa is through the Subclass 191 (Permanent Residence (Skilled Regional)) visa. To get the PR through 191 visa, you must:  

• Have held a 494 visa for at least 3 years.  
• Live and work in a designated regional area for at least 3 years 
• Have the salary equal or above current TSMIT for at least 3 years out of the 5 years of your 494 visa. The Temporary Skilled Migration Income Threshold (TSMIT) is currently set at AUD53,900 for Nomination applications lodged up to and on 30 June 2023. AUD70,000 for Nomination applications lodged on, and after 1 July 2023. 
• Meet your health requirement. 
• Meet you character requirement.  
• You have not had a visa cancelled or a previous application refused. 

The Subclass 494 and Subclass 491 are both temporary visas and require visa holders to live and work in a regional area of Australia. Both visa subclasses have pathways to permanent residency. However, Subclass 491 visa (Skilled Work Regional – Provisional) is a state-nominated visa, while the Subclass 494 is an employer-sponsored visa.  

One of the conditions of visa 494 is the condition 8608. This condition requires you to work for the employer that sponsors you, in the nominated occupation. Therefore, changing employers while holding a Subclass 494 visa may be possible, but it generally requires the new employer to be your new approved sponsor before you can work for him/her. Also, you must work in your nominated occupation even when you change the employer. Lastly, you must ensure that there is no interruption in your employment for more than 90 consecutive days. 

You are required to commence your employment within 90 days of either: 

• Entering Australia (if you are outside of Australia at the time of visa grant), or 
• The 494 visa grant date if you are already in Australia when the visa is granted.