Many friends considering migrating to Australia would be very familiar with the state-nominated skilled migration visas — Subclass 190 and Subclass 491. The Subclass 190 is a direct permanent residency (PR) visa, while the Subclass 491 is a 5-year provisional skilled migration visa that replaced the former Subclass 489. Subclass 491 holders can transition to the Subclass 191 permanent visa (green card) once they meet certain requirements.

Requirement 1: Visa holder must comply with the Subclass 491 visa conditions

Hold the Subclass 491 visa for at least 3 years and satisfy its visa conditions throughout.

The Subclass 491 visa conditions require: while inside Australia, the holder’s primary place of residence, study (if any), and work (if any) must be in a designated regional area.

The designated regional areas available to Subclass 491 holders vary slightly depending on the grant date:

If the 491 was granted on or after 5 March 2022, the eligible regional area is the broadest, and includes suburbs near Brisbane city (within a 30-minute drive of the CBD).

For 489 holders, or 491 holders whose visa was granted before 5 March, see:489/491 holders, don’t “live in the wrong” area! The designated regional areas for each 489/491 — Home Affairs has made it official!

Requirement 2: Primary applicant must provide at least 3 financial years of NOAs (Notice of Assessment — annual tax assessment)

The NOA has no minimum taxable income requirement and no minimum salary requirement — simply having lodged a tax return is sufficient.

Access to Medicare and free compulsory education

Subclass 491 holders and their family members on the same visa are entitled to Medicare (universal healthcare) on the same basis as PR holders, and children can attend free public compulsory education across most parts of Australia.

Recommended 491 state nominations this financial year

NSW 491 Pathway 2 — open to both onshore and offshore applicants:

NSW has the largest 491 quota of any state this financial year, and offers two pathways. Pathway 1 is for applicants already living and working in a regional area for at least 12 months, who can apply for nomination directly. Pathway 2 is the broader option for onshore and offshore applicants — we’ll focus on that here.

Pathway 2: wide net, pre-invitation model

– Meet Home Affairs’ 491 visa requirements: under 45 years of age + occupation on any eligible migration list + skills assessment + English at four 6s minimum + EOI 65 points (at least 50 points on your own)

–Residing offshore or in NSW for at least 3 months

–All migration occupations can apply; priority invitations go to target sectors: health, education, ICT, infrastructure and agriculture

– Similar to the 190, the state government issues pre-invitations first; applicants who lodge documents and pass review receive a formal nomination

QLD 491 — worth considering for offshore applicants with three years of relevant experience

– Meet Home Affairs’ 491 visa requirements: under 45 years of age + skills assessment + English at four 6s minimum + EOI 65 points (50+15)

– Occupation on the QSOL, with three years of relevant work experience, and employment in the nominated occupation at the time of invitation

Small business 491, onshore graduate 491 and onshore worker 491 pathways — contact us for specific requirements

WA 491 — no job offer required

Interstate graduates or offshore applicants can apply for WA’s General Stream 2, and if applying for a 491, then no occupation requires a local job offer.

Base requirements: EOI 65 points, occupation on WA’s list with a skills assessment, and English at four 6s — you can lodge.

In practice: WA strongly favours the construction industry this year, and will even invite applicants based interstate or offshore, so construction-related occupations are well worth lodging. There are also three other priority sectors: health, education, and a hospitality and tourism services category that no other state offers.

NT 491 — offshore-applicant friendly

Alongside the standard Australian skilled migration pathway, the NT also runs the NT MINT pathway, which is very popular — and particularly friendly to older applicants and those with weaker English.

Requirements for offshore applicants:

– Meet Home Affairs’ 491 visa requirements: under 45 years of age + skills assessment + English at four 6s minimum + EOI 65 points (50+15)

– Occupation on the NT list

–At least 1 year of work experience related to the nominated occupation

We have offshore accounting clients who received invitations with low scores!

For deeper insights into each state’s 491 policy, or for a full eligibility assessment, scan the customer-service contacts below and we’ll take care of it

491 to 191

Is this possible?

The requirements for transitioning to the Subclass 191 keep getting broader. With the surge in 191 grants, scenarios that were previously considered theoretically workable but not fully certain are now confirmed by real-world case outcomes.

1. Must the 491-to-191 requirements be met by the primary applicant of the 491?

When transitioning to the 191, the primary and secondary applicants of the 491 can swap roles. For example, A and B were originally a couple; when they applied for the 491, A was the primary and B was the secondary — that is, A brought B along. During the 3-year period holding the 491, if B satisfies the 191 requirements but A does not, B can instead bring A along to apply for the 191.

2. Must the entire family stay in a regional area inside Australia the whole time on a 491?

Note: regardless of whether you are primary or secondary, and regardless of whether primary and secondary swap roles when transitioning to the 191,holding the 491 means complying with its visa conditions.The core condition, mentioned above, is:while inside Australia, your primary place of residence, study (if any) and work (if any) must be in a designated regional area.

If the primary applicant is onshore and the secondary is offshore long-term, additional considerations apply — for example, evidencing the spousal relationship.

3. Must the 3 years in a regional area be in the same regional area? Can you move to a different state in between?

The 3 years can be spent in the same area, or split across different areas, so long as each one is a designated regional area.

4. After the 491 is granted, must you stay in the sponsoring state?

Answer: it depends on how you treat your commitment to the sponsoring state.

5. Can 491 holders make short trips to major cities like Melbourne or Sydney?

Ordinary short trips for tourism, visiting family, visiting friends, work, attending conferences, and training are all fine.

6. Do I need to make up time I spent offshore or back in China during the 3 years?

No. If you read the requirements above carefully, you’ll notice that the 491-to-191 transition does not require the holder to physically reside in an Australian regional area for 3 full years. It only requires holding the visa for 3 years and complying with the visa conditions while inside Australia.

We previously had an offshore client whose 491 was granted, but who couldn’t enter Australia for over a year after grant due to COVID — their actual time residing in an Australian regional area was less than 2 years — and after 3 years of holding the visa they applied for the 191, and it was granted successfully.

7. Can the 491 cover remote work and remote study?

Yes. Online study is permitted — this is explicitly stated in the PAM.

Remote work for an employer based in a major city is also permitted, including:

(i) An employer in a major city / offshore, where the work itself is performed in a regional area of Australia

(ii) An employer whose head office is in a major city / offshore, where you work for that employer’s regional-area branch in Australia

(iii) An employer in a major city / offshore, where the applicant works from home from a regional area of Australia. This is the scenario that causes the most uncertainty, and we ourselves — and peers in the industry — have now seen plenty of successful 191 transitions under this arrangement.

In every remote-work scenario, the work must be genuinely required and supported by sufficient documentary evidence.

8. Can you lodge other skilled migration visas such as the 189, 190 or 186 while holding a 491?

Answer: no. 491 holders must hold the visa for 3 years before most other migration visas can be lodged.

If your 491 has not yet been granted — that is, you’re still waiting for the 491 grant — there’s still scope.

9. How are the 3 years of holding the 491 counted? How are the three financial-year NOAs counted?

First, keep in mind that Australia’s financial year runs from 1 July to 30 June the following year.

Here’s an example. Say C was granted the 491 on 30 December 2022 — the grant falls within FY22-23.

C’s 3 years of holding the 491: 30 December 2022 + 3 years — so the 3-year mark is reached on 30 December 2025

The three financial-year NOAs C can use:

1 July 2022 to 30 June 2023 (FY22-23)

1 July 2023 to 30 June 2024 (FY23-24)

1 July 2024 to 30 June 2025 (FY24-25)

Australian tax returns are generally lodged soon after the end of the financial year, so C may have all three financial years’ NOAs as early as July 2025 — but because the 3-year visa-holding period is not yet complete, she must still wait until after 30 December 2025 to lodge the 191.

10. Can a spouse be added at the last moment of the 491-to-191 transition?

Answer: yes. The spouse is not even required to hold a 491, provided sufficient relationship evidence can be supplied.

The 491-to-191 requirements may look broad, but they give applicants more flexibility — a more humane approach, because a lot can happen in three years; changes to work and family are inevitable, and arrangements like working from home reflect real-world workplace realities.

But every bit of that flexibility has to be grounded in the real situation, and backed by coherent, substantial documentary evidence. Fabricating anything just to slide past a single requirement will almost certainly unravel. After all, you’ve waited 3 years for this shot at PR — careful and deliberate is the right posture.

Every 491-to-191 applicant has a different personal situation, and questions vary case by case — no one-size-fits-all answer is possible. If you have any questions about the Subclass 491 visa, scan the QR code below to contact us, and we’ll give you the most professional answer based on your specific circumstances.

Recent Newstarsec 191 success stories

With our support, clients lodge with comprehensive documentation from the outset, and most applications are granted within a few weeks.

Lodged early October 2023, family of three granted in late October

191 lodged 28 October 2023, granted 14 November

Lodged early November, granted 20 November

And many more successful 491-to-191 transitions

Related reading

Overseas graduates have a “special pathway” too — no need to chase points or priority occupations!

Professions where — after graduating overseas — you can pass the skills assessment without work experience or English, and have a shot at PR with just 65 points!

Marketing, finance and design occupations can now formally transition to employer-sponsored PR!

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Reply:0000 -> See the 16 November policy update (491 + skilled migration points)

Now that the Subclass 191 is being granted quickly, what are the common 491-to-191 questions to watch out for? Plus a full rundown of the recommended states for the Subclass 491!

Overseas graduates have a “special pathway” too — no need to chase points or priority occupations!

Professions where — after graduating overseas — you can pass the skills assessment without work experience or English, and have a shot at PR with just 65 points!

Marketing, finance and design occupations can now formally transition to employer-sponsored PR!

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