Subclass 191 Permanent Residence (Skilled Regional)

Who Is the 191 Visa For?

The 191 visa is the permanent stage of Australia’s regional skilled pathway. It is designed for people who hold one of the two current regional provisional visas:

• the Skilled Work Regional (Provisional) visa (subclass 491), granted through state or territory nomination or family sponsorship, or
• the Skilled Employer Sponsored Regional (Provisional) visa (subclass 494), granted through employer sponsorship.

If you hold an older regional visa such as the 489, the 191 is not your pathway. Your permanent visa is usually the Skilled Regional visa (subclass 887).

Unlike most other skilled permanent visas, the 191 does not involve a points test, a new skills assessment, an age limit, an English test or a nomination. The focus is on what you have done while holding your provisional visa: how long you have held it, whether you complied with its conditions, and whether you can show your taxable income for the required years.

191 Visa Requirements in Detail

Held your 491 or 494 for at least three years

You must hold your 491 or 494 visa when you apply, and you must have held it for at least three years. The three years are counted from the date your provisional visa was granted, not from the date you first arrived in Australia or the date you moved to the region. Applying even one day early will make the application invalid, so check your grant date carefully before you lodge.

Complied with the conditions of your provisional visa

Compliance is usually the most important part of a 191 assessment. The key condition is 8579, which requires you to live, work and study only in a designated regional area while you hold your 491 or 494. You can move between regional areas, but living or working in Sydney, Melbourne or Brisbane is a breach. Use our designated regional area postcodes guide to check every address and workplace you have had.

If you hold a 494, you also needed to work in your nominated occupation for your sponsoring employer, except during any permitted period after your employment ended. Other conditions, such as telling Home Affairs about changes to your address and contact details, also apply.

Time spent overseas is not in itself a breach of condition 8579. However, you should keep records that show your regional address and connections for the whole period you held your provisional visa.

ATO notices of assessment for three income years

You must provide notices of assessment from the Australian Taxation Office for three relevant income years out of the period you held your provisional visa. There is currently no minimum income amount, but the notices must be provided. A low income will not cause a refusal on its own, while missing notices can. Read our 191 visa income requirements guide for more detail.

If you owe money to the ATO, it is sensible to pay the debt or set up a payment arrangement with the ATO, and keep evidence of it with your application.

Health, character and debts

You and the family members included in your application must meet the health and character requirements. You will usually need police certificates from every country where you have lived for 12 months or more in the last 10 years since you turned 16, which can include Australia. Any debts owed to the Australian Government must be repaid, or you must have an arrangement in place to repay them.

Working Out When You Can Apply: An Example

Timing is where many 191 applicants are caught out. Here is a simple example.

• Priya’s 491 visa was granted on 1 March 2023.
• She can lodge her 191 application on or after 1 March 2026, once she has held the 491 for three years.
• The income years that ended while she held her 491 are 2022-23 (she held the visa for part of that year), 2023-24 and 2024-25. These are her three relevant income years.
• Priya needs a notice of assessment for each of those three years. If she has not yet lodged a tax return for one of them, she should lodge it and wait for the notice before applying, or make sure it is available before Home Affairs makes a decision.

An income year only counts once it has ended, so check your own dates carefully before you lodge.

Including Your Family

You can include your partner and dependent children in your 191 application. Each family member must meet the health and character requirements, and you will need evidence of your relationship to them, such as marriage certificates, relationship evidence and birth certificates.

If your partner was also granted the 491 or 494 as your family member, either of you may be able to apply as the main applicant, as long as that person meets all the criteria. This can help if, for example, one partner has the stronger compliance or tax history.

Children grow older during the provisional visa period. If a child has turned 18 or 23 since your provisional visa was granted, extra dependency requirements may apply, so get advice on how to include them.

How to Apply for the 191 Visa: Step by Step

1. Confirm your three year date. Check the grant date of your 491 or 494 and make sure you will have held it for at least three years on the day you lodge.
2. Review your compliance. List every address, employer and study provider you have had while holding your provisional visa, and check each one is in a designated regional area.
3. Collect your ATO notices of assessment. Make sure you have a notice for each of your three relevant income years.
4. Prepare your documents. See the checklist below.
5. Lodge online and pay the visa application charge. The application is lodged through ImmiAccount. There is no expression of interest or invitation stage for the 191.
6. Complete health checks and police certificates. Arrange these when requested, or upfront if you prefer.
7. Keep your details up to date while you wait. Tell Home Affairs about new passports, a new address, a new baby or any other change in your circumstances.
8. Receive a decision. Once your 191 is granted, you are an Australian permanent resident.

If you apply in Australia, you will generally be given a bridging visa that comes into effect if your 491 or 494 expires before a decision is made. It is safest to keep meeting the conditions of your provisional visa, and of any bridging visa, until your 191 is granted.

191 Visa Document Checklist

For the main applicant:

• passport and identity documents
• a copy of your 491 or 494 grant letter
• ATO notices of assessment for three relevant income years, and any notices of amended assessment
• evidence of where you have lived, such as leases, rental receipts, property documents and utility bills
• evidence of where you have worked, such as employment contracts, payslips, employer letters and payment summaries
• evidence of any study, such as enrolment confirmations and transcripts
• evidence of any ATO debt being paid or under a payment arrangement, if relevant
• police certificates and health examinations

For family members:

• passports and identity documents
• marriage certificate or evidence of a de facto relationship
• birth certificates for children, and evidence of dependency for older children
• police certificates for family members aged 16 and over, and health examinations

Documents that are not in English must be translated by an accredited translator.

191 Visa Cost: A Worked Example

Using the government visa application charges shown above, a family of three made up of the main applicant, an adult partner and one child under 18 would pay:

Applicant	Government fee
Main applicant	$630
Partner (18 or over)	$315
Child (under 18)	$160
Total	$1,105

Health examinations, police certificates and translations are extra. Visa application charges are usually indexed on 1 July each year, and the charge that applies is the one in force on the day you lodge.

191 vs 887, 189 and 190: Comparing Your PR Options

Visa	Who it suits	Points test	Main requirement
191 Permanent Residence (Skilled Regional)	491 and 494 holders	No	3 years on the provisional visa, compliance with its conditions, 3 years of ATO notices
887 Skilled Regional	Holders of older regional visas such as the 489	No	2 years living and 1 year full time work in a specified regional area
189 Skilled Independent	People invited through SkillSelect	Yes	Invitation, skills assessment, points and English
190 Skilled Nominated	People nominated by a state or territory	Yes	State nomination, skills assessment, points and English

For most 491 and 494 holders, the 191 is the simplest route because it does not depend on an invitation, a nomination or a points score. Holders of a 491 or 494 generally cannot apply for a 189 or 190 until they have held their provisional visa for three years, so in practice the 191 is usually the natural next step.

After Your 191 Visa Is Granted

• You can live anywhere in Australia. Condition 8579 belongs to your provisional visa, so it no longer applies once the 191 is granted.
• Medicare. You can enrol in Medicare as a permanent resident.
• Travel. Your travel facility lasts five years from the grant date. After that, you will need a Resident Return visa to re-enter Australia as a permanent resident, unless you have become a citizen.
• Citizenship. You may be able to apply for Australian citizenship once you meet the residence requirement, which generally means four years of lawful residence in Australia, including 12 months as a permanent resident.

Common 191 Mistakes to Avoid

• Lodging before the three year anniversary of your provisional visa grant.
• Not having all three notices of assessment, for example because a tax return was lodged late.
• Living or working in a metropolitan area for a period, even briefly, without realising it breached condition 8579.
• Working for a business other than your sponsor while on a 494, outside the periods the rules allow.
• Forgetting to update Home Affairs about a new passport, a new address or a new family member.

191 Visa: Frequently Asked Questions

Do I need a skills assessment or English test for the 191?

No. The 191 does not require a new skills assessment, an English test or a points test. These were assessed when you applied for your 491 or 494.

Do I need my employer or state to support my 191 application?

No. You do not need a nomination from your employer or a state or territory to apply for the 191, and there is no age limit at this stage.

What if I breached condition 8579 for a short time?

A breach can lead to a refusal, so it is important to get advice before you lodge. A registered migration agent can review the facts, the length of the breach and the evidence you have, and explain your options.

Can I travel overseas while my 191 application is being processed?

Generally yes, if your 491 or 494 is still in effect, as it allows travel. If your provisional visa has expired and you are on a bridging visa, you may need a different bridging visa before you travel. Check your situation before you book.

What happens if my 191 is refused?

You may be able to seek merits review at the Administrative Review Tribunal, depending on your circumstances. Your refusal letter will tell you whether review is available and the deadline to apply. See our visa refusal appeal page.