The 191 visa turns your 491 or 494 into permanent residency. Registered migration agents in Brisbane help you meet the regional and income rules. Book a consult.
The 191 visa is how holders of a 491 or 494 regional visa become permanent residents of Australia. It’s the permanent stage that the provisional regional visas were always leading to. Once you’ve lived in a designated regional area and earned enough income for the required period, you can apply for the 191 and lock in permanent residency for you and your family. Our registered migration agents in Brisbane help regional visa holders meet those requirements and lodge a clean 191 application.
The Permanent Residence (Skilled Regional) visa, subclass 191, is a permanent visa for people who already hold an eligible regional provisional visa. It isn’t a visa you apply for from scratch or through the points test. It’s the second half of a two-step regional pathway.
You get onto the pathway first through a provisional visa:
The Skilled Work Regional (Provisional) visa (subclass 491), for people nominated by a state or territory or sponsored by an eligible relative in a designated regional area.
The Skilled Employer Sponsored Regional (Provisional) visa (subclass 494), for people sponsored by a regional employer.
After you’ve held one of these visas and met the residence and income conditions, the 191 is what converts that provisional status into full permanent residency.
To be eligible for the 191, you generally need to show that:
You hold, or have held, an eligible regional provisional visa (491 or 494).
You’ve held that visa for at least the required qualifying period.
You’ve lived in a designated regional area of Australia while holding the visa.
You’ve earned at least the minimum required taxable income for the required number of years.
You’ve complied with the conditions of your provisional visa the whole time.
The two requirements that catch people out are the residence rule and the income rule. You have to actually live in a designated regional area, and your tax records need to back up that you met the income threshold for the required years. This is why we tell 491 and 494 holders to plan for the 191 from day one, not to think about it only when the provisional visa is running down.
The heart of the 191 is that you lived and worked in regional Australia as promised. Most of Australia counts as “designated regional” for this purpose, including large centres outside the biggest cities, so the definition is broader than many people expect. What matters is that you can prove it. Keep your address history, tenancy records, employment records, and anything that shows where you were based. If you moved around, we help you map it against the rules so there are no gaps in your evidence.
You also need to show you earned at least a set minimum taxable income for the required number of years while on your provisional visa. The Australian Taxation Office notices of assessment are the usual proof. This is a common sticking point for people who had a slow year, changed jobs, or had periods of lower earnings. If your income history is patchy, talk to us early, because how you present and evidence it can make the difference between an approval and a request for more information that drags the case out.
The 191 has its own application charge, and processing times move around with the department’s workload. We won’t quote a figure that could be out of date by the time you read it. In your consultation we’ll give you the current fee and a realistic timeframe for your situation. What’s stable is the structure: meet the residence and income conditions, hold the provisional visa for the qualifying period, then lodge. Getting the timing right so you apply as soon as you’re eligible, with the evidence ready, is the part we manage for you.
If you’re still deciding which regional visa to chase, or you’re weighing regional against a non-regional option, start with our Skilled Migration overview. If you already know regional is your path, the two front doors are the Skilled Work Regional visa (491) and the Regional Employer Sponsored visa (494). The 191 is the destination both of those lead to.
We check your 491 or 494 history against the residence and income rules before you lodge.
We help you gather and present your tax records and address history so they hold up.
We flag any income or compliance gaps early, while there’s still time to deal with them.
We prepare and lodge your 191 application and respond to the department on your behalf.
We plan the whole regional pathway with you, so the provisional years set you up for a clean permanent grant.
It’s the permanent residency visa for people who already hold a 491 or 494 regional visa. Once you’ve met the regional residence and income requirements for the required period, the 191 makes your stay in Australia permanent.
By meeting the conditions of your 491, living in a designated regional area, earning at least the minimum required income for the required years, then applying for the 191. The 491 is the provisional step and the 191 is the permanent one.
No. Unlike the 189, 190 and 491, the 191 isn’t points-tested. Eligibility comes from holding an eligible regional visa and meeting the residence and income requirements, not from a points score.
You need to have held your provisional visa and lived in a designated regional area for the required qualifying period before you can apply. We’ll confirm the exact period that applies to your visa and situation.
You must have earned at least a set minimum taxable income for the required number of years while on your provisional visa, usually evidenced by your ATO notices of assessment. If your income was uneven, we’ll help you work out where you stand.
Yes. Family members who were included in, or are dependent on, your circumstances can generally be part of the application. We make sure everyone is added correctly so nobody is left off the permanent grant.
It depends on the details, and it’s not automatically fatal. This is exactly the kind of issue to raise with us early, because there may be ways to address it, and rushing a weak application is how good cases get delayed.
The 191 is a permanent visa, so once it’s granted you have the freedoms of permanent residency. The regional living requirement applies during the provisional stage, before the 191 is granted.
