191 Permanent Residence (Skilled Regional) Visa

This visa does not commence until 16 November 2022.

​This visa is for people who have lived, worked and studied in designated regional area Australia on a previous, eligible visa.

With this visa you can

  • stay in Australia permanently
  • work and study in Australia
  • enrol in Australia’s public health care scheme, Medicare
  • sponsor your relatives to come to Australia
  • travel to and from Australia for 5 years
  • if eligible, apply for Australian citizenship

You must:

  • Hold an eligible visa
  • Have lived for at least 3 years and have a taxable income at or above a specific income threshold for at least three years
  • Both primary and secondary applicants have complied with the conditions of the eligible visa you hold or have held

How long you can stay

This is a permanent visa. It lets you stay in Australia indefinitely.

The visa has a travel component that expires 5 years after the date of visa grant.

For citizenship purposes, your permanent residence starts on the day we grant the visa if you are in Australia.

Include family

You can include members of the family unit in your application if they currently hold an eligible visa. You must include each family member who is eligible to apply for this visa at the time you lodge your application.  You can’t add family members after you have submitted your application.

You can include family members who no longer meet the standard definition of member of the family unit provided they hold an eligible visa that was granted on the basis that they were a member of your family unit. This provision would apply, for example, if you want to include a child in your application who has turned 23 years of age since they were granted an eligible visa.

Family members included in your application must meet our health and character requirements. Family members not accompanying you to Australia may also need to meet our health and character requirements.

Newborn children

If you have a child who was born in Australia since you were granted your current visa you must tell us about your child before you lodge this application. Find out what to do if your child is born  after we granted your current visa. If we have not linked your child’s current visa to their passport you will be unable to lodge their application online

Cost

There is a base charge for the main applicant, which will be announced closer to the commencement date.

There is also a charge for each family member who applies for the visa with you.

You might have to pay an extra charge for any applicant 18 years old or older who has less than functional English. This charge is called the second instalment charge. Pay it only when we ask you to. We ask for the charge only if we are going to grant the visa.

The second instalment charge amount will be announced closer to the commencement date.

To work out what your visa will cost use the Visa Pricing Estimator. The estimator does not take into account the second instalment or other costs. You might also have to pay other costs for health checks, police certificates and biometrics.

Apply from

You must be in Australia when you apply for this visa. You must also be in Australia for the grant of this visa.

Processing times

We assess applications on a case-by-case basis, and actual processing times can vary due to individual circumstances including:

  • Whether you have lodged a complete application, including all necessary supporting documents
  • How quickly you respond to any requests for additional information
  • How long it takes to perform required checks on the supporting information provided
  • How long it takes to receive additional information from external agencies, particularly in relation to health, character, and national security requirements
  • How many places are available in the migration program