The Permanent Residence (Skilled Regional) (Class PR) Subclass 191 visa

From 16 November 2022, individuals have been able to apply for the Permanent Residence (Skilled Regional) Subclass 191 visa under the “Regional Provisional Visas” stream.

This provides a pathway for certain individuals who held one of the two provisional regional visas and lived/worked/studied only in relevant “designated regional areas” of Australia to transition to permanent residency. Specifically, those who have held either a:

• Skilled Employer Sponsored Regional (Provisional) Subclass 494 visa; or
• Skilled Work Regional (Provisional) Subclass 491 visa.

A separate “Hong Kong (Regional)” stream exists under the Subclass 191 visa for certain Hong Kong nationals who have also lived, worked, or studied only in relevant “designated regional areas” of Australia.

The below discusses:

1. What is the Subclass 191 visa;
2. What is the criteria to apply for the Subclass 191 visa; and
3. How much the Subclass 191 visa will cost.

What is the Subclass 191 visa?

The Subclass 191 visa provides an independent pathway to permanent residency for certain visa holders who have only lived, worked, or studied in parts of Australia that are “designated regional areas”.

There are two streams under this visa, being the:

1. Regional Provisional Visa stream – for Subclass 494 / 491 visa holders; and
2. Hong Kong (Regional) stream – for certain Hong Kong nationals.

As suggested by their names, the streams are specifically tailored to different cohorts.

What are the criteria to apply for a Subclass 191 visa?

Other than the stream specific requirements, the Subclass 191 visa generally requires all applicants to satisfy health and character requirements.

Specifically, under the “Regional Provisional Visas” stream of the Subclass 191 visa, the primary applicant must:

• hold a regional provisional visa (Subclass 494 / 491 visa), and held that visa for at least 3 years;
• have complied substantially with the conditions which applied to their regional provisional visa (held by the applicant at time of application) and any subsequent bridging visas; and
• provide copies of notices of assessments in relation to three income years.

Relevantly, the conditions applicable to the regional provisional visas (Subclass 494 / 491 visas) are likely to have required the applicant to have lived, worked, and studied only in relevant parts of Australia that were “designated regional areas”, amongst other notification and reporting requirements.

Specifically, under the “Hong Kong (Regional)” stream of the Subclass 191 visa, the primary applicant must:

• hold a Hong Kong passport or a British National (Overseas) passport;
• hold a Subclass 457, Temporary Skill Shortage (TSS) Subclass 482, or Graduate Subclass 482 visa:
  • that was granted to them as the primary applicant;
  • which was granted before 9 July 2020 and either:
    • does not permit the holder to travel to, enter or remain in Australia after 8 July 2025; or
    • permits the holder to enter or remain in Australia during the 5 years starting when the visa came into effect; and
  • have held the relevant visa for at least 3 years;
  • have complied substantially with the conditions which applied to their visa (held by the applicant at time of application) and any subsequent bridging visas;
  • during the 3 years immediately before the date of the application:
    • have been usually resident in Australia for a continuous period; and
    • not live, work or study in a part of Australia that was not a “designated regional area”.

Effectively, this gives certain Hong Kong nationals who resided in a “designated regional area” for at least three years a pathway to permanent residency.

Irrespective of the stream, secondary visa applicants (i.e. dependents on the main applicant) for the Subclass 191 visa must also satisfy health and character requirements, and must have substantially complied with the conditions to which their visas were subject at time of application (and any subsequent bridging visas).

How much does the Subclass 191 visa cost?

The government lodgement fees to apply for the Subclass 191 visa under the “Regional Provisional visas” stream are as follows:

The government lodgement fees to apply for the Subclass 191 visa under the “Hong Kong (Regional)” stream are as follows:

 For any over-18 applicants under the “Hong Kong (Regional)” stream who are not able to demonstrate a “functional” level of English, a second visa application charge of $4,885 must be paid prior to approval of the Subclass 191 visa

Next Steps

If you’re interested in the Subclass 191 visa or would like to know more, please feel free to contact us by email at [email protected] or phone +61 3 9016 0484.

This document does not constitute legal advice or create an attorney-client relationship. Please consult an immigration professional for up to date information.