Skilled Employer Sponsored Regional Subclass 494

Last Updated on July 20, 2023 by Ozlinks Education

Subclass 494 Visa Overview

The subclass 494 visa is a temporary visa that allows regional employers to address identified labour shortages in their designated regional areas by sponsoring skilled workers when they cannot find a suitably qualified Australian worker. With this visa, you may only reside, work, and study for a period of 5 years in designated regional areas of Australia. After three years from the date your visa was granted, you may apply for permanent residence under subclass 191 if you meet the requirements.

The Skilled Employer Sponsored Regional Visa is available to skilled workers who are living and working in Australia as temporary residents as well as skilled workers who reside outside of Australia. To qualify for this visa, a worker must possess skills in a Regional Occupation List occupation and be nominated by an employer in a designated regional area.

Skilled Employer Sponsored Regional Visa has two (2) streams:

  • Employer Sponsored (ES) Stream
  • Labour Agreement (LA) Stream

Employer Sponsored (ES) Stream

The Employer Sponsored stream is for Australian businesses in regional Australia to find skilled overseas workers to fill skilled positions for 5 years, with the option to apply for PR after three years. For full requirements, see the Employer Sponsored tab.

Labour Agreement (LA) Stream

The Labour Agreement for an employer has signed a labour agreement with the Australian Government to find skilled overseas workers for a position in regional Australia for five years, with the option to apply for PR after three years. For full requirements, see the Labour Agreement tab.

ENQUIRE FORM

Employer Sponsored Stream

If you have been nominated by your employer, your nomination application has been approved, and you meet the following criteria, you may be able to apply for the ENS Subclass 186 Visa Direct Entry Stream:

Relevant Occupation

Your occupation must be on the approved Employer Nomination Scheme Subclass 186 skilled occupations list.

Age Requirement

You must be under 45 years of age at the time of visa application lodgement unless you are exempt.

Work Experience

You are required to have a minimum of three years’ worth of experience working in the relevant occupation.

Skills Assessment

You must have the necessary skills to perform the job. To meet this criterion, you must have your skills assessed by an authorised assessing authority and you must obtain a positive skills assessment outcome. The skill assessment requirement varies depending on the occupation.

If you need assistance with the skills assessment for subclass 186, Direct Entry Stream, please contact us.

English Language

Competent English language requirements for subclass 186 visa applications are mandatory and must be met at the time of application.

Test Type

Listing

Reading

Writing

Speaking

IELTS Academic or General Training

6

6

6

6

TOEFL iBT

12

13

21

18

PTE Academic        

50

50

50

50

OET

B

B

B

B

Cambridge (CAE)  

169

169

 169

169

The English test is waived for applicants with passports from the United Kingdom, the United States, Canada, New Zealand, or Ireland. For more information on the English language requirement, please visit this page.

Application Process

The Employer Nomination Scheme (ENS) application procedure consists of two steps: nomination and visa application.

Step 1: Employer Nomination Application

Applicants must be nominated by an Australian employer, and the nominated occupation must be on the MLTSSL occupation list. The Australian employer must meet all of the conditions outlined in the nomination application including the Skilling Australians Fund levy.

Step 2: Visa Application

The second stage in the procedure is the visa application, and to apply for a subclass 186 visa, the applicant must have a valid nomination approval for the relevant occupation, which was nominated by the sponsor. Your visa application is submitted to the Department of Home Affairs (DOHA) either concurrently with the nomination application or within six months of the nomination’s approval by DOHA.

In addition to the main criterion, you also must fulfil the medical health and character check requirements.

TRT Stream

If you have been working for your employer on a subclass 457 or 482 TSS visa, your nomination application has been approved, and you meet the following requirements, you may be eligible to apply for a subclass 186 Temporary Residence Transition Stream visa.

Current Visa

​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​ You must hold a subclass 457 or 482 TSS visa.

Age Requirement

You must be under 45 years of age at the time of visa application lodgement unless you are exempt.

Work Experience

You must have worked full-time for your employer on a subclass 457 or 482 visa for at least three years. If you held a subclass 457 visa on April 18, 2017, your employer must have sponsored you for full-time employment for at least two of the three years prior to your nomination application.

English Language

Competent English language requirements for subclass 186 visa applications are mandatory and must be met at the time of application.

 

Listing

Reading

Writing

Speaking

IELTS Academic or General Training

6

6

6

6

TOEFL iBT

12

13

21

18

PTE Academic        

50

50

50

50

OET

B

B

B

B

Cambridge (CAE)  

169

169

 169

169

The English test is waived for applicants with passports from the United Kingdom, the United States, Canada, New Zealand, or Ireland. For more information on the English language requirement, please visit this page.

Application Process

The Employer Nomination Scheme (ENS) application procedure consists of two steps: nomination and visa application.

Step 1: Employer Nomination Application

Applicants must be nominated by an Australian employer, and the nominated occupation must be on the relevant occupation list. The Australian employer must meet all of the conditions outlined in the nomination application including the Skilling Australians Fund levy.

Step 2: Visa Application

The second stage in the procedure is the visa application, and to apply for a subclass 186 visa, the applicant must have a valid nomination approval for the relevant occupation, which was nominated by the employer. Your visa application is submitted to the Department of Home Affairs (DOHA) either concurrently with the nomination application or within six months of the nomination’s approval by DOHA.

In addition to the main criterion, you also must fulfil the medical health and character check requirements.

Labour Agreement Stream

To be eligible for the Labour Agreement Stream 186 visa, your employer must first nominate you, and your employer must hold one of the following labour agreements:

  • Company Specific labour agreements
  • Designated Area Migration Agreements (DAMA)
  • Global Talent Employer Sponsored (GTES) agreements
  • Industry labour agreements
  • Project agreements

Age Requirement

Unless otherwise specified in the labour agreement, you must be under the age of 45 at the time of lodgment.

Work Experience

You must be working for your employer on a subclass 457 or 482 visa or your work experience in accordance with your employer labour agreement.

 English Language

You must have adequate English language skills. The labour agreement will provide guidelines on this.

The English requirement is waived for applicants with passports from the United Kingdom, the United States, Canada, New Zealand, or Ireland. For more information on the English language requirement, please visit this page.

Subclass 494 Visa FAQs

What are the regional areas for 494 visas?

According to the Department of Home Affairs, the majority of areas in Australia outside of the major cities of Sydney, Melbourne, and Brisbane are categorised as designated regional areas for the purposes of migration. There is a list of postcodes available that applies to the 494 Visa that details selected regional areas. This list can be found here.

The 494 visas under the Employer Sponsored (ES) Stream are available to skilled workers whose occupation is on the Skilled Employer Sponsored Regional Subclass 494 Visa list, but only if they are nominated by an employer whose business is located in one of the approved regional areas. In addition, you must also meet the following criteria:

  • age must be less than 45.
  • have at least 3 years of relevant work experience
  • have a valid and relevant skill assessment.
  • have a valid and Competent English level.
  • meet the health, medical, and character requirements.

Starting on July 1, 2023, the minimum annual wage requirement for holders of Employer Sponsored Subclass 494 Visas, also known as the Temporary Skilled Migration Income Threshold (TSMIT), will increase to $70,000. This will have an impact on any nominations submitted on or after that day, but it will have no impact on nominations submitted before that date.

Subclass 494 visa applicants are required to complete skills assessments relevant to the nominated occupation or have already had their skills assessed under the subclass 457 or TSS subclass 482 visas unless an exemption applies.

To apply for a subclass 494 visa under the Employer Sponsored (ES) Stream, primary applicants must provide a satisfactory English language test at a minimum English competent level. Unless you qualify for an exemption. The competent level is equivalent to at least 6.0 in reading, speaking, listening, and writing on the IELTS (or PTE equivalents)

Their dependent family members over 18 years of age have at least Functional English. The Functional English level is at least 5.0 in reading, speaking, listening, and writing on the IELTS (or PTE equivalents).

To be eligible for this visa, you must have been offered employment in the chosen occupation and in a position within the business in a defined regional area of Australia. To be nominated for the position, your employer must submit a nomination application. They will only be permitted to do so if they are an approved work sponsor or have applied to become a regular business sponsor.

The subclass 494 visa is valid for a period of five years. If you have worked in the designated regional area for at least three years while having a 494 visa, you may be eligible for permanent residence by applying for a Subclass 191 Permanent Residence Skilled Regional visa. This visa will allow you to acquire permanent residence.

The requirement for permanent residency is the main difference between the 494 and the 482. With the 494 visas, you can apply for permanent residency without sponsorship from an employer. To qualify for permanent residency (PR), you must meet the subclass 191 criteria, such as working or residing in a designated regional area for at least three years.

Disclaimer: 

Information under ANZSCO Occupations (Australian and New Zealand Standard Classification of Occupations) section is published in accordance with a Creative Commons Attribution 2.5 Australia licence guideline. ANZSCO Version 1.3 updated on 25 March 2021 and original source can be accessed on Australian Bureau of Statistics website.

This section does not intend to provide immigration assistance pursuant to section 276 of Migration Act (Cth) 1994 as described in the Migration laws. It is based on public guidelines available at Department of Home Affairs’ Website. It is your responsibility to verify accuracy and status of provided information with your Registered Migration Agent (RMA) who is bound by the MARA code of conduct before submitting any visa applications.