NOTE: Applications for the subclass 191 visa will be open from 16 November 2022, as one of the requirements is for applicants to have held a 491 visa for 3 years or a 494 visa for 3 years.
494/191 Regional Sponsored Visa
NOTE: This visa was introduced 16th November 2019, previously the 187 RSMS Visa.
For High Visa-eligibility Qualifiers with occupations on the ROL (regional occupations list) – the subclass 494 visa is a provisional visa leading to permanent residency (subclass 191 visa) accessible for skilled applicants who have at least three years of experience and a skills assessment, but this is only applicable to Regional-based (country area) employment roles. Although the qualifiers are the same as in the subclass 186 Nomination Visa for the applicants, there is a larger list of eligible occupations on the Regional (country area) Occupations List. To apply, be successful and retain this visa, the employee will need to remain working full-time with the same employer, and in the same position of employment, as specified in the original nomination request, as a pathway to the 191 PR visa which opens from November 16th 2022. This brings diversity to regional areas of Australia.
The second stage however is winning the opinion of the Regional Certifying Body (RCB), which acts as the local authoritative expert opinion to the Department.
494 nomination without RCB approval is very hard, but not impossible for Worldly Migration. Without approval from the local RCB, an approval at the Department level is highly unlikely (although Worldly Migration can boast that Evan (MARN 1679414) achieved Department-level approval after two RCB-level refusals under the 187 era, as recent as September 2019).
Subclass 494 Stages:
- Standard Business Sponsorship
- Nomination + RCB/RDA
- Visa Application
Successful 494 Nomination Requirements:
You can find a genuine position letter sample here.
You can find an LMT template here.
SAF 494 Visa:
The 494 visa requires mandatory payment by the employer sponsor to the Skilling Australians Fund (SAF), the SAF levy replacing the Training Benchmark requirement on 12th August 2018.
The SAF levy varies between TSS and ENS/RSMS and is calculated as follows:
| Business Size | TSS (482) Visa | ENS (186) / 494 visas |
| Annual turnover less than $10 million AUD | $1,200 annually per nominee | $3,000 one-off |
| Annual turnover $10 million AUD or more | $1,800 annually per nominee | $5,000 one-off |
If you get representation or assistance from Worldly Migration, you can relax knowing that you are dealing with a professional who takes pride in being ETHICAL, RELIABLE, and ever AVAILABLE.
Worldly Migration specialises in assisting Employers with their Nomination Visa stage, which is the most important part of the process. Click HERE to find out more about these other specialist services.
FREE EBOOK DOWNLOAD – Principal Consultant Evan Bishop MARN 1679414 published an eBook covering the Top 10 Reasons Why Employer Sponsored Visas get refused, it is short yet essential reading and you can get your copy here.
