What Is the 494 Visa? Subclass 494 Requirements, Occupation List, Conditions and the 191

A Skilled Employer Sponsored Regional (Provisional) (subclass 494) visa lets a regional employer sponsor a skilled worker for 5 years. You must live, work and study in a designated regional area, which the Department describes as everywhere in Australia except Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane. After 3 years you may be able to apply for permanent residence through the Permanent Residence (Skilled Regional) (subclass 191) visa.

There's no points test. What you need instead is an employer, an occupation on the 494 list, a skills assessment, 3 years of experience and Competent English, and you have to be under 45 when you apply. This guide covers each of those, the conditions that decide whether the 191 stays open, what the visa costs from 1 July 2026 and where processing sits.

Employer already lined up? Book a consultation before the nomination goes in.

What the 494 gives you

A 5-year provisional visa with a built-in path to permanent residence, and the right to bring your family. Partners and dependent children apply with you or later as subsequent entrants.

There's a trade-off: location and loyalty. You're tied to regional Australia and to the employer who sponsored you. Both are visa conditions, not preferences, and the 191 depends on them.

Two streams exist. The Employer Sponsored stream is the standard route through an approved business sponsor. A Labour Agreement stream exists for employers with a labour agreement with the Commonwealth, and that agreement can change several of the usual rules, including the age limit and English. Unless it says otherwise, this guide is about the Employer Sponsored stream.

What has to be true, and when it is tested

Most of the visa requirements are fixed on the day you lodge. Turn 45 the week after you apply and it doesn't matter. Turn 45 the week before and you need an exemption, and those are narrow: some university academics and scientists, some regional doctors, some long-standing Skills in Demand (subclass 482) or 457 workers earning above the high income threshold, and some New Zealand-linked workers who've been with the same employer for 2 years.

The 494 occupation list

Occupations for the 494 are set in their own instrument, made only for the 494, and it contains two lists: a Medium and Long-term Strategic Skills List of 216 occupations and a Regional Occupation List of 434.

Your employer must nominate one of those occupations, and the tasks you'll actually do must match it. Chef, registered nurse (aged care), civil engineer, electrician (general), carpenter and early childhood teacher are all on the medium and long-term list, for example. In the Labour Agreement stream, the occupation has to be one the agreement allows instead.

Check the exact six-digit code against the 494 lists themselves, not against a list for a different visa, and not by job title. The duties of the position also have to correspond to the tasks of the occupation nominated, because that's what the instrument requires for the occupation to apply to you.

What the 494 costs in 2026-27

Only applicants aged 18 or over pay a second instalment, and only if they're assessed as not having functional English. It's nil for nominations of a Minister of Religion. On top of the visa charge, budget for skills assessment fees, English tests, health checks and police certificates. Your employer separately pays the nomination fee, the nomination training contribution charge and, where a Regional Certifying Body charges for its advice, that fee too. In the ACT, for example, that advice costs $325 plus GST.

Processing order and times

Ministerial Direction 122 sets the order in which 494 applications are processed, and the Department publishes how far it has reached in each group. Our post on Directions 121 and 122 explains how those groups work.

Read the months as queue positions. A later month in one group doesn't mean that group is processed sooner. It's simply where that queue has reached.

How long does it take once picked up? According to the Department's processing time guide, 50% of Employer Sponsored stream applications are decided in 8 months and 90% in 12 months. In the Labour Agreement stream, 50% take 4 months and 90% take 12 months. Plan on the 12-month figure.

Conditions on the 494, and why they decide your 191

Condition 8608 applies to the main visa holder. Every other condition applies to the whole family.

Worked example: a 494 holder sponsored by a Cairns employer who moves to a job with a different employer in Brisbane breaches condition 8579, because Brisbane isn't a designated regional area, and condition 8608, because the work is no longer for the sponsor. The 191 requires compliance with condition 8579, so that move also affects eligibility for the 191.

Changing employers is possible, but only once a new nomination for you is approved. Condition 8579 then follows the new position's location from the day you start there.

From the 494 to permanent residence: the subclass 191

No sponsor or nomination is needed for the 191. In its regional provisional stream, you must:

• have held your 494 (or a subclass 491) for at least 3 years when you apply
• have complied with condition 8579, and complied substantially with the other conditions of that visa
• give the Department your Australian Taxation Office notices of assessment for 3 income years
• meet health and character requirements again

From 1 July 2026 the 191 costs from $630 for the main applicant.

Mind the 3-year bar, too. According to the Department's 494 page, until you've held the 494 for 3 years you can't make a valid application for a Partner (subclass 820) visa, and you can't be granted a subclass 186, subclass 189, subclass 190, 132, 188, 858 or 191 visa. So the 494 is a commitment of at least 3 years. Our 491 guide covers the points-tested regional alternative if you don't have an employer.

Keep payslips and leases from day one, along with your tax records. A 191 is decided on evidence of where you lived and worked, and three years is a long time to reconstruct.

FAQ

Who is eligible for the subclass 494 visa?

Skilled workers nominated by an approved employer for a full-time job in a designated regional area, in an occupation on the 494 lists. In the Employer Sponsored stream you must be under 45, hold a suitable skills assessment, have 3 years of full-time experience in the occupation and have Competent English, unless an exemption applies.

Does the 494 lead to PR?

Yes, through the subclass 191. After holding the 494 for at least 3 years you can apply for the 191 without a sponsor, provided you complied with condition 8579 by living, working and studying in a designated regional area, complied substantially with your other conditions and can give the Department 3 years of tax notices of assessment.

What is the difference between the 482 and the 494 visa?

A 494 is tied to designated regional areas and leads to permanent residence through the 191 after 3 years. It also uses its own occupation lists and needs 3 years of experience and Competent English. A subclass 482 Skills in Demand visa carries no regional condition and has its own lists and requirements, covered in our 482 changes post.

What is the difference between a 491 and a 494 visa?

The 491 is points-tested and needs a state or territory nomination or a sponsoring relative, with no employer required. A 494 needs an employer nomination and has no points test. Both are 5-year regional visas that lead to the subclass 191 after 3 years if you meet their conditions.

How long does a 494 visa take to process?

The Department's processing time guide shows 50% of Employer Sponsored stream applications decided in 8 months and 90% in 12 months. In the Labour Agreement stream, 50% are decided in 4 months and 90% in 12 months. Direction 122 also sets the order applications are picked up.

How much does a 494 visa cost?

From 1 July 2026, $6,140 for the main applicant, $3,070 for each family member 18 or over and $1,535 for each under 18. Lower amounts apply where the main applicant holds a Pacific or Timor-Leste passport, and a second instalment applies to adults assessed as not having functional English.

What occupations are on the 494 skill list?

The 494 has its own instrument with two lists: a Medium and Long-term Strategic Skills List of 216 occupations and a Regional Occupation List of 434. Chef, registered nurse (aged care), civil engineer and electrician (general) are examples. In the Labour Agreement stream, the occupation must be one the labour agreement allows.

How many years of experience is required for a 494 visa?

At least 3 years of full-time work in the nominated occupation, at the skill level the occupation requires, by the day you apply for the Employer Sponsored stream. A labour agreement can set a different period, and a few exempt groups, such as some university academics, don't need it.

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Thinking about sponsoring a worker, or being sponsored, under the 494? Book a consultation. Our employer sponsorship service handles the nomination and the visa together, so the occupation, salary and region line up from the start.