Skilled - Nominated or Sponsored Provisional (Subclass 489) Visa

This points-based visa is for skilled workers who are nominated by a state or territory to live in a Regional or Low Population Growth Area, or sponsored by an eligible relative living in a designated area in Australia. The visa is valid for four years, and a visa holder must live and work in a specified regional area. Additionally, eligible family members can be included in the application.

The Skilled Nominated or Sponsored (Provisional) Subclass 489 visa replaced both the offshore Skilled - Regional Sponsored Subclass 475 visa and the onshore Subclass 487 visa in 2012-2013.

Gaining Legal Permanent Residence

After 2 years of living – and 12 months of working - in a Regional or low Population Growth Area on this visa visa holders can apply for the Skilled Regional Subclass 887 visa, which grants them legal permanent residence in Australia.

Please note that only those living and working in the areas noted on the Australia Regional or Low Population growth Areas table below are eligible to apply for legal permanent residence on the Skilled Regional Subclass 887 visa.

Eligibility

Under this visa, you can either be nominated by a state or territory government or be sponsored by an eligible relative.

To be able to submit a valid application for this visa you need to first submit an Expression of Interest through SkillSelect. You can do this in or outside Australia.

Application conditions

Applications are by invitation only. To be invited to apply, you must:

• have experience in a nominated occupation on Australia's Skilled Occupations List, AND;
   

• have a skills assessment with the relevant assessing authority for that occupation
   

• submit an Expression of Interest
   

• be older than 18 and less than 50 years of age when the invitation is issued
   

• meet general Skilled Migration basic requirements, including English language, health, and character checks
   

• be able to score at least 60 on the points test

Try our free online Australian General Skilled Migration points test to see if you score enough points for this visa.

Family

You can include the following family members in your visa application:

• your partner
   

• your or your partner's dependent child
   

• your or your partner's dependent relative.

Entitlements

This visa allows you and your dependants to:

• temporarily live and work in a designated regional area in Australia
   

• study in a specified regional area of Australia
   

• travel in and out of Australia while the visa is valid
   

• apply for permanent residence through the Skilled Regional (Residence) visa (subclass 887) after certain conditions have been met.

Visa obligations

Nominated by a state or territory

If you are nominated by a state or territory to live in a Regional or Low Population Growth Area in Australia there are obligations that your nominating state or territory will require you to meet. These include that you:

• stay in that state or territory for at least two years
   

• keep the state or territory informed of any changes to your address
   

• complete surveys and provide information when asked

The following table details the full list of Regional or Low Population Growth Areas in Australia:

Australia Regional or Low Population growth Areas table

Sponsored by an eligible family member

You must live and work in a designated area. If you plan to seek permanent residence, you will need to prove that you have spent the specified time in a designated area.

If you do not comply with the conditions of your visa:

• your visa, and those of any accompanying family members, may be cancelled
   

• you will not be able to apply for another provisional Skilled Regional Sponsored visa
   

• you may not meet the requirements to apply for permanent residence.

Eligible Sponsors

A sponsor must be at least 18 years of age who resides in Australia as one of the following:

• an Australian citizen
   

• an Australian permanent resident
   

• an Eligible New Zealand citizen.

You or your partner must be related to your sponsor as:

• a child – including a stepchild, or
   

• a parent – including a step parent, or
   

• a brother or sister – including adoptive or step-sibling, or
   

• a niece or nephew – including adoptive or step-niece or nephew, or
   

• an aunt or uncle – including adoptive or step-aunt or uncle, or
   

• a grandparent or first cousin.

Your sponsor must be a resident in a designated area of Australia at the time of the sponsorship. The following is a list of the current designated areas:

Australia Sponsor Designated Areas table

Processing

Priority processing arrangements apply to this visa. They determine the order in which Australian immigration considers applications regardless of when they have been submitted. To find out more about the priority processing arrangements Australian immigration has in place, please see our Priority Processing page.

Extension from other visas

This visa also allows holders of visa subclasses 495 and 496 to stay in Australia for an additional year.

If you hold one of the following visas and have met all the conditions of that visa, you may be eligible to apply for a subclass 489 visa, allowing you to stay in Australia for an additional year:

• Skilled—Independent Regional (Provisional) Subclass 495
   

• Skilled—Designated Area-sponsored (Provisional) Subclass 496

Your dependants who were not included in your original application may also be eligible to apply for this visa.

As a holder of one of the above provisional visas, you and any subsequent applicants do not need to submit an Expression of Interest and/or receive an invitation to apply. Instead you apply by submitting an application for Provisional Skilled Regional – Renewal Visa (489) or an application for Provisional Skilled Regional – Subsequent Entrant Visa (489).

However, you can only be granted a maximum of two provisional skilled visas, meaning if you've held any of the above visas more than once, you cannot apply for a subclass 489 visa.

Further Information, help, and advice

Workpermit.com has over twenty years of experience helping people immigrate to countries all over the World. If you feel that you can pass the points test and wish to immigrate to Australia, fill out our free assessment form and one of our representatives will contact you shortly.

For more information and advice on Australian immigration law and Australian visa applications please contact us on 0344 991 9222 or at london@workpermit.com