191 Permanent Residence (Skilled Regional) visa (subclass 191) – Regional Provisional stream

At a Glance

Item	Details
Visa name	Permanent Residence (Skilled Regional) (subclass 191)
Stream	Regional Provisional stream
Stay	Permanent; indefinite stay
Cost	From AUD630 main applicant
Eligible visa timing	Hold subclass 491 or 494 three years
Income evidence	ATO assessments: three income years
Minimum income	No minimum income requirement
Work rights	Work anywhere in Australia
Study	Study anywhere in Australia
Medicare	Can enrol in Medicare
Travel facility	Five years from grant
Citizenship	May apply if eligible
Family sponsorship	May sponsor eligible relatives
Family inclusion	Include family unit members
Visa record	Check details through VEVO
Apply from	Inside or outside Australia
Processing priority	Ministerial Direction No. 119

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Purpose

This permanent visa is for people who have lived and worked in designated regional Australia while holding an eligible regional provisional visa.

Eligibility

You must:

• Hold a subclass 491 or subclass 494 visa when applying.
• Have held an eligible visa for at least three years.
• Provide ATO notices of assessment for three income years during the five years of your eligible visa.
• Have complied with eligible-visa conditions throughout the period held in Australia.
• Meet health and character requirements.
• Sign the Australian Values Statement if aged 16 or over.
• Repay Australian Government debts, or have an approved repayment arrangement.
• Have no immigration-history issue that makes you ineligible, including certain visa cancellations or refusals.

There is no minimum income requirement.

Rights and Stay

The visa lets you:

• Stay in Australia permanently.
• Work and study anywhere in Australia.
• Enrol in Medicare.
• Attend free Adult Migrant English Program classes, if eligible.
• Sponsor eligible relatives for permanent residence.
• Apply for Australian citizenship, if eligible.

Newly arrived residents may need to wait before accessing some government payments and benefits.

For citizenship purposes, permanent residence starts on the visa grant date if you are in Australia.

Family Provisions

You may include members of your family unit when lodging, or add them before a decision.

Family members applying must meet health and character requirements. Non-migrating family members may also need to meet health and character requirements.

A family member generally does not need an eligible visa. However, an over-23 child who no longer meets the standard family-unit definition must hold an eligible visa granted because they were your family member.

For a child under 18 migrating without a person with legal parental responsibility, provide:

• Form 1229, or a consent statutory declaration; or
• A court order or evidence home-country law permits migration.

Tell the Department about a child born in Australia after your current visa was granted, before lodging. Tell the Department promptly if a child is born after lodgement.

Cost

The main applicant charge is AUD630. Additional charges apply for each family member.

You may also pay for health examinations, police certificates and biometrics. The application charge is not refunded if refused.

From 1 July 2026, eligible citizens of specified Pacific Island countries and Timor-Leste receive a lower charge when lodging a valid application using an eligible passport. This also applies to family members based on the primary applicant’s passport.

Eligible passport countries are:

• Federated States of Micronesia
• Fiji
• Kiribati
• Nauru
• Palau
• Papua New Guinea
• Republic of the Marshall Islands
• Samoa
• Solomon Islands
• Timor-Leste
• Tonga
• Tuvalu
• Vanuatu

Required Documents

Provide clear colour scans or photographs. Non-English documents require English translations; submit originals and translations. Documents do not need certification.

Core evidence

• Current passport bio-data, issue and expiry pages.
• National identity card, if held.
• Name-change evidence, if applicable.
• ATO notices of assessment for three income years.
• Evidence of any paid ATO debt or approved payment plan.
• Evidence you lived, worked and studied in a designated regional area.

Regional evidence may include:

• Leases, rental agreements, utility bills or title deeds.
• School reports or academic transcripts.
• Employer reference letters and payslips.
• Study completion letters.

Character evidence

Provide:

• An Australian Federal Police complete disclosure National Police Certificate if you spent 12 months or more in Australia in the last 10 years after turning 16.
• Overseas police certificates for each country where you spent 12 months or more in that period.
• Military records or discharge papers, if applicable.
• Form 80 — Personal particulars for character assessment.
• Form 1221 — Additional personal particulars information.

Australian police certificates are valid for 12 months. State and territory police certificates, and standard disclosure certificates, are not accepted.

Family evidence

For partners, provide identity, character and relationship evidence. For de facto partners, provide either:

• Evidence the relationship is registered in an Australian state or territory; or
• Evidence of at least 12 months of de facto relationship before applying.

For married and de facto relationships, show the relationship is genuine and continuing, such as joint bank statements, bills, leases or mortgages.

For dependent children, provide birth certificates, adoption papers and parental-responsibility documents where applicable.

How to Apply

You can apply online through ImmiAccount while inside or outside Australia. You cannot be in immigration clearance when applying or when a decision is made.

1. Ensure all applicants have valid passports or travel documents.
2. Gather identity, regional residence, work, study, income, character and family documents.
3. Create or log in to ImmiAccount.
4. Attach documents.
5. Pay the first visa application charge.
6. Record the transaction reference number (TRN).

The Department will not process the application until the first instalment is paid.

After Applying

• Check ImmiAccount for requests and attach outstanding documents promptly.
• The Department may decide the application without requesting further documents.
• Health examinations and biometrics are required only if requested.
• Notify the Department promptly of errors using Form 1023.
• Notify changes to contact details, passport, relationship status, a child’s birth or withdrawal intentions.
• Removing an application from ImmiAccount does not withdraw it.
• To add a family member before decision, submit Form 1436 with supporting documents and payment through ImmiAccount.

If applying in Australia, remain lawful by holding a valid visa. You may receive a bridging visa if your current visa expires during processing.

Do not ask for your current visa to be cancelled. Cancellation can make you unlawful and cause your bridging visa to cease.

Processing

Applications are prioritised under Ministerial Direction No. 119. Applications being allocated for processing were generally lodged in January 2026.

Processing is assessed case by case and may depend on application completeness, responses to requests, required checks, external-agency information, and migration-program places.

Travel

You may travel to and from Australia for five years from visa grant.

After the travel facility expires, apply for a Resident Return visa (subclass 155 or 157) before returning as a permanent resident. Check travel validity through VEVO.

Before leaving Australia, ensure you hold a valid passport or travel document and have a visa that permits return.

Important Warnings

• If you or any family member owes the ATO, provide repayment or approved payment-plan evidence to avoid delays.
• All applicants must provide accurate information.
• Keep the written decision notice if the visa is granted.
• New Zealand passport holders should tell border officers they hold a subclass 191 visa and do not want a subclass 444 Special Category visa. A subclass 444 grant may cease the permanent visa and affect citizenship eligibility.