887 Skilled Regional visa (subclass 887)

At a Glance

Item	Details
Visa name	Skilled Regional visa (subclass 887)
Purpose	Permanent regional skilled pathway
Stay	Permanent; indefinite stay
Cost	From AUD630 main applicant
Eligibility timing	Eligible visa held at application
Work rights	Work anywhere in Australia
Study	Study anywhere in Australia
Medicare	Eligible to enrol
Travel facility	Multiple entry for five years
Citizenship	May apply if eligible
Family sponsorship	Sponsor eligible relatives
Family application	Eligible visa holders only
Visa record	Digitally linked; no label
Processing	Use processing-time guide tool

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Purpose

The Skilled Regional visa (subclass 887) is a permanent visa for people who have lived and worked in specified regional Australia while holding an eligible visa.

Stay, rights and travel

This 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.

You may travel in and out of Australia as often as you want for 5 years from grant. After that, you need a Resident Return visa to return as a permanent resident.

For citizenship purposes, permanent residence starts:

• On the grant date, if you are in Australia; or
• On the date you enter Australia on this visa, if outside Australia.

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

Cost

• Main applicant: AUD630.00.
• Additional charges apply for each family member.
• Other costs may include health examinations, police certificates and biometrics.
• A second instalment of AUD4,890 may apply to applicants aged 18 or over without functional English. Pay only if requested before grant.

Pacific Island and Timor-Leste concession

From 1 July 2026, a lower visa application charge applies to eligible applicants with a valid passport from:

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

Eligible family members also receive the lower charge based on the primary applicant's passport.

Eligibility

You must generally:

• Hold an eligible visa when applying.
• Have held an eligible primary visa for a total of at least 2 years before applying.
• Have lived in the required regional area for at least 2 years.
• Have worked full-time in the required regional area for at least 12 months.
• Have complied with all conditions of your eligible visa.
• Meet health and character requirements.
• Have functional English, have paid the eligible-visa second instalment, or pay the second instalment when requested.
• Sign the Australian Values Statement if aged 18 or over.
• Repay or arrange repayment of Australian Government debts.
• Meet applicable immigration-history requirements.

A previous visa cancellation or refusal may affect eligibility.

Eligible visas

An eligible visa is one of the following:

• Subclass 489, 495, 496, 475 or 487; or
• Bridging visa A or B after a valid application for subclass 489, 495 or 487.

The qualifying eligible visa must have been granted because you met primary criteria, or as the spouse or de facto partner of the person who met those criteria.

Regional residence and work requirements

If state or territory nominated you, you must have lived and worked in a listed regional or low-population growth metropolitan area.

If a family member sponsored you, you must have lived and worked in the relevant designated area of Australia.

Full-time work means 35 hours per week. You may combine concurrent part-time jobs to meet this requirement. Work can be in your nominated occupation or another occupation.

COVID-19 concessions

During the concession period, eligible applicants may receive reduced requirements.

Applicant location	Work requirement	Residence requirement
In Australia	9 months full-time	2 years
Outside Australia	9 months full-time	18 months

Applicants outside Australia may lodge and be granted the visa during the concession period if an eligible visa expired outside Australia during that period.

Family members

You may include family-unit members who currently hold an eligible visa.

• Include every eligible family member when lodging.
• You cannot add family members after lodgement, except newborn children.
• A child over 18 may be included if their eligible visa was granted as your family-unit member.
• Family members must meet health and character requirements.
• Non-accompanying family members may also need to meet health and character requirements.

Tell the Department about a child born after your current visa was granted before lodging. If a child is born after lodgement but before a decision, notify the Department as soon as possible.

Required evidence

Provide clear colour scans of original documents and English translations. Documents do not need certification.

Identity and relationship

Provide:

• Current passport pages showing photo, personal details, issue and expiry dates.
• National identity card, if available.
• Name-change evidence, if applicable.
• Marriage, divorce, death, separation or relationship documents, if applicable.
• Partner and dependant identity documents.

For a de facto partner, provide relationship registration evidence or evidence of at least 12 months of de facto relationship, plus evidence the relationship is genuine and continuing.

Work and residence

Provide evidence of regional residence and full-time work, such as:

• Employer references stating position, employment period and weekly hours.
• Taxation notices of assessment.
• Payslips and bank statements showing salary deposits.
• Superannuation records.
• Employment contracts or group certificates.
• Leases, utility bills, school reports or title deeds.

For self-employment or contract work, evidence may include:

• Business registration and activity statements.
• Taxation records.
• Customer or supplier correspondence.
• Audited financial statements.
• Contracts, franchise arrangements, advertising or business profiles.

Evidence must show active business involvement of at least 35 hours weekly.

Character

Provide:

• An Australian Federal Police complete disclosure National Police Certificate if you spent 12 months or more in Australia during the past 10 years since turning 16.
• Overseas police certificates for each country where you spent 12 months or more during 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 from issue.

Children under 18

Provide birth certificates, family-book records, adoption papers or parental-responsibility documents.

Obtain consent from any non-migrating person with legal authority to decide where the child lives. Use Form 1229, a statutory declaration, a court order, or evidence that home-country law permits migration.

How to apply

1. Ensure passports or travel documents are valid.
2. Gather identity, work, residence, character, English and family documents.
3. Translate all non-English documents into English.
4. Apply online through ImmiAccount.
5. Attach documents and pay the first application charge.
6. Keep your transaction reference number.

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

After applying

• Check ImmiAccount for requests and upload further documents promptly.
• The Department may decide the application without requesting additional documents.
• You may need health examinations or biometrics.
• Pay any requested second instalment when invoiced.
• Notify the Department of changes to contact details, passport, relationship status, a child’s birth, mistakes, or withdrawal intentions.
• To correct incorrect answers, submit Form 1023 through ImmiAccount.
• Removing an application from ImmiAccount does not withdraw it.

If applying in Australia, remain lawful. A Bridging visa A may take effect when your current visa expires. Do not request cancellation of your current visa: cancellation may make you unlawful and cause the Bridging visa A to cease.

You can be outside Australia when a decision is made. If travelling while the application is being processed, ensure you hold a valid visa to return.

Important warnings

• You and your family must obey Australian laws.
• Provide accurate and complete information.
• Family members generally cannot be added after lodgement.
• No application charge is refunded if the visa is refused.
• Keep a copy of the written visa decision.

New Zealand passport holders

At the border, tell the immigration officer that you hold a Skilled Regional visa (subclass 887) and do not want a Special Category visa (subclass 444). Grant of a subclass 444 visa may cease your permanent visa and affect citizenship eligibility.

Use VEVO to check visa details, conditions and travel validity.