Subclass 494

Subclass 494 is a visa for skilled workers who are sponsored by their employers to live and work in a designated regional area. It also provides a pathway to permanent residency if eligible. It has two streams, Employer Sponsored stream and Labour Agreement stream. Both the streams have different requirements as summarized below.

Employer Sponsored stream

You must

• be nominated by your employer (the employer must be approved work sponsor)

• have an occupation on the relevant skilled occupation list

• have at least 3 years work experience in your occupation

• be under the age of 45 unless exempt

• work only for your employer or an associated entity

• have a positive skills assessment assessed by the relevant assessing authority unless exempt

• have at least competent English unless exempt

Links

Processing times

Visa application charge

Labour Agreement stream

You must

• be under the age of 45 unless otherwise specified by the labour agreement

• be working under a labour agreement

• have the required proficiency level of English as specified in the labour agreement

• have a positive skills assessment from the relevant assessing authority or, if skills assessment is not specified in the labour agreement, show that you have the skills, qualifications and work experience required for the nominated occupation

Links

Processing times

Visa application charge