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491 SA

South Australia offers a state nomination pathway for the Skilled Work Regional (Provisional) visa – Subclass 491 if you meet all state nomination requirements

If you live and work in South Australia for three years on the subclass 491 visa and meet the minimum taxable income level for at least three years (see the Department of Home Affairs website), you may be eligible to apply for permanent residency through the subclass 191 Permanent Residence (Skilled Regional) visa.

There are a range of nomination streams for skilled migrants seeking to live and work in South Australia. Read through each of the streams before applying for state nomination to see if you are eligible.

 

South Australian Graduates

If you are an international graduate, who has studied in South Australia, you may be eligible for state nomination as a skilled migrant faster than other candidates. High Performing Graduates may also benefit from certain concessions or waivers under this stream.

 

Working in South Australia

If you are a skilled migrant, currently living in South Australia and working in your nominated occupation, you may be eligible for state nomination through this pathway. Candidates may include temporary visa holders, international graduates, self-employed applicants, and sub-contractors.

 

Outer Regional South Australia 

Skilled migrants who have made an important contribution to supporting regional South Australian communities and businesses may benefit from certain work experience concessions under this stream. Working holiday maker visa holders may also apply under this pathway.

Eligibility guidelines

The Outer Regional South Australia stream is for skilled migrants working for outer regional South Australian businesses. To be eligible under the Outer Regional South Australia stream:

You must:

  1. Check if your nominated occupation is eligible under the Outer Regional South Australia stream on South Australia’s Skilled Occupation List
  2. Currently live and work in Outer Regional South Australia
  3. Be under 45 years of age at time of state nomination is approved
  4. Have a valid and positive skills assessment for your nominated occupation
  5. Have at least Competent English, unless your nominated occupation requires registration or licensing to practice in South Australia. If your occupation requires registration or licensing in South Australia, you will need to ensure you meet the English requirement set by the registration or licensing authority to work in South Australia. Occupations with registration requirements include trades, education, and health professions. (Note: Passport holders or citizens of the United States, United Kingdom, Ireland, Canada or New Zealand do not need to provide an English language test result)
  6. Score at least 65 points in the Department of Home Affairs’ points test (including state nomination points)
  7. For subclass 491 visa nomination, you must meet the following work experience requirements:
    • Have been working for the past six months in any job (this can be unrelated or related to your nominated occupation)
    • Be working at least 30 hours per week or 60 hours per fortnight
      *If you are a working holiday maker visa holder, your specified work experience can count towards this work experience requirement
  8. For subclass 190 visa nomination, you must meet the following work experience requirements:
    • Have been working for the past six months in any job (this can be unrelated or related to your nominated occupation).
    • Be working at least 30 hours per week or 60 hours per fortnight.
    • Be working in a high skilled position: Skill Level 1 or 2 and receiving a high salary (at least $65,000)
  9. Provide a letter of support from your employer outlining why you should be considered for state nomination

Your employer must:

  1. Be a business in Outer Regional South Australia
  2. Be an existing business for at least 12 months, and have a premise located and operating in Outer Regional South Australia for the past 12 months
  3. Be a business of good standing and there must be no adverse information about the business

 

Long Term Residents

You must:

  1. Check if your nominated occupation is eligible under the Long Term Residents stream on South Australia’s Skilled Occupation List
  2. Currently live and work in South Australia
  3. Have resided continuously in South Australia for the past five years (at the time of application)
  4. Be under 45 years of age
  5. Have a valid and positive skills assessment for your nominated occupation
  6. Have at least Competent English, unless your nominated occupation requires registration or licensing to practice in South Australia. If your occupation requires registration or licensing in South Australia, you will need to ensure you meet the English requirement set by the registration or licensing authority to work in South Australia. Occupations with registration requirements include trades, education, and health professions. (Note: Passport holders or citizens of the United States, United Kingdom, Ireland, Canada or New Zealand do not need to provide an English language test result)
  7. Score at least 65 points in the Department of Home Affairs’ points test (including state nomination points)
  8. Be currently working for the past six months in South Australia in any Skill Level 1, 2, 3 or Skill Level 4 Carer and Aide occupation. To find out the skill level of your work experience, visit the Australian Bureau of Statistics’ Australian and New Zealand Standard Classification of Occupations (ANZSCO) website
  9. Have at least 12 months total work experience in South Australia in any Skill Level 1, 2, 3 or Skill Level 4 Carer and Aide occupation over the past three years. This is cumulative, and inclusive of the six months requirement outlined above
  10. During these 12 months of work experience, you must have worked at least:
    • for subclass 491 visa nomination: 20 hours per week or 40 hours per fortnight
    • for subclass 190 visa nomination: 30 hours per week or 60 hours per fortnight and:
      • be working in a high skilled position: Skill Level 1, or
      • be receiving a high salary (at least $80,000 in Greater Adelaide or $65,000 in regional South Australia).
        Please refer to South Australia’s Skilled Occupation List if your nominated occupation is available for subclass 190 visa nomination under this stream.

If your nominated occupation is listed below, you must meet the following requirements:

OccupationsLong-Term Resident requirements
  • Accountants (General)
  • Taxation Accountants
  • Management Accountants
  • External Auditors
  • Chefs
  • Motor Mechanics
You must have been working for at least the past six months in Outer Regional South Australia, or the past 12 months in Greater Adelaide
  • Cooks
You must have been working for at least the past six months in Outer Regional South Australia

If you are a Safe Haven Enterprise visa holder, you can apply for subclass 190 or subclass 491 visa nomination, under the Long Term Resident stream. To be eligible, you must:

  1. Hold a Safe Haven Enterprise visa (Subclass 790)
  2. Currently live and work in South Australia
  3. Have resided continuously in South Australia for the past four years (at the time of application)
  4. Have worked in South Australia for at least the past 12months in any job (does not need to be related to your nominated occupation). During these past 12 months, you must have worked at least 15 hours per week or 30 hours per fortnight.

 

Highly skilled and Talented 

If you are a highly skilled migrant, who can contribute your demonstrated talent and/or support innovation in South Australia, you can register your interest in state nomination under this pathway. Candidates may include skilled migrants living in South Australia, other Australian states and territories, and offshore.

 

Offshore

If you are currently residing offshore and seeking to move to South Australia, the first step is to use SkillSelect to make an expression of interest (EOI), and select South Australia as your first preferred State or Territory to move to in Australia.

South Australia will be assessing candidates on merit by the following factors, within their nominated occupation:

  1. Years and field of skilled employment
  2. English language ability
  3. EOI points

If you are selected to apply for South Australian nomination, you will have 14 days to submit your application. Your application must demonstrate that you were eligible for the claims entered in your SkillSelect EOI at the time of invitation, so please ensure all the information in your SkillSelect EOI is up to date.

If you are an applicant in a priority nominated occupation, you may be selected to apply for the Skilled Nominated (Permanent) visa (subclass 190), which would allow you to live and work in South Australia indefinitely.

For South Australian state nomination, you must also meet the Department of Home Affairs visa requirements, state-specific occupation requirements and have skills in an occupation that is available on our Skilled Occupation List.

 

491 Skilled Regional Visa
Australian Skilled Regional Visa
491 NSW | 491 VIC | 491QLD | 491 SA | 491 WA | 491 TAS | 491 ACT

 

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