You can only apply for this visa if you are invited to.

You must be either nominated by an Australian state or territory government agency or indicate that you will be sponsored by an eligible relative.

Your sponsor must be:
– 18 years old or older
– usually resident in a designated area of Australia
– be an Australian citizen, an Australian permanent resident, or an eligible New Zealand citizen
– be your or your partner’s eligible relative

An eligible relative can be:
– a parent
– a child or step-child
– a brother, sister, adoptive brother, adoptive sister, step-brother or step-sister
– an aunt, uncle, adoptive aunt, adoptive uncle, step-aunt or step-uncle
– a nephew, niece, adoptive nephew, adoptive niece, step-nephew or step-niece
– a grandparent, or
– a first cousin

You must be aged under 45 to be invited to apply for the visa.

You can still apply for the visa if you turn 45 after you are invited to apply.

If you turn 45 after you submit your EOI but before you are invited to apply you will not receive an invite.

For your application to be valid, you must declare that you have a suitable skills assessment at time of invitation. You will need to provide a copy of this skills assessment with your application.

Your skills assessment must have been obtained in the 3 years before the date of your invitation. If the assessment was for a shorter period, that period must not have passed.

If your skills were assessed on the basis of a qualification you got in Australia when you held a student visa, the qualification must be from studying a course registered on CRICOS.

The subclass 491 is a points-tested visa.

When you submit your EOI in SkillSelect you will be given an indicative points score based on the claims you have made. If you do not obtain a score of 65 points you will not be invited to apply for this visa.

When you lodge your application you must provide evidence supporting your claims.

At the time of invitation, you must have at least Competent English.

If a family member 18 years or older is applying for the visa with you, either:
– they must have functional English or
– they must pay a second instalment visa application charge

Your occupation must be on the combined list of eligible skilled occupations for a Skilled Regional (subclass 491) visa.

You and any family members who apply for the visa with you must meet health requirement.

You and family members aged 16 years and over who apply for the visa with you must meet character requirement.

You might not be eligible for this visa if you have had a visa cancelled or refused while you were in Australia.