SA Skilled Regional Provisional Visa 491

Updated on 19 Jan 2026

This is a state nominated provisional visa for skilled migrants that allows you to live and work in South Australia for up to five years and can provide a pathway to permanent residency.

State nomination from South Australia provides you with 15 additional points to help you qualify for a subclass 491 visa under the Department of Home Affairs points test.

South Australia offers a state nomination pathway for the subclass 491 visa 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. 

Requirements:

To apply for this skilled migration visa, you must:  

• be under the age of 45  
• have a valid skills assessment  
• have an eligible skilled occupation  
• have at least 65 points – you can check your points on the Department of Home Affairs points calculator  
• have at least Competent English 

Please note this is a general summary only – check the Department of Home Affairs Subclass 491 visa webpage for the latest information. 

For South Australian state nomination for this visa, you must: 

• meet the Department of Home Affairs visa requirement 
• meet state-specific occupation requirements and have skills in an occupation on our State Skilled Occupation List 
• be eligible for state nomination under one of South Australia’s nomination streams 

South Australian Graduated Stream :

• Prospective applicants who meet the requirements below can submit a Registration of Interest (ROI) via Skilled and Business Migration portal, and wait to be invited to apply for South Australian state nomination.

  For the 2025-26 GSM program, South Australia will prioritise candidates in the following sectors:

  • Building and construction 
  • Defence 
  • Education 
  • Engineering 
  • Health 
  • Manufacturing. 

  High-ranking candidates in non-priority sectors may also be considered.

  If you have skills and experience in South Australia’s priority sectors, and if your nominated occupation is eligible for subclass 190, you may receive an invitation to apply for state nomination under visa subclass 190. If you have skills and experience in non-priority sectors, or if your nominated occupation is not eligible for subclass 190, you may be invited to apply for state nomination under visa subclass 491.  

  Prospective applicants who meet the requirements below can submit a Registration of Interest (ROI) via Skilled and Business Migration portal, and wait to be invited to apply for South Australian state nomination.

  Eligibility guidelines 

  To be eligible under the South Australian Graduates stream, you must:

  1. Have an active Expression of Interest (EOI) on the Department of Home Affairs’ SkillSelect system with South Australia as your first preferred State or Territory. 
  2. Check if your nominated occupation is eligible under the South Australian Graduates stream on South Australia’s Skilled Occupation List  
  3. Currently live and work in South Australia 
  4. Be under 45 years of age at the time your state nomination is approved 
  5. Have a valid and positive skills assessment for your nominated occupation 
  6. Have at least Competent English. To prove you have Competent English, you need to show evidence of an English approved test and score, or be a citizen of, and hold a valid passport from Canada, New Zealand, the Republic of Ireland, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, or the United States of America. Note that if you hold a valid passport from any of these countries and would like to claim higher levels of English proficiency on your EOI, you must show evidence of an English approved test and score.
  7. Score at least 65 points in the Department of Home Affairs’ points test (including state nomination points) 
  8. Have completed your qualification at a South Australian education provider and meet the following study requirements: 
     • Your course in South Australia must be Commonwealth Register of Institutions and Courses for Overseas Students (CRICOS) registered, with a minimum of 46 CRICOS weeks 
     • Your study meets the minimum qualification level listed for your nominated occupation on the Skilled Occupation List 
     • A minimum of 75% of your qualification must have been completed in South Australia 
     • You must have resided in South Australia for at least one year during your studies 
  9. Have been residing in South Australia for at least the last 6 months 
  10. Have been working full-time for the last 6 months, and be currently employed full-time (at least 30 hours per week). Your job must be related to, and at the same Australian and New Zealand Standard Classification of Occupations (ANZSCO) Sub Major Group (represented by the first two digits of the ANZSCO code). 
  11. Have undertaken your skilled work experience post-course completion.

Skilled Employment in South Australia Stream

For the 2025-26 GSM program, South Australia will prioritise candidates in the following sectors: 

• Building and construction
• Defence
• Education
• Engineering
• Health
• Manufacturing.  

High-ranking candidates in non-priority sectors may also be considered. 

If you have skills and experience in South Australia’s priority sectors, and if your nominated occupation is eligible for subclass 190, you may receive an invitation to apply for state nomination under visa subclass 190. If you have skills and experience in non-priority sectors, or if your nominated occupation is not eligible for subclass 190, you may be invited to apply for state nomination under visa subclass 491. Prospective applicants who meet the requirements below can submit a Registration of Interest (ROI) via Skilled and Business Migration portal, and wait to be invited to apply for South Australian state nomination.

Eligibility guidelines

1. Have an active Expression of Interest (EOI) on the Department of Home Affairs’ SkillSelect system with South Australia as your first preferred State or Territory. 
2. Check if your nominated occupation is eligible under the Skilled Employment in South Australia stream on South Australia’s Skilled Occupation List 
3. Currently live and work in South Australia 
4. Be under 45 years of age at time of state nomination is approved 
5. Have a valid and positive skills assessment for your nominated occupation 
6. Have at least Competent English. To prove you have Competent English, you need to show evidence of an English approved test and score, or be a citizen of, and hold a valid passport from Canada, New Zealand, the Republic of Ireland, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, or the United States of America. Note that if you hold a valid passport from any of these countries and would like to claim higher levels of English proficiency on your EOI, you must show evidence of an English approved test and score. 
7. Score at least 65 points in the Department of Home Affairs’ points test (including state nomination points) 
8. Have been residing in South Australia for at least the last 12 months
9. Have been working for the last 12 months, and be currently employed, in a full-time (at least 30 hours per week) job. Your job must be related to, and at the same skill level as, your nominated occupation. For South Australian nomination, this is generally defined as being in the same  Australian and New Zealand Standard Classification of Occupations (ANZSCO) Sub Major Group (represented by the first two digits of the ANZSCO code).
10. Have undertaken your skilled work experience post-course completion.  

Outer Regional Skilled Stream

Skilled migrants who are currently living and working in an outer regional area of South Australia in their nominated occupation may be eligible for state nomination through the Outer Regional Skilled Employment stream.
Eligibility guidelines 

To be eligible under the Outer Regional Skilled Employment stream, you must: 

1. Have an active Expression of Interest (EOI) on the Department of Home Affairs’ SkillSelect system with South Australia as your first preferred State or Territory. 
2. Check if your nominated occupation is eligible under the Outer Regional Skilled Employment stream on South Australia’s Skilled Occupation List 
3. Currently live and work in Outer Regional South Australia 
4. Be under 45 years of age at time of state nomination is approved 
5. Have a valid and positive skills assessment for your nominated occupation 
6. Have at least Competent English. To prove you have Competent English, you need to show evidence of an English approved test and score, or be a citizen of, and hold a valid passport from Canada, New Zealand, the Republic of Ireland, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, or the United States of America. Note that if you hold a valid passport from any of these countries and would like to claim higher levels of English proficiency on your EOI, you must show evidence of an English approved test and score.
7. Score at least 65 points in the Department of Home Affairs’ points test (including state nomination points)
8. Have been living and working in Outer Regional SA for the last 9 months, and be currently employed, in a full-time job (at least 30 hours per week). Your job must be related to, and at the same skill level as, your nominated occupation. For South Australian nomination, this is generally defined as being in the same Australian and New Zealand Standard Classification of Occupations (ANZSCO) Sub Major Group (represented by the first two digits of the ANZSCO code). 
9. Have undertaken your skilled work experience post-course completion.

Offshore Stream:

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

Offshore candidates must have a minimum of three years skilled employment in their nominated or related work. Work experience must be in the past five years and in a role that is deemed full-time defined as 20 hours per week according to Skill Select.

For the 2025-26 GSM program, South Australia will prioritise candidates in the following sectors (in alphabetical order): 

• Building and construction
• Defence
• Education
• Engineering
• Health
• Manufacturing.  

High-ranking candidates in non-priority sectors may also be considered. 

If you have skills and experience in South Australia’s priority sectors, and if your nominated occupation is eligible for subclass 190, you may receive an invitation to apply for state nomination under visa subclass 190. If you have skills and experience in non-priority sectors, or if your nominated occupation is not eligible for subclass 190, you may be invited to apply for state nomination under visa subclass 491.

For offshore candidates, these factors are based on the information provided in your EOI and include (in order):

1. English language proficiency
2. Years and field of skilled employment 
3. Skills and qualifications level
4. EOI points 

Offshore candidates in priority construction trades will be assessed by the following factors (in order).

Applicants in the construction trades table, must have a minimum of one year of skilled employment in their nominated or related work. Work experience must be in the past three years and in a role that is deemed full-time defined as 20 hours per week according to Skill Select.

Applicants in the construction trades will be assessed on merit by the following factors: 

1. Years and field of skilled employment 
2. English language proficiency
3. Skills and qualifications level
4. EOI points

ANZSCO Code	Occupation
133111	Construction Project Manager
312114	Construction Estimator
322313	Welder (First Class)
331111	Bricklayer
331211	Carpenter and Joiner
331212	Carpenter
331213	Joiner
333211	Fibrous Plasterer
333212	Solid Plasterer
333311	Roof Tiler
333411	Wall and Floor Tiler
334111	Plumber (General)
334115	Roof Plumber
341111	Electrician (General)
341112	Electrician (Special Class)

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.

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.

Please note that offshore applicants are not required to lodge a Registration of Interest (ROI) application through the Skilled & Business Migration online portal.

Apply Online:

Processing Time:

• Skilled Migration: 2 - 8 weeks
• BIIP streams: 2-48weeks (apart from 132VCE and 188E which may take up to 8 weeks)
• Employer sponsored & DAMA: 2 - 8 weeks

Fees: 

ROI: NIL

Skilled Migrants & International Graduates

Skilled Nominated visa (subclass 190)	$381
Skilled Work Regional (Provisional) visa (subclass 491)	$381

Guidelines:

FAQ

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