It has been over three years since the 491 on one and 494 skilled regional visas were created. Many visa holders are waiting for the date when they can apply for a 191 visa.

The 191 visa is a permanent visa pathway for the 491 and 494 visas. With this visa, you can stay in Australia permanently and apply for citizenship once all other requirements are met.

Please note the full legislative instrument has not yet been made.

We expect further developments will soon be announced to clarify the requirements for the one on one. Please watch the video below to have a deep understand about 191 Visa requirements.

The 191 Visa requirements

There are two main streams for the 191 visa application.

The first one is through the regional provisional visa, the 491 and the 494. The second one is the Hong Kong regional strain for Hong Kong passport holders. To be eligible for the regional provisional strain. For the 191, you must have held the 494 for or 491 visa for three years have earned the minimum income threshold requirement for the last three financial years as the holder of the above provisional visa have complied with the conditions of the regional provisional visa.

(191 Visa Condition 8579)

There is a residential requirement for applicants who've held the 491 or 491 visa. This is condition 8579. The holder whilst in Australia must live, work and study in a designated regional area at the time the visa was granted. This also applies to eligible secondary visa holders.

191 visa requirement and criteria

Most people might be confused about how to calculate the income year for the 191 visa.

A relevant income year is counted if the income year ended before the date of the application. The applicant held a regional provisional visa for all or part of the income year. Another criteria that draws a lot of attention is the amount of income.

For now, people are sticking with the number of 53,900 as the income threshold required for the 191 visa. The government may refer to this temporary skilled migration income threshold or TSMIT  as that amount? However, there is no legislative instrument that mentions the exact number. Instead, they use the minimum income threshold on the department's website. The TSMIT has been frozen at 53 900 since 2013.

It could be reviewed and adjusted up at any time.

Case study - Income threshold

We're going to give you an example of how the relevant income year is calculated.

Applicant A has their visa granted on the 16th of November 2019. So, when can they apply for a one on one visa? Given that they may all income and other requirements.

The three relevant income years will be counted from the 2019 to 2020 year. Then the 2020 to 21 year. And finally the 21 to 2022 financial year. However, only into after the 16th of the 11th 2022. Can the applicant apply for the visa because that's when the three years residence requirement will be met.

We hope this scenario is helpful to clarify your questions. If you have other questions, you can look at booking an appointment for a consultation with us to get the best advice.

(Hong Kong 191 Visa Streams)

Most Hong Kong or British national overseas passport holders will be eligible to apply for the 191 visa. If the applicants have held the following visas, the 457, the 482 or the 485 visa lived work and study during the three years ending immediately prior to the application. Have functional English complied with all other conditions attached to the eligible visa when they were in Australia. Please note that multiple visas, including visas of the same subclass, cannot be combined to meet the criteria.

191 Visa Documentation

The most important documents to be prepared are residential documents and taxable income documents.

It is important to remember that applicants need to compile three years of documents, so planning ahead is very, very vital.

You must provide proof that you've lived, worked and studied in a designated regional area. You must also provide proof of earning a minimum taxable income for the full 491 or 494 holders. Income evidence can be taken from the Australian taxation Office.

Talk to a professional lawyer or agent for the best advice in relation to a 191 application. There are still some clarifications that are required from the Federal Government. The Federal Government needs to hurry up in relation to making the instruments and policy to provide the requirements for the 191 visa.

When they're doing this, we encourage them to consider flexible requirements for the following situations.

Those that were not able to meet the income requirement due to the effects of the COVID on the employment market.

Another situation is visa holders that may have suffered family violence and have been unable to meet the income requirements. We look forward to some more flexible policy and socially responsible policy from the Department of Home Affairs.