- You must hold your 491 or 494 when you apply and have held it for at least 3 years.
- You must have complied with your visa conditions, including living, working and studying only in a designated regional area (condition 8579).
- You need ATO notices of assessment for 3 relevant income years.
- There is no points test, no new nomination, no skills assessment, no English test and no age limit in the 191 criteria for this stream.
What the 191 is
The 191 is the permanent visa for people who already hold a 491 or 494 regional provisional visa. You need to have held that visa for at least 3 years, kept to its regional conditions and have tax notices of assessment for 3 income years. There is no points test, no new nomination and no skills assessment in the 191 criteria.
The main applicant charge is $630 from 1 Jul 2026, with $315 for each additional adult and $160 for each child.
The three tests
- Time: at least 3 years holding the 491 or 494, counted from grant, and you must still hold it when you lodge. The visa lasts 5 years, so the window is between year 3 and expiry.
- Conduct: substantial compliance with your visa conditions, and compliance with condition 8579: while in Australia you lived, worked and studied only in a designated regional area. Work frequently and routinely done outside a designated regional area has been described in Home Affairs material as not meeting the condition.
- Tax: notices of assessment, and any amended notices, for 3 relevant income years: years that ended before you applied and in which you held the visa. A year with no tax return has no notice of assessment.
The income requirement
The Regulations require your taxable income for each of the 3 relevant income years to be at least an amount set by legislative instrument. We could not confirm a current dollar figure from an official source, so we do not publish one, and we do not say there is no minimum either. Check the income section of the Home Affairs Regional Provisional stream page on the day you plan to lodge, or book a consultation and we will check the current instrument with you.
Keep these records from day one
- Every home address with dates, and the lease, bills or rates notices that prove it.
- Every job: employer, work location, payslips and contracts.
- Every course: provider, campus and enrolment records.
- Travel dates for time spent outside Australia.
- ATO notices of assessment for each income year, downloaded from myGov.
Check each postcode against the Home Affairs designated regional areas list. For a 491 the area is tested at the date your visa was granted; for a 494, at the date of the nomination.
Check yourself
Our free 191 eligibility checker walks through the published requirements, including the condition 8579 questions most people miss. The score is the share of applicable requirements met, for general use only. For a full assessment, especially if you spent time outside a regional area, book a consultation.
General information only, not migration advice. Facts checked 13 Nov 2026. Rules can change at any time.
Want advice on your own case?
Talk to our registered migration agents (MARN 2518931, 2619448) in Glenroy, Parramatta or online.
General information only. This is not migration advice for your circumstances. Rules change, so always check the official source or speak with a Registered Migration Agent (MARN 2518931, MARN 2619448).
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