Permanent regional residence · subclass 191

Key considerations

• Hold an eligible subclass 491 or 494 at application and have held that visa for at least three years.
• Provide ATO notices of assessment for three relevant income years. There is currently no minimum income requirement for this stream.
• The Hong Kong stream has different qualifying visas and residence rules. Do not combine the two sets of requirements.

Start with the correct stream

This guide focuses on the Regional Provisional stream for 491 and 494 holders. Subclass 191 also has a Hong Kong stream for eligible Hong Kong or British National (Overseas) passport holders with qualifying subclass 457, 482 or 485 histories. Its residence test and other criteria require a separate assessment.

A regional address on another temporary visa does not, by itself, establish access to the 491/494 pathway. Begin with the actual grant notices and visa history rather than an assumption based on where you have lived.

Sources: Migration Regulations 1994: application rules, Schedule 1 (2 October 2026 compilation) · Home Affairs: subclass 191 Hong Kong stream · Home Affairs: subclass 191 Regional Provisional stream

Separate the visa-holding period from the tax years

The Regional Provisional main applicant must hold an eligible 491 or 494 when applying and have held that visa for at least three years. Check the grant date and current status; do not substitute an EOI date, nomination date or the date you moved to a regional town.

The tax evidence uses a separate clock. A relevant income year must have ended before the application date, and you must have held a regional provisional visa for at least part of that year. This is why three ATO assessments and three years of visa holding are separate checks.

Sources: Migration Regulations 1994: application rules, Schedule 1 (2 October 2026 compilation) · Migration Regulations 1994: subclass 191 and 491 criteria, Schedule 2 (2 October 2026 compilation)

Understand the ATO evidence requirement

Home Affairs requires notices of assessment for three income years out of the five years of the eligible visa and states that there is no minimum income requirement. Old guides quoting a fixed annual earnings threshold should not be used for this stream.

A notice of assessment is the ATO’s assessment after processing a tax return. It is different from the return you lodge, an employer income statement or a payslip. Where applicable, collect amended assessments too.

• Retrieve the relevant notices from your myGov inbox or obtain copies through the ATO’s supported channels.
• Match each notice to the income year and your visa timeline; flag missing years or amendments early.
• If you had little or no income, obtain tax advice about your reporting obligations and migration advice about the required evidence. Do not invent earnings or assume the document requirement disappears.
• Resolve ATO or other Australian Government debts, or arrange an accepted repayment plan where applicable, and retain evidence.

Sources: Home Affairs: subclass 191 Regional Provisional stream · Migration Regulations 1994: subclass 191 and 491 criteria, Schedule 2 (2 October 2026 compilation) · Australian Government: receiving an ATO notice of assessment

Review compliance across the whole provisional period

Assess the conditions that actually applied to each person. The legislation distinguishes compliance with the regional condition 8579 from substantial compliance with other relevant provisional and subsequent bridging-visa conditions. Possible exceptions require a specific legal assessment.

A practical review should reconstruct where you lived, worked and studied; when you travelled; changes notified to Home Affairs; and any responses to information or interview requests. A long unexplained gap is easier to investigate before lodgement than during a short response deadline.

The obligations are not identical for every 491 and 494 holder. A 494 history also requires attention to its employer-related conditions. Changing employers, losing work or moving does not have the same implications in every case. Seek advice on the actual dates and conditions rather than relying on a generic “three years working regionally” summary.

Sources: Migration Regulations 1994: subclass 191 and 491 criteria, Schedule 2 (2 October 2026 compilation) · Migration Regulations 1994: points test and visa conditions, Schedules 6D and 8 · Home Affairs: subclass 191 Regional Provisional stream

Prepare a connected evidence file

Organise the application around a dated chronology. For each period, identify the visa held, residential address, work or study location and the records that explain it. The aim is a consistent account that can be checked against the official requirements.

• Identity and status: passports, grant notices, travel history and any bridging-visa documents.
• Tax evidence: the three relevant ATO notices, applicable amendments and evidence addressing government debts.
• Regional history: leases or ownership records, address correspondence, work-location records and study records where relevant.
• Notifications and requests: copies of updates sent to Home Affairs and responses to Department requests.
• Family: relationship, identity, dependency and any child-consent documents, with required translations.
• Health and character: follow the current application instructions and requests for each applicant.

Sources: Home Affairs: subclass 191 Regional Provisional stream · Migration Regulations 1994: subclass 191 and 491 criteria, Schedule 2 (2 October 2026 compilation) · Migration Regulations 1994: points test and visa conditions, Schedules 6D and 8

Check the family group before lodging

Eligible family members can be included, subject to the rules that apply to them. Review births, separation, new relationships and children’s changing dependency since the provisional visa was granted. Do not simply copy the earlier application.

Special provisions may preserve eligibility for some relatives who no longer meet the ordinary family-unit definition, where they hold an eligible visa granted as a family member. These provisions can matter for a child who has turned 23. They require checking against the actual visa and relationship history.

Tell Home Affairs about a child born in Australia after the current visa grant before lodging. Health and character requirements may also involve family members who are not migrating.

Sources: Home Affairs: subclass 191 Regional Provisional stream · Migration Regulations 1994: subclass 191 and 491 criteria, Schedule 2 (2 October 2026 compilation)

Application location, process and status while waiting

You can apply inside or outside Australia, but not in immigration clearance. The current grant-location rule also permits either location, excluding immigration clearance. Check whether any onshore application restrictions or previous refusal or cancellation affect your circumstances before lodging.

• 1. Verify the stream, qualifying visa, three-year timing, income-year evidence and compliance history.
• 2. Complete the family and document review; obtain advice on any missing evidence or possible breach.
• 3. Lodge the online application in ImmiAccount with the required documents and current application charge.
• 4. Monitor correspondence, answer requests and maintain the conditions of the visa you actually hold.
• 5. Check the grant notice before changing arrangements that depended on provisional-visa restrictions.

Sources: Home Affairs: subclass 191 Regional Provisional stream · Migration Regulations 1994: application rules, Schedule 1 (2 October 2026 compilation) · Migration Regulations 1994: subclass 191 and 491 criteria, Schedule 2 (2 October 2026 compilation)

What permanent residence changes

Once granted, subclass 191 permits indefinite stay in Australia. It also carries an initial five-year travel facility. That travel facility is different from the right to remain indefinitely: check your return rights before later overseas travel.

The move to permanent residence should be planned around the grant, not the submission date. While your 191 application is pending, a 491, 494 or bridging visa may still govern your work, residence and travel. A pending application does not itself remove those conditions.

Sources: Home Affairs: subclass 191 Regional Provisional stream · Migration Regulations 1994: subclass 191 and 491 criteria, Schedule 2 (2 October 2026 compilation)

Budget and timing without false certainty

Check the Visa Pricing Estimator for the current stream, family and any concession, then allow separately for medical examinations, police certificates, translations and professional assistance. Keep tax advice separate from migration advice where both are needed.

Use Home Affairs’ processing guide and any stream-specific updates as planning information. A complete application helps avoid preventable requests but cannot guarantee a decision date. Review travel and visa-expiry plans rather than assuming approval will arrive before a personal deadline.

Sources: Home Affairs: Visa Pricing Estimator · Home Affairs: visa processing times guide · Home Affairs: subclass 191 Regional Provisional stream

How we can help

Ausdirect can review the qualifying visa history, identify evidence gaps, assess regional and other condition issues, and help prepare a consistent 191 application within the agreed scope. Where tax reporting needs clarification, coordinate with an appropriately qualified tax adviser. No adviser can guarantee the visa decision.

Questions to consider

Your next step

Prepare your current visa grant, grant and expiry dates, three ATO assessments, a short address and employment timeline, travel dates and details of family changes. Flag any periods or documents you are uncertain about. Use an agreed secure channel for identity, tax and health records.