Subclass 191 visa: Permanent Residence (Skilled Regional)

Streams

Home Affairs lists two streams on its 191 visa page.

191 Regional Provisional stream

The Regional Provisional stream is for people who have lived and worked in designated regional areas of Australia on a 491 or 494 visa, and complied with that visa's conditions.

191 Hong Kong stream

The Hong Kong stream is for eligible Hong Kong or British National (Overseas) passport holders who have held a 457, 482 or 485 visa and lived in a designated regional area.

191 visa requirements

Home Affairs lists these on the Eligibility tab of its Regional Provisional stream page:

• Eligible visa. Holding a subclass 491 or 494 visa when applying, and having held it for at least 3 years.
• Income. There is no minimum income. Applicants provide notices of assessment issued by the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) for three income years out of the five years of their eligible visa.
• Visa conditions. Having complied with the conditions of the eligible visa for the whole time it was held.
• Health. The applicant and family members applying must meet the health requirement.
• Character. The applicant and family members 16 and over who apply must meet the character requirement.
• Australian values. Applicants 16 and over sign the Australian Values Statement.
• Debts. Any debt to the Australian Government is paid back or there is an arrangement to pay it back.
• Immigration history. A past visa cancellation or refusal may affect eligibility.

The Step by step tab adds that applicants provide proof that, as holders of their eligible visa, they lived, worked and studied in a designated regional area. Any debt to the ATO must be paid or under an approved payment plan.

Hong Kong stream requirements

The Hong Kong stream page lists:

• Holding a Hong Kong or British National (Overseas) passport when applying.
• Holding a subclass 457, 482 or 485 visa (granted on the primary criteria) when applying, and having held it for at least 3 years. Visas cannot be combined to meet this.
• Having been usually resident in a designated regional area for a continuous period of at least 3 years immediately before applying, with any work or study in that time also in a designated regional area.
• Having complied with the conditions of the eligible visa.
• Functional English when the visa is decided, or paying the second instalment of the charge.
• Health, character, debt and Australian values requirements.

What the visa lets you do

According to Home Affairs' 191 page, the visa lets holders:

• stay in Australia permanently
• work and study anywhere in Australia
• enrol in Medicare
• attend free English classes through the Adult Migrant English Program, if eligible
• sponsor eligible relatives to come to Australia
• travel to and from Australia for 5 years from grant
• become an Australian citizen, if eligible

After 5 years, a Resident Return visa (subclass 155 or 157) is needed to re-enter Australia as a permanent resident. Home Affairs notes that newly arrived residents may need to wait before they can get some government payments.

Family members and cost

Members of the family unit can be included at lodgement, or added after lodgement but before a decision. In the Regional Provisional stream, family members generally do not need an eligible visa. One exception is a family member who no longer meets the standard definition of a member of the family unit, such as a child who has turned 23 since getting the eligible visa. Family members must meet health and character requirements (Regional Provisional stream page).

Home Affairs' Visa Pricing table lists these charges:

In the Hong Kong stream, a second instalment of AUD 4,885 applies to each applicant 18 or over who is assessed as not having functional English. For any other applicant it is nil, and Home Affairs asks for it only if it is going to grant the visa. From 1 July 2026, a lower charge applies to eligible Pacific Island and Timor-Leste citizens in the Regional Provisional stream. Other costs, such as health checks, police certificates and biometrics, are extra.

Step by step

This follows the Step by step tab of Home Affairs' Regional Provisional stream page.

Before you apply

1. Check that the applicant and all family members have valid passports or travel documents.
2. Gather proof of living, working and studying in a designated regional area, such as leases, utility bills, payslips, reference letters and school reports.
3. Gather ATO notices of assessment for three income years, plus identity, relationship and character documents for the applicant and family members.

Apply

1. Apply online in ImmiAccount, attach documents and pay the first instalment of the charge. Note the Transaction Reference Number (TRN).

After you apply

1. Applicants in Australia may get a bridging visa, which starts if their current visa expires. Home Affairs advises against asking for the current visa to be cancelled.
2. Home Affairs may ask for health examinations, biometrics or more information. Family members can be added before a decision using Form 1436.
3. Home Affairs decides the visa in writing and does not refund the charge if it refuses the visa.

Applying in or outside Australia

Home Affairs says applicants can be in or outside Australia when they apply and when it decides the application, but not in immigration clearance. Applicants in Australia need to hold a valid visa while the application is processed (Regional Provisional stream page).

191 visa processing time

Home Affairs publishes current processing times in its visa processing times guide.

Compare: 191, 491 and 494

The 191 Regional Provisional stream is the permanent visa that follows the 491 and 494 provisional visas.