Visa 491 Family Sponsored Stream – All You Need To Know
The 491 Family Sponsored Visa is a provisional visa that allows you to live and work in the Australian Regional Area for 5 years. One of the 491 Family Sponsored Visa requirements is that you must be nominated by a close relative who lives in the Australian Regional Area. Other than that, you must pass the 65 point test mark to be eligible for the visa.
You can apply for permanent residence after you hold the 491 Family Sponsored Visa for at least for 3 years. And you must meet certain financial and residential requirements, too.
Being nominated is not the only thing you need. There are various other requirements you must meet and ONE derland Consulting has summarised them below.
Key Eligibility Requirements for 491 Visa Family Sponsored Stream
The requirements for 491 family sponsored visa includes:
- Be invited to apply for 491 visa (in this case, you must lodge EOI first)
- Be sponsored by an eligible relative or family member
- Score at least 65 points
- Be under 45 years old
- Have a suitable skills assessment (with positive outcome)
- Have at least Competent English level (for main applicant) and Functional English level (for additional applicant above 18 years old)
- Meet the health and character requirement
The only difference that you might have noticed is that you must have an eligible family member in Australia to be your sponsor. So, who is considered an eligible family member?
Read more: Skilled Work Regional (Provisional) Visa Subclass 491
Eligible Family Member Requirement for Family Sponsored 491 Visa
The eligible family member for Family Sponsored 491 Visa must be:
- an Australian citizen, a permanent resident or eligible New Zealand citizen,
- 18 years age or older,
- live in designated regional area of Australia,
- related to the applicant as the biological family (parent, a child or a brother and a sister); or
- be the guardian of the main applicant (the aunt, uncle, grandparent, nephew, niece, or first cousin); or
- be related to the main applicant as if you are part of their lawfully legal family as an adoptive brother, step brother or
- step-sister and step-child.
- providing proof of your personal household documents. These may include:
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- a Rate Notice or Rental Agreement,
- Leases,
- Utility Bills,
- an Address on the Electoral Roll, and
- Tax Returns.
Moving from 491 Family Sponsored Visa to Permanent Residency
The 491 Family Sponsored Visa offers a direct path to permanent residence after three years of validity. Those who stay and work in Australia’s designated regional areas will be able to switch to the subclass 191 visa. You must have held a 491 visa in a regional area for at least three years and had taxable income at or above the specified income threshold, which is currently $70,000. Your Notice of Assessments from the Australian Tax Office and proof of your residence for the last three years will be required.
For you who have a qualifying relative residing in a specific regional area of Australia, the Family Sponsored stream of the 491 Visa is an excellent choice as it offers a straight-forward route to permanent residency. Speak with a migration lawyer at ONEderland Consulting for additional details and a free initial consultation.
What about the process?
You have to pass 3 steps to lodge the 491 Family Sponsored Visa, which include:
- Skills Assessment process,
- Expression of Interest (EOI) submission, and
- 491 Visa application
Step 1: Skills Assessment Process
The first step is you must complete a skills assessment with the respective Skills Assessing Authority. The Department of Home Affairs will determine whether you possess the necessary skill in your selected field to be employed in Australia based on the results of your skills assessment.
Steps 2: Expression of Interest (EOI) Submission
The next step is you must lodge an Expression of Interest (EOI) for 491 Visa. You can tick “family sponsored” as your preferred stream. After that, the system will ask where your family member resides.
The EOI will not assess your family member’s eligibility for the sponsorship. However, once you received an invitation to lodge the family sponsored 491 visa, you must be able to provide evidence that your family member meets the eligibility to sponsor you.
Step 3: 491 Family Sponsored Visa Application
Once you receive an Invitation to Apply, you can submit your final and complete 491 Visa Family Sponsored application for approval by the Australian Government. Currently the application is processed between 9 – 19 months.
Other than that, you must pay the application fee in the amount of $4,640. If you have any dependent aged above 18 years old, you have to pay additional fee of $2,320 and $1,160 for each child under 18 years of age.
The visa fee above may increase in July every year following the Australian financial year.
Sounds complex? Get in touch with us via email at [email protected] or phone at 1300 827 159 and we will explain the process in detail.
What does it mean for you?
This could be your opportunities to maintain your household. Migration continuously is the best pathway for you to start a new beginning in a new country; that might be far away from your hometown.
However, with this Family Sponsored Stream; this is the opportunity for you to be able to settle and work in the country with your family members.
If you have this kind of questions:
- May I be the sponsor of a dependent applicant who is my lawfully legal family?
- Does this stream might be applied with different costs?
Make sure that you’ve got the right pathway. You may contact the professional agent that is already mastered in their fields and continuously maintain the household in your migration process.
Are you looking for professional assistance for your Family Sponsored 491 Visa applications?
Our visa specialists at ONEderland Consulting will assist and give you complete suggestions about the 491 family sponsored visa requirements. We have a 98% success rate and are one of Australia’s most highly recommended migration agents. Read our 4.9* score customer reviews.
We are complex visa specialists. As a registered Australian migration agent with the Migration Agents Registration Authority (MARA), we are regulated in our professional practice and bound by the profession’s Code of Conduct issued by the Migration Agents Registration Authority.
Take the first step and get in touch with us. Our team members are professional and honest and speak various languages, such as Mandarin/ Chinese, Bahasa Indonesia, Arabic, Japanese, and Thai. Contact us through email at [email protected] or via phone at 1300 827 159. Alternatively, you may book your consultation online, and it is backed by our 100% Money Back Guarantee Program.
