Introduction
The Skilled Work Regional (Provisional) visa (subclass 491) is now OPEN from 19 April 2021 – 25 April 2021.
If you submitted an EOI from 1–7 February 2021, a new EOI will not be required. Please do not submit multiple EOIs. The first EOI picked up will be processed.
Queensland 491-SBO (Small Business Owners) Pathway is OPEN. The amended requirements for 491-SBO commenced 1 April 2021.
The Skilled Nominated (Permanent) visa (subclass 190) remains CLOSED and will not re-open in April 2021 as quota will be filled with the current pipeline. The subclass 190 will re-open in the next financial year once new nomination allocation has been received by the Department of Home Affairs. Subclass 190 EOI’s submitted from 1–7 February 2021 will be continued to be processed.
QLD 491 Skilled Work Pathway
This stream is for migrants who are currently living and working in Queensland in their skilled occupation (or closely related), and have an occupation that has been identified as a shortage in Queensland.
Employment can be undertaken in the following ways:
- Work for one or more employers
- Two part-time jobs
Applicable regions are the following locations outside of Brisbane:
4124 to 4125, 4133, 4183 to 4184, 4207 to 4275, 4280 to 4287, 4306 to 4498, 4507, 4517 to 4519, 4550 to 4575, 4580 to 4895.
Applicants under this stream must not be currently studying.
Only onshore applicants working in Queensland will be considered.
QLD 491 Skilled Work Pathway-Occupation
The Subclass 491 visa is open to COVID critical skill or sectors as previously outlined:
- Air Ambulance, Critical Medical, Medical Technology,
- Engineering, Critical Infrastructure, Supply Chain
- Telecommunications, Film & Television Production,
- Maritime Industry, Agricultural Technology Food Technology,
- Mining, Emerging Technology, Financial Technology, and
- Large Scale Manufacturing.
The following selected hospitality occupations will also be nominated; however, you must meet all the work experience requirements and caveats detailed in the below table.
Hospitality Skilled Occupations for the 491 visa Round 19 April – 25 April 2020–21
| Occupation | ANZSCO Code | Occupation Caveats |
| Accommodation and Hospitality Managers | 141999 | Requires minimum post qualification work experience of 3 years, including 3 months in Queensland. |
| Café and Restaurant Managers | 141111 | Requires minimum post qualification work experience of 3 years, including 3 months in Queensland.Excludes positions in a limited-service restaurant. A limited-service restaurant includes, but is not limited to, the following: fast food or takeaway food services, fast casual restaurants, drinking establishments that offer only limited food service, limited-service cafes including but not limited to coffee shops, limited-service pizza restaurants. |
| Chef | 351311 | Requires minimum post qualification work experience of 3 years, including 3 months in Queensland.Specialisations: Chef de Partie, Commis Chef, Demi Chef, Second Chef, Sous Chef.Excludes positions involving mass production in a factory or a limited-service restaurant.A limited-service restaurant includes, but is not limited to, the following: fast food or takeaway food services, fast casual restaurants, drinking establishments that offer only limited food service, limited-service cafes including but not limited to coffee shops, limited-service pizza restaurants. |
| Cook | 351411 | Requires minimum post qualification work experience of 3 years, including 3 months in Queensland.Chefs, Fast Food Cooks and Kitchenhands are excluded from this group.Excludes positions involving mass production in a factory or a limited-service restaurant.A limited-service restaurant includes, but is not limited to, the following: fast food or takeaway food services, fast casual restaurants, drinking establishments that offer only limited food service, limited-service cafes including but not limited to coffee shops, limited-service pizza restaurants. |
Notes:
There is no specific occupation list (apart from the occupations listed above), and other applicants must meet one of the critical skills or sectors as listed and email [email protected] detailing how you meet this, including details of employer and role, and how this position is assisting in the COVID response or recovery.
While new EOIs are being accepted, there is a significant backlog of 491 EOIs yet to be processed, therefore it could be a number of weeks before you receive an invitation. Not all applicants will receive an invitation due to limited quota available. If you submitted an EOI from 1–7 February, and did not meet minimum criteria (such as work experience requirements) at this date, your application was closed.
Alumni (Queensland Masters and PhD graduates) must meet the working in Queensland criteria as detailed above.
Applications will be prioritised based on the above COVID criteria and occupations,and BSMQ will not prioritise visas expiring.
QLD 491 Skilled Work Pathway-Eligibility
To be eligible for Queensland nomination, you must meet both the Australian Department of Home Affairs (HA) criteria and Business and Skilled Migration Queensland (BSMQ) criteria for your chosen visa category.
The HA criteria requires you to:
- have a points test result of 65 or higher, inclusive of state nomination points
- have a positive skills assessment in your nominated occupation
- be under 45 years of age
- meet the minimum English language requirement of COMPETENT, unless a higher level is required by your assessing authority
- submit additional documents if invited to lodge an application for a subclass 491 visa .
BSMQ criteria requires you to:
- have an occupation in a critical skill or sector for the 491 visa.
- If you are lodging an EOI for a 491 visa you must be LIVING and WORKING (full-time post-qualification, minimum 35 hours per week) in REGIONAL Queensland in your nominated occupation for the past 3 months IMMEDIATELY prior to EOI submission.
- provide evidence of ongoing employment with a Queensland employer registered in Australia for a further 12 months (minimum of 35 hours per week).
- commit to living and working in Queensland for 3 years from visa grant.
Labour Hire Employment
If you are employed through a Labour Hire company please make sure that they are registered in Queensland. All labour hire providers operating in Queensland need to be licensed under the new Labour Hire Licencing Act 2017 – including, those based interstate or overseas who supply workers in Queensland.
All existing labour hire companies operating in Queensland had until 15 June 2018 to comply with new registration requirements. Evidence that companies comply with these registration requirements will be required.
QLD 491 Skilled Work Pathway-Application process
Step 1:
Review your eligibility criteria, visa conditions and document checklist on the HA website and the BSMQ website. Ensure you meet both the HA criteria and BSMQ criteria, and have all your documentation (including proof of registration if required for your particular occupation) ready before you apply.
Step 2:
For Queensland State nomination, submit an EOI with SkillSelect. Please ensure all information, such as work experience, is included in your EOI. Preference will be given to applicants who select “Queensland” as their nominating state of choice over applicants who select ‘ANY’ state.
Step 3:
BSMQ assesses all EOIs that meet the HA and BSMQ criteria. If you are successful, will receive an email invitation to lodge an application and be requested to provide the BSMQ required documents. Documents are to be uploaded electronically, through the Document Portal link provided in your invitation email. Attachments sent by email are no longer accepted. You can only upload one document per file. If you have multiple documents, please merge and save as one file.
Step 4:
When you have received your invitation:
- Upload required documents
- Pay the non-refundable application fee to BSMQ in order to finalise your application. Do not pay the fee until you have been invited to apply and all documents have been uploaded.
BSMQ will review your application and may request further information.
Notes: You will be given 14 days to finalise your application from the date of invitation. If you are unable to provide the relevant information within this time frame, you must seek an extension from BSMQ. Applications not finalised within time frames will be closed and applicants will need to submit a new EOI if they wish to re-seek Queensland nomination.
Step 5:
Once your completed BSMQ application is received and approved, you will receive an invitation from the HA to lodge your visa application.
You will be given 60 days to lodge your application with HA.
QLD 491 Small Business Owners Pathway
This stream is for migrants who are currently living and operating a small business in a regional area.
Applicants must have an occupation that is on Home Affairs Instrument LIN 19/051, and have a positive skills assessment in their nominated occupation. Applicants under this stream must have full-time work rights and not be currently studying.
Applicable regions are the following locations outside of Brisbane:
4124 to 4125, 4133, 4183 to 4184, 4207 to 4275, 4280 to 4287, 4306 to 4498, 4507, 4517 to 4519, 4550 to 4575, 4580 to 4895.
Notes: It is recommended you seek professional legal and financial advice before making an investment or starting a business. BSMQ takes no responsibility in the event that your business or investment is not successful.
Applicants need to submit a 491-SBO Assessment Form prior to submitting an Expression of Interest (EOI), so that your EOI will be picked up.
From 1 April 2021
- The pre-existing business purchased will need to have been in operation for 2 years instead of 1 year. There will also need to be a minimum purchase price of $100,000 (rather than total investment in the business).
- Furthermore, sub-leases of franchises (such as petrol stations), and home-based businesses (such as courier and cleaning businesses) will not be considered.
These requirements are aimed at ensuring the program is sustainable in the long-term. Businesses that have been purchased prior to 1 April 2021 are not subject to these requirements.
QLD 491 Small Business Owners Pathway-Eligibility
To be eligible for Queensland nomination, you must meet both the Australian Department of Home Affairs (HA) criteria and the Business and Skilled Migration Queensland (BSMQ) criteria for your chosen visa category.
The HA criteria requires you to:
- have a points test result of 65 or higher, inclusive of state nomination points
- have a positive skills assessment in your nominated occupation
- be under 45 years of age
- meet the minimum English language requirement of COMPETENT, unless a higher level is required by your assessing authority
- submit additional documents if invited to lodge an application for a subclass 491 visa.
BSMQ criteria requires you to:
- have an occupation on HA’s Legislative instrument (LIN 19/051)
- have prior business experience (operating the business successfully for at least 6 months meets this criteria), qualifications to successfully run the business, or previous family-run business experience.
- be on a visa that allows full-time work and operation of the business for a minimum of 35 hours per week
- have purchased an existing business in regional Queensland (Note: not available for start-ups or home-based businesses, franchise businesses must have been operating for at least a year prior to purchase)
- invested a minimum of $100,000 in the business prior to submitting an EOI
- have 100% ownership of the business (partnerships or joint ventures not eligible)
- be trading in the business for 6 months prior to application
- employ one (1) employee who is an Australian resident working a minimum of 20 hours per week. Please note: an Australian resident for 491-SBO purposes is an Australian permanent resident, Australian citizen or New Zealand citizen on a subclass 444 Special Category visa.
- provide evidence of sufficient settlement funds.
QLD 491 Small Business Owners Pathway-Application process
Step 1:
Review your eligibility criteria, visa conditions and document checklist on the HA website and the BSMQ website. Ensure you meet both the HA criteria and BSMQ criteria and have all your documentation ready before you apply.
Step 2:
For Queensland State nomination, submit an EOI with SkillSelect. Please ensure all information, such as work experience, is included in your EOI. Preference will be given to applicants who select “Queensland” as their nominating state of choice over applicants who select ‘ANY’ state.
Step 3:
Submit the online 491-SBO assessment form
Step 4:
BSMQ assesses all EOIs that meet the HA and BSMQ criteria. If you are successful, you will receive an email invitation to lodge an application and be requested to provide the BSMQ required documents. Documents are to be uploaded electronically, through the Document Portal link provided in your invitation email. Attachments sent by email are no longer accepted.
Step 5:
When you have received your invitation:
- Upload required documents
- Pay the non-refundable application fee to BSMQ in order to finalise your application.
BSMQ will review your application and may request further information.
Please note: you will be given 14 days to finalise your application from the date of invitation. If you are unable to provide the relevant information within this time frame, you must seek an extension from BSMQ. Applications not finalised within time frames will be closed and applicants will need to submit a new EOI if they wish to re-seek Queensland nomination.
Step 6:
Once your completed BSMQ application is received and approved, you will receive an invitation from the HA to lodge your visa application. You will be given 60 days to lodge your application with HA.
Note: If you realise that a mistake was made on the EOI after receiving a nomination you will have to wait 6 months before applying again.
