One of the questions I am asked most often by viewers is this: when someone is still living outside Australia, should they put their energy into 190 or aim for 491? In this note, Negin Safaee, Registered Migration Agent (MARA 1791573), sets out the decision-making framework exactly as she applies it in real cases: first the legal nature of the two visas, then the points structure, and finally each state’s offshore policy. The conclusion is that the answer is neither a slogan nor a matter of chance; it emerges from the combination of occupation, points and state rules.
The short answer
491 and 190 are not equivalent. Subclass 190 is permanent residence from the moment of grant and its state nomination carries 5 points; 491 is a provisional visa of up to five years with a commitment to live and work in a designated regional area, it carries 15 points, and permanent residence is reached via subclass 191. For an offshore applicant, the choice depends on the occupation, the points score, whether the state’s offshore stream is open, and the availability of family sponsorship.
What the law says
The starting point is the difference in legal character between the two visas. In relation to subclass 190, the Department of Home Affairs states expressly that this visa lets nominated skilled workers live and work in Australia as permanent residents. By contrast, 491 sits in the category of provisional regional visas: there are two regional provisional skilled visas for skilled migrants and their dependent family members who want to live and work in regional Australia and subclass 491 is for people who are nominated by a state or territory government, or sponsored by an eligible family member, to live and work in regional Australia. In terms of duration, 491 is a provisional visa valid for up to five years that leads to permanent residence after three years of living and working in a regional area.
The second stage is permanent residence. The Department of Home Affairs defines the pathway this way: subclass 191 (Permanent Residence – Skilled Regional) is for holders of regional provisional skilled visas, and to be eligible they must show that they have lived and worked in regional Australia while holding those visas. In practice, the benchmarks for a 191 application are holding a 491 or 494 visa at the time of application, having held that visa for at least three years before applying, and providing Australian Taxation Office Notices of Assessment for the three relevant income years. Any income figure circulating publicly in relation to 191 must be checked directly against the official 191 page and Schedule 2 of the Regulations before any decision is made; in our cases, the basis is always the official text, never second-hand quotations.
The third stage is the points structure. The points scoring for all three visas — 189, 190 and 491 — comes from Schedule 6D of the Migration Regulations 1994; regulation 2.26AC prescribes each “qualification” set out in the items of Schedule 6D as a points-scoring criterion for the grant of subclass 189 (Points-tested stream), 190, 489 and 491 visas, with the number of points for each specified in that same item. The key point is that the legislature has created two separate parts: Part 6D.12 for “state or territory nomination qualifications” and Part 6D.13 for “nomination or sponsorship in a designated area qualifications”. Under Part 6D.12, item 6D121 awards 5 points to an applicant who has been invited to apply for a subclass 190 visa and whose nomination by a state or territory government agency has not been withdrawn; and under Part 6D.13, item 6D131 awards 15 points to an applicant invited to apply for a subclass 489 or 491 visa — whether on the basis of a state nomination that has not been withdrawn or an accepted sponsorship by a family member. It is precisely this 10-point difference that makes 491 the only practical pathway for a segment of applicants.
Finally, reaching the threshold is not enough on its own. On its EOI page, the Department of Home Affairs writes that you must meet or exceed the points test score of 65 to be invited to apply for these visas — this is a “floor”, not a guarantee of an invitation. Alongside that, state allocations are decisive: on 4 November 2025, the Australian Government set the total number of state and territory nomination allocations for the 2025–26 program year at 20,350, distributed as follows: Victoria 2,700 places for 190 and 700 for 491; New South Wales 2,100 and 1,500; Western Australia 2,000 and 1,400; Queensland 1,850 and 750; South Australia 1,350 and 900; Tasmania 1,200 and 650; Northern Territory 850 and 800; ACT 800 and 800 — a total of 12,850 places for 190 and 7,500 for 491.
The decisive criteria for an offshore applicant: 190 versus 491
| Criterion | Subclass 190 | Subclass 491 |
|---|---|---|
| Nature of the visa | Permanent residence from the date of grant | Temporary/provisional for up to five years |
| Residence commitment | Commitment to the nominating state | Living and working in regional Australia |
| Nomination/sponsorship points | 5 points (item 6D121) | 15 points (item 6D131) |
| Pathway to permanent residence | The visa itself | Subclass 191, after proving regional living and work |
| Family sponsorship | Not available | Applicants who are not nominated by a state/territory government must have a sponsor |
| 2025–26 allocation | 12,850 places nationally | 7,500 places nationally |
A few practical points that carry real weight in an offshore applicant’s case:
- Occupation coverage: the occupation lists for the two 491 streams are not the same; subclass 491 with state nomination has 504 eligible occupations, while its “Family Nominated” stream has 212 (the lists are updated in the Department of Home Affairs’ official tool and must be checked at the time of application).
- Family sponsor requirements: official form 491FS provides that the sponsor must be at least 18 years of age, be an Australian citizen, permanent resident or eligible New Zealand citizen, usually reside in a designated area, and hold a specified family relationship (parent, child/adopted child, brother or sister, and so on), and that any member of the applicant’s family unit who is also a 491 applicant must be sponsored by the same sponsor.
- Whether the state’s offshore stream is open: the process is not identical for those inside and outside Australia. In South Australia, ROI registration is open for people living and working in SA, while offshore applicants are not required to lodge an ROI and are invited directly from an EOI lodged in SkillSelect; in other words, onshore applicants submit an ROI to Skilled & Business Migration, whereas offshore applicants do not, and are invited from an EOI that nominates SA as their first preferred state.
- What nomination actually means: nomination is permission to lodge an application for either a 190 or a 491 visa, and states and territories assess applicants against criteria specific to their own jurisdiction — meaning the state criteria are a layer independent of the federal points test.
What this means for you
If you are outside Australia, the decision should not be reduced to a simple comparison between “temporary” and “permanent”. Negin Safaee, Registered Migration Agent, weighs the decision along four axes: your occupation and whether it appears on the state’s list, the gap between your points score and the real competition in that occupation code, whether the target state’s offshore stream is open and what its allocation is, and finally whether you have an eligible relative in a designated area. For an applicant who enters the competition with 15 regional points and welcomes life in a regional area, 491 is not a “second-class option” but the shortest genuine route to permanent residence; and for an applicant whose points and occupation align with a particular state’s list and for whom the flexibility to move is a priority, 190 makes more sense. What matters is that the choice of 491 is made with a clear view of the 191 stage: three years of holding the visa, complying with the regional residence and work conditions, and tax documentation from the very first month. Our experience shows that cases designed from day one with the second stage in mind are the ones that encounter the fewest surprises later on.
Sources
- Regional work visas — Department of Home Affairs: immi.homeaffairs.gov.au
- Skilled Nominated visa (subclass 190) — Department of Home Affairs (updated approximately one month ago): immi.homeaffairs.gov.au
- SkillSelect — Expression of Interest (65-point threshold) — Department of Home Affairs: immi.homeaffairs.gov.au
- State and territory nomination allocations 2025–26 (set on 4 November 2025) — Department of Home Affairs: immi.homeaffairs.gov.au
- Regional migration — Occupations — Department of Home Affairs: immi.homeaffairs.gov.au
- Form 491FS — Statutory declaration, Skilled Work Regional (Provisional) sponsor declaration — Department of Home Affairs: immi.homeaffairs.gov.au
- Migration Regulations 1994 — Schedule 6D (Parts 6D.12 and 6D.13) — AustLII: classic.austlii.edu.au
- Migration Regulations 1994 — Reg 2.26AC (Prescribed qualifications and number of points) — AustLII: austlii.edu.au
- Migration Regulations 1994 — consolidated text of Schedule 6D — Federal Register of Legislation: legislation.gov.au
- Schedule 6D — full text of items 6D121 and 6D131 (reproduction of Schedule 6D): PDF
- South Australia — Skilled Migration Nomination Requirements 2025–26 (ROI rule for onshore/offshore): visaenvoy.com
- South Australia Subclass 190 & 491 State Nomination (offshore stream without ROI): visaadvisor.com.au
- Subclass 191 — three-year holding requirement and Notices of Assessment: vemvisa.com
- Skilled Work Regional (Provisional) visa — period of validity and PR pathway: pathwaytoaus.com
Choose your pathway with a precise map
Before you lock in your EOI or settle on a preferred state, let’s put your occupation, your real points score and your target state’s offshore requirements side by side on the table. In a dedicated assessment session, Negin Safaee, Registered Migration Agent (MARA 1791573), weighs both the 190 and 491 scenarios for your case — together with a clear map of the 191 stage and a list of the documents you should start keeping right now. Message us to book a consultation; your answer will be based on the text of the law and current policy, not guesswork.
Read the short answer ←
Frequently asked questions
Is the subclass 491 visa permanent residence?
No. 491 is a temporary/provisional visa valid for up to five years that commits the holder to living and working in a designated regional area. Permanent residence is obtained through subclass 191, which requires holding the 491 (or 494) visa for at least three years, complying with the visa conditions, and providing Notices of Assessment from the Australian Taxation Office. By contrast, 190 is permanent residence from the moment of grant.
How big is the difference in nomination points between 190 and 491?
Under Schedule 6D of the Migration Regulations 1994, state nomination for a 190 visa attracts five points under item 6D121, while state nomination or family sponsorship for a 491 visa attracts fifteen points under item 6D131 — a difference of 10 points that can decide whether or not you receive an invitation.
Does an applicant outside Australia need to lodge an ROI?
It depends on the state. In South Australia, for example, offshore applicants are not required to lodge a Registration of Interest and are invited directly from an EOI lodged in SkillSelect (selecting SA as their first preferred state), whereas applicants living in that state must submit an ROI. Each state’s rules must be checked separately at the time of applying.
Does 65 points guarantee an invitation?
No. The Department of Home Affairs has set 65 points as the threshold for entering the invitation process, but this is only a floor. An actual invitation depends on the competition within your occupation code, state allocations (20,350 nomination places for 2025–26) and each state’s own specific criteria.
Which visa allows family sponsorship?
Only 491. Applicants who are not nominated by a state or territory government must have a family sponsor; the sponsor must be 18 years of age or older, an Australian citizen/permanent resident/eligible New Zealand citizen, usually resident in a designated area, and must hold a specified family relationship with the applicant. No such pathway exists under 190.
This answer reflects the law and policy as verified on October 29, 2026. Immigration rules change frequently — confirm the current position before acting.
Mrs. Negin Safaee Registered Migration Agent 1791573
This article is general information only, current at the date shown, and is not legal advice. Do not rely on it for your own situation — immigration law and policy change frequently. Seek advice from a registered migration agent or immigration lawyer about your circumstances.