The 494 Remote Area Employer Sponsored (Temporary) Visa was officially launched on 16 November 2019. The visa is a temporary visa valid for five years and is designed to help remote employers find suitable overseas employees to address Labour shortages in remote areas. A 494 visa holder only needs to have lived/worked/lived in a designated remote area for 3 years and hold 3 NOAs to apply for a 191 Remote Permanent Resident visa. The Australian Department of Immigration defines remote areas as all areas in Australia except Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane. 494 visa in two categories: Employer Sponsored stream: For remote employers who are unable to find suitable skilled workers in Australia to address Labour shortages in remote areas Labour agreement stream: applies to applicants who are sponsored by an employer through a Labour agreement or regional migration agreement

· Visa holders can travel to and from Australia multiple times

· Can bring an eligible spouse/child to apply at the same time

· Can apply for many occupations

· Language requirements are not high

· No EOI scoring required

· The work visa does not have strict requirements for personal and company assets

Age requirement:

· Under 45 years of age (some occupations are exempt from age requirements)

Annual salary requirements:

· Applicants must meet the TSMIT Temporary Skilled Migration income threshold (currently $70,000)

Job Requirements:

· The employer-sponsored category must meet the requirements on the occupation list and pass the occupation assessment, and the labor contract category must have the skills to perform the nominated occupation (the occupation assessment used when applying for the 485 graduate work visa does not meet the requirements). The evaluation letter is valid for 3 years)

· The applicant's occupation must be the nominated occupation and have at least 3 years of relevant work experience

English requirements:

· 494 Remote Area Employer Sponsorship applicants: meet IELTS 4 scores of 6 or equivalent English level

· Applicants in the labor agreement category: do not need to meet IELTS 4 6, only need to meet the job requirements of English ability

Additional requirements for service contract categories:

· If applying for this category, you need to meet the age, occupation and English language requirements specified in the agreement

① Initial assessment of personal situation and customized plan

② sign a contract

③ Australian employers apply for employer sponsorship status

④ Employers submit job nomination applications

⑤ Visa application for nominated employees

⑥ Wait for visa approval

⑦ Visa approved