After you have entered Australia on a temporary visa under the General Skilled Migration Scheme, you may be eligible to apply for permanent residence under the Skilled Regional Visa.

To be granted this visa, you must have lived for at least two (2) years and worked full time for a total period of 12 months in a Specified Regional Area of Australia before lodging your visa application. Generally, this is the same regional area that sponsored your temporary visa application.

This visa is for you if you hold one of these visas:

• Skilled – Independent Regional (Provisional) visa (subclass 495)
• Skilled – Designated Area – Sponsored (Provisional) visa (subclass 496)
• Skilled – Regional Sponsored (Provisional) visa (subclass 475)
• Skilled – Regional Sponsored (Provisional) visa (subclass 487)

The Skilled Regional visa allows you and any secondary applicants included in your visa application to live as permanent residents in Australia.

Australian permanent residents can:

• live and work in Australia on a permanent basis
  study in Australia at school or university
• receive subsidised healthcare through Medicare and the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS)
• access certain social security payments (subject to waiting periods)
• be eligible for Australian citizenship (subject to the residency eligibility criteria)
• sponsor people for permanent residence.