Skilled Regional Permanent Visa 887
Skilled Regional Permanent Visa
This visa is for people who have lived and worked in specified areas of regional Australia on a previous, eligible visa.
Overview of Skilled Regional Visa 887
Stay
Permanently
Cost
From AUD415
Processing times
- 75% of applications: 20 months
- 90% of applications: 26 months
With this visa, you can
- work and study anywhere in Australia
- sponsor eligible relatives for permanent residence
- apply for Australian citizenship, if eligible
You must
- hold an eligible visa or have held an eligible visa that expired outside Australia during the concession period
- have lived for at least 2 years and worked full time for at least 1 year in a specified regional area, unless COVID-19 concessions apply
- have complied with the conditions of the eligible visa you hold or have held
About The skilled regional visa subclass 887
With this visa you can
- stay in Australia permanently
- work and study in Australia
- enrol in Australia’s public health care scheme, Medicare
- sponsor your relatives to come to Australia
- travel to and from Australia for 5 years
- if eligible, apply for Australian citizenship
Newly arrived residents may have to wait before they can access certain Australian Government payments and benefits.
How long can you stay
This is a permanent visa. It lets you stay in Australia indefinitely.
The visa has a travel component that expires 5 years after the date of visa grant.
For citizenship purposes, your permanent residence starts on the day:
- we grant the visa if you are in Australia.
- you enter Australia on this visa if you are outside Australia.
Include family
You can include members of the family unit in your application if they currently hold an eligible visa. You must include each family member who is eligible to apply for this visa at the time you lodge your application. You can’t add family members after you have submitted your application.
You can include family members who no longer meet the standard definition of member of the family unit provided they hold an eligible visa that was granted on the basis that they were a member of your family unit. This provision would apply, for example, if you want to include a child in your application who has turned 23 years of age since they were granted an eligible visa.
Family members included in your application must meet our health and character requirements. Family members not accompanying you to Australia may also need to meet our health and character requirements.
Newborn children
If you have a child who was born either in or outside Australia since you were granted your current visa you must tell us about your child before you lodge this application. Find out what to do if your child is born after we granted your current visa. If we have not linked your child’s current visa to their passport you will be unable to lodge their application online.
Cost
The visa costs AUD415 for the main applicant.
There is also a charge for each family member who applies for the visa with you.
You might have to pay an extra charge for any member of the family unit applicant 18 years old or older who has less than functional English. This charge is called the second instalment charge. Pay it only when we ask you to. We ask for the charge only if we are going to grant the visa.
The second instalment charge is AUD4,890.
To work out what your visa will cost use the Visa Pricing Estimator. The estimator does not take into account the second instalment or other costs. You might also have to pay other costs for health checks, police certificates and biometrics.
Apply from
You can be in or outside Australia when you apply for the visa and when we decide on your application, but not in immigration clearance.
Processing times
We assess applications on a case-by-case basis, and actual processing times can vary due to individual circumstances including:
- whether you have lodged a complete application, including all necessary supporting documents
- how quickly you respond to any requests for additional information
- how long it takes to perform required checks on the supporting information provided
- how long it takes to receive additional information from external agencies, particularly in relation to health, character, and national security requirements
- how many places are available in the migration program
Your obligations
You and your family must follow Australian laws.
Travel
You can travel in and out of Australia as many times as you want for 5 years from the date we grant the visa. After 5 years you will need a Resident Return (RRV) to re-enter Australia as a permanent resident.
Visa label
We will digitally link your visa to your passport. You will not get a label in your passport.
Eligibility for subclass 887 Skilled Visa
COVID-19 concessions
From 19 September 2020, COVID concessions to lodgement and eligibility requirements will be available to eligible prospective Skilled – Regional visa (subclass 887) applicants where they meet criteria set out below.
Applicants outside of Australia
Eligible prospective subclass 887 visa applicants can make their visa application outside Australia during the concession period and be granted the visa while they are outside Australia. Applicants outside of Australia who lodge during the concession period are given access to shorter employment requirements and shorter residence requirements.
These applicants must provide evidence of at least:
- 9 months full-time work in a specified regional area (or, if the Minister specifies a shorter period in a legislative instrument, that shorter period), and
- 18 months residence in a specified regional area (or, if the Minister specifies a shorter period in a legislative instrument, that shorter period).
Applicants inside Australia
Eligible prospective subclass 887 applicants inside Australia who lodge during the concession period are given access to shorter employment requirements.
These applicants must provide evidence of at least:
- 9 months full-time work in a specified regional area, and
- 2 years of residence in a specified regional area.
| Location | Employment concession (3 months off the 12 month requirement) | Residence concession (6 months off the 2 year requirement) |
|---|---|---|
| Onshore lodgement | Yes | No |
| Offshore lodgement | Yes | Yes |
Have an eligible visa
All applicants must be in Australia and hold an eligible visa at the time a subclass 887 visa application is made unless COVID-19 concessions apply.
An eligible visa is a:
- subclass 489, 495, 496, 475 or 487 visa, or
- Bridging visa A or Bridging visa B, after having made a valid application for a subclass 489, 495 or 487 visa, or
-
where a subclass 887 visa is lodged outside Australia during the concession period, a visa mentioned above that expired during the concession period while the holder was outside Australia.
The person seeking to satisfy the primary criteria must also have held one or more of the following eligible visas for a total of 2 years before a subclass 887 visa application is made:
- 489, 495, 496, 475 or 487 visa.
Note: The person seeking to satisfy the primary criteria will be the person who seeks to meet the 887 work and residence requirements.
Meet our residence requirement
At the time you apply for this visa you must have lived for a total of at least 2 years (unless COVID-19 concessions apply), as the holder of one or more eligible visas, in:
- a regional or low-population growth metropolitan area if a state or territory government nominated you for your eligible visa, or
- a designated area of Australia if a family member sponsored you for your eligible visa.
Meet our work requirement
When you apply for this visa you must have worked full-time for at least 12 months (unless COVID-19 concessions apply), as the holder of one or more eligible visas:
- in a regional or low-population growth metropolitan area, if a state or territory government nominated you for your eligible visa, or
- a designated area of Australia if a family member had sponsored you for your eligible visa.
Full time work means 35 hours per week. You can combine work in concurrent part-time employment to satisfy this requirement. You can work in your nominated occupation or any other occupation.
Have complied with conditions of your eligible visa
You, and any family members holding an eligible visa, must have complied with the conditions attached to your eligible visa when in Australia. This requirement applies for the whole period you hold the visa(s).
Have this level of English language
At the time we make a decision on your application you must:
- have functional English, or
- have paid the second instalment of the visa application charge for your eligible visa, or
- pay the second instalment of the visa application charge when we ask for it
Meet our health requirement
You and any family members who apply for the visa with you must meet our health requirement. As you undertook a health examination for your eligible visa, in most circumstances you will not need to undertake another one.
Meet our character requirement
You and family members aged 16 years and over who apply for the visa with you must meet our character requirement.
Family members not accompanying you to Australia must also meet the requirement.
Sign the Australian values statement
If you are 18 years of age or older, you must:
- have read, or had explained to you, the Life in Australia and
- confirm you will respect the Australian way of life obey Australian laws when you sign an Australian Values Statement
Have paid back your debt to the Australian Government
If you or any family members (including those who do not apply for the visa with you) owe the Australian Government money, you or they must have paid it back or arranged to pay it back.
Not have had a visa cancelled or a previous application refused
You might not be eligible for this visa if you have had a visa cancelled or refused while you were in Australia. Check if visa cancellation affects your eligibility
