Answer 1)

Subclass 491 Visa, as defined under Section 45 of the Act[1] stands for the Skilled work regional (Provisional) Visa often applied by those workers having particular skills who wish to work and live in Australia[2]. Alex who has already been living in Australia on a student 500 visa, which allows the person to live in Australia till 5 years for conducting proper course at an educational institution with the enrolment, his visa is about to expire so he has applied for the extension of his visa, as this visa is a temporary visa. He initially applied for the partner visa 820/801, which can be applied by any person which grants permanent residency once the sub-class visa 820 has been granted, which was refused on the basis that he had ended his marriage with his wife and is currently not married[3].

Currently, he is living on Bridging visa A, defined under Section 73 of the Act[4], which allows any person to extend the staying in Australia after the contemporary substantial visa is either lapsed or the substantive visa application is under process. As per the basic requirements under the subclass visa 491, anyone can enter Australia and pursue education, work, live. This Visa allows the person to stay in Australia for up to 5 years or to live, work, and study in the designated regional area of Australia, travel out and within Australia multiple times till the visa is valid. However, in order to be eligible for this visa, the applicant should either be nominated by the state or must be funded by an eligible family member being a permanent resident in Australia[5].

 In the present situation, Alex will not be eligible for the Visa as the same is not been sponsored by his sister.

Answer 2)

Visa 491- Skilled Work Regional (Provisional) Visa, is a provisional residency visa that is generally available to those workers having specified skills who are willing to live and work in the designated regional area in Australia. It is available to both skilled laborers who are already living in Australia and has been working in Australia as temporary residents[6]. The eligibility criteria for the same are as follows:

1. Applicant requires a nomination from the region or relative.
2. Applicant must have the competent English skills
3. Applicant should submit the expression of Interest (EOI)
4. Applicant should be under the age of 45 years.

Besides the various documents that are also required for the valid visa application which are Passport, Police clearance certificate, Marriage certificate, and Language competency report. Moreover, through this Visa applicant can live in Australia, work, and reside for a period of 5 years, which can also include the immediate family members as well[7]. This visa allows the applicant and the members of their family to reside in a particular regional area while they work and study in Australia. Moreover, the applicant can only apply if he is been nominated either by the territory or state government or by any family been living in Australia, along with that the applicant must have a designated occupation on the skilled occupation list, and have a suitable skill assessment for the occupation[8]. This visa also enables the skilled workers to apply for the permanent residence visa under the category of 191 subclass Visa, apart from that the applicant or either the family members must be holding or living on subclass 010 Bridging Visa A, subclass 020 Bridging Visa b, subclass 030 Bridging Visa C. In the present case, where Alex is applying for the skilled work regional class PS Subclass 491 visa, he is required to meet all the necessary requirements under the same to become eligible[9].

Answer 3)

The 491 Visa provides an applicant to stay in Australia for a considerate term of 5 years on the basis of skilled employment and it allows the visa holder to live, study within a designated area of Australia, where it also provides for permanent residency through subclass 191 permanent residence (skilled regional) Visa. In order to obtain the visa, one has to submit necessarily the expression of interest and must be proposed to apply by an Australian state or territory. The fees that are payable to the department of home affairs for the skilled regional PS Subclass 491 Visa are as follows: 

The Government Fees For The 491 Visa Are As Follows-

 The main applicant has to pay AUD 4045, which is the basic application charges for a visa as defined under Section 45 B of the Act[10], the additional applicant has to pay AUD 4045 and the second installment which is required to be paid is AUD 4890. The said amount is required to be paid only when asked by the immigration department, these costs do not include health examinations, skills assessments, or professional migration agent fees[11]. However, the charge that is payable through credit cards may be slightly different, where the surcharge implies an additional fee that a merchant adds to an applicant’s bill when the applicant’s card is being used. So, if the visa application fees are paid by PayPal, a surcharge of 1.01% will be applicable[12].