In short: The subclass 491 is a provisional visa for skilled people nominated by a state or a regional relative. After three years living and working in a designated regional area and meeting the income requirement, you can apply for the permanent subclass 191. On the 491 you remain a temporary resident for property purposes, so most Nepali families rent until the 191 arrives, then buy as first home buyers.
Key takeaways
- The 2026–27 Migration Program allocates 14,110 places to the regional category.
- Designated regional areas cover most of Australia outside the largest cities; the exact postcode list is published by Home Affairs and changes.
- The 191 needs three years on the 491 (or 494) with taxable income at or above a threshold set by Home Affairs for those years.
- Regional first-home price caps are lower: the First Home Guarantee cap outside Melbourne and Geelong is $650,000.
- Buying on the 491 means new dwellings or vacant land only, FIRB approval, and 8% foreign purchaser duty in Victoria; waiting for the 191 avoids all three.
Regional Australia has become a real option for Nepali families. Chefs in Shepparton, nurses in Bendigo and Wodonga, mechanics in Ballarat, carers in Wollongong and IT workers in Geelong all use the 491. The trade-off is time: three years of provisional status before PR. This post explains what regional means, how the 191 works, and how to handle the home question in the meantime. We are mortgage brokers, so for the visa itself rely on a MARA-registered agent and Home Affairs.
What counts as regional
For migration purposes, at the time of writing, designated regional areas include everything outside Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane, with some cities treated as "cities and major regional centres" and everything else as "regional centres and other regional areas". Geelong, Newcastle, Wollongong, the Gold Coast, Perth, Adelaide, Hobart, Canberra and Darwin all sit inside the regional definition even though they are substantial cities. Home Affairs publishes the postcode list; check it before you sign a lease, because living one postcode inside Melbourne's boundary can break the three-year clock.
Note that the migration definition and the First Home Guarantee definition are different. Geelong is regional for migration but counts as "Melbourne and Geelong" for the $950,000 guarantee cap. Newcastle and Wollongong are regional for migration but share Sydney's $1,500,000 cap.
The three-year rule
| Requirement for the 191 (at the time of writing) | What it means in practice |
|---|---|
| Hold a 491 or 494 for at least three years | The clock starts on grant, not on arrival in the region |
| Live, work and study in a designated regional area | Keep leases, utility bills, payslips and tax returns showing regional addresses |
| Taxable income at or above the Home Affairs threshold for three income years | Lodge tax returns on time; a low-income year can cost you a year |
| Comply with visa conditions | No unapproved moves to Melbourne or Sydney |
Lodging your return with the ATO every year matters twice over: the notices of assessment prove your 191 income and they are the documents a lender asks for when you apply for a loan.
Renting or buying on the 491
You are a foreign person while on the 491. The ban on foreign purchases of established dwellings, extended in the 2026–27 Budget to 30 June 2029, means the only purchase open to you is a new dwelling or vacant land, with FIRB approval and its fee. In Victoria you also pay 8% foreign purchaser additional duty on top of ordinary land transfer duty, and lenders that accept 491 applicants usually want a 20% deposit. Our FIRB approval page and buying property as a temporary resident guide cover the mechanics.
Some families still buy, especially house-and-land packages, because they intend to stay in the region for decades and rents are rising. Others rent for three years and pour everything into savings. The numbers usually favour waiting.
Worked example: a family in Shepparton
Bishnu is a chef on a 491 in Shepparton, earning $70,000; his wife Kamala works in aged care on $48,000. They are looking at a new $520,000 house-and-land package.
| Buying now on the 491 | Buying after the 191 grant as first home buyers | |
|---|---|---|
| Deposit required | 20% ($104,000) | 5% ($26,000) under the First Home Guarantee (regional VIC cap $650,000) |
| Lenders mortgage insurance | Usually unavailable or expensive above 80% LVR | Nil |
| Victorian land transfer duty | $26,270 | $0 (first-home-buyer exemption up to $600,000) |
| Foreign purchaser additional duty (8%) | $41,600 | $0 |
| FIRB application fee | Applies | Not required |
| Victorian First Home Owner Grant (new home) | Not available to them | $10,000 |
| Cash needed before legal and moving costs | About $172,000 plus the FIRB fee | About $16,000 after the grant |
For illustration, at 6.00% p.a. over 30 years the $494,000 loan after the 191 costs about $2,962 a month. Waiting three years and saving $1,500 a month gives them $54,000, comfortably more than they need, and they enter home ownership without the surcharge. Try the stamp duty calculator for other prices.
Money plan for the three years
- Save automatically every pay into an Australian account so the genuine savings history is long and clean.
- Keep employment continuous and in the region. Lenders want two years of stable income; the 191 wants three.
- Keep your credit file spotless: no missed phone bills, no buy-now-pay-later.
- Build the deposit from Australian income or documented gifts from family in Australia. Nepal Rastra Bank prohibits capital transfers from Nepal to buy property abroad, so do not plan around money from home.
- Get a lender-ready file assessed six months before you expect the 191, using our home loans for visa holders service.
Regional buying tips
Lenders treat regional postcodes differently. Some cap the loan-to-value ratio in smaller towns or on large acreage; some prefer established housing in Bendigo and Ballarat but are cautious about single-industry towns. New estates on the edges of Bendigo, Ballarat and Wodonga are generally well accepted. For house-and-land, read house and land vs established before you commit, and remember that the $10,000 Victorian grant is for new homes valued up to $750,000 that you live in for 12 months.
Frequently asked questions
Can I move to Melbourne while on a 491?
Not if you want the 191. Living, working and studying in a designated regional area is a condition of the visa and a requirement of the 191. Geelong, Ballarat, Bendigo and the Latrobe Valley are regional; metropolitan Melbourne is not. Check the current postcode list on Home Affairs before relocating.
Is the First Home Guarantee available in regional Victoria?
Yes, once you are a permanent resident. The price cap outside Melbourne and Geelong is $650,000, the deposit can be as low as 5% and no LMI is charged. There is no income cap at the time of writing. Regional Victoria also has the same first-home-buyer duty exemption to $600,000 and concession to $750,000 as Melbourne.
Do lenders accept 491 visas for home loans?
Some do, typically with a 20% deposit, a permanent job and evidence of a pathway to PR. The purchase must be a new dwelling or land with FIRB approval while the established-home ban runs. A broker can tell you which lenders on the panel are open to 491 applicants in your postcode.
What if my income dips below the threshold in one year?
At the time of writing the 191 requires the income threshold to be met for three income years, so a low year can delay eligibility. Talk to a MARA-registered agent about how the years are counted. From a lending view, keep records explaining any dip, such as parental leave, so your loan application still reads as stable.
Talk to GNT Finance
We arrange loans across regional Victoria and, by phone and video, in regional NSW, Queensland and beyond. If you are on a 491 and want to know what the 191 grant will let you buy, we will run the numbers in English, Nepali or Hindi at no cost to you for our home-loan service in most cases. Book a free consultation or call 0426 403 703, or see our Victoria mortgage broker page.
This is general information, not migration, legal, tax or credit advice. Migration rules change often — confirm with a registered migration agent (MARA) or the Department of Home Affairs.
Written by Gorakh Timilsina
Founder, CEO & Senior Mortgage Consultant at GNT Finance. Gorakh started as a broker assistant, spent years as a senior credit officer assessing loan applications, and now helps Melbourne families get the right loan approved. English, Nepali and Hindi spoken.