The time to get a Subclass 494 visa depends on the visa stream you are applying for. The Skilled Employer Sponsored Regional (Provisional) visa allows skilled workers to reside and work in designated regional areas of Australia. The 494 visa in Australia will be valid for 5 years, with an application fee of AUD 4,770. The processing time for a Subclass 494 visa has two major streams: the Employer Sponsored stream, the Labour Agreement stream, and the Subsequent entrant. Applications submitted for the Employer Sponsor Stream may take up to 7 months, while those submitted for the Labour Agreement Stream may take up to 8 months.
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Processing Time for a Subclass 494 visa
The processing time for a Subclass 494 visa depends on the stream you are applying for. The Skilled Employer Sponsored Regional (Provisional) visa has a total of 3 streams, out of which two are major streams. The average processing time for the Employer Sponsor Stream is around 7 months, while the Labour Agreement Stream applications may take 8 months to process.
The complete details of the Subclass 494 visa processing time are as follows:

Also, read…
How much is the visa fee for a subclass 494 visa?
Factors influencing the visa processing time
Several factors affect the 494 visa processing time, some of which include:
- The correctness of the submitted application
- The authenticity of the documents submitted.
- Mode of application (online or offline)
- The time you take to respond to any additional queries or requests regarding your application
- Time taken to complete the required background checks
- Time taken to receive additional requirements, including character, health, and other security requirements
- Total number of spots that are available for PR applications under the migration program
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