Subclass 887 COVID-19 concessions: 9 months' work and shorter residence in 2026
How the subclass 887 COVID-19 concessions cut full-time work to 9 months, and cut residence to 18 months for offshore applicants only.
Both onshore and offshore subclass 887 applicants who lodge during the COVID-19 concession period can meet the work requirement with 9 months of full-time work instead of 12. Only offshore applicants also get a residence concession: 18 months instead of 2 years. The Department of Home Affairs sets these requirements out on its Skilled Regional visa (subclass 887) official page, as at October 2026.
How much work and residence can the concessions remove?
The concessions work as a straight reduction against the standard criteria: 3 months off the 12-month full-time work requirement, and 6 months off the 2-year residence requirement. Which of the two you can use depends on where you lodge.
| Where you lodge | Full-time work required | Residence required |
|---|---|---|
| In Australia (onshore) | 9 months — 3 months less than the 12-month requirement | 2 years — no residence concession |
| Outside Australia (offshore) | 9 months — 3 months less than the 12-month requirement | 18 months — 6 months less than the 2-year requirement |
The department states this directly in its eligibility table: employment concession yes for both onshore and offshore lodgement, residence concession yes for offshore lodgement only.
Do I have to be in Australia to lodge?
Normally yes. The department's rule is that all applicants must be in Australia and hold an eligible visa at the time the subclass 887 application is made, unless the COVID-19 concessions apply.
The offshore pathway is the exception. An eligible prospective applicant can make the application outside Australia during the concession period and be granted the visa while still outside Australia. That is what unlocks the shorter residence period, and it also changes which visa history can be relied on (see below).
What work evidence do I need if I lodge onshore?
You must show at least 9 months of full-time work in a specified regional area as the holder of one or more eligible visas, together with 2 years of residence in a specified regional area as the holder of one or more eligible visas.
Full-time work means 35 hours per week. You can combine work in concurrent part-time employment to reach it, and the work can be in your nominated occupation or any other occupation.
What changes if I lodge from outside Australia?
You must show at least 9 months of full-time work in a specified regional area and 18 months of residence in a specified regional area, in each case as the holder of one or more eligible visas.
Both figures carry the same qualification: if the Minister specifies a shorter period in a legislative instrument, that shorter period applies instead. So 18 months is the ceiling of what the department requires on this page, not necessarily the floor.
Which eligible visas count, and does the concession cover an expired visa?
An eligible visa is a subclass 489, 495, 496, 475 or 487 visa, or a Bridging visa A or Bridging visa B after a valid application for a subclass 489, 495 or 487 visa.
Where a subclass 887 application is lodged outside Australia during the concession period, the definition also covers one of those visas that expired during the concession period while the holder was outside Australia. This is the provision that matters for applicants stranded offshore: the visa does not need to be on foot at the time of lodgement, but it must have expired during the concession period and while the holder was outside Australia.
Separately, the person meeting the primary criteria must have held a subclass 489, 495, 496, 475 or 487 visa for a total of 2 years before the application is made, granted either on the basis of satisfying the primary criteria or as the spouse or de facto partner of the person who did. The department's page does not show a concession against this 2-year holding period — it applies alongside the residence and work figures above.
What does "specified regional area" mean for my case?
It depends on how you obtained the eligible visa.
If a state or territory government nominated you, the work and residence must be in a regional or low-population growth metropolitan area. If a family member sponsored you, the work and residence must be in a designated area of Australia. The two definitions are not interchangeable, and the concession does not change which one applies to you.
What else still has to be satisfied?
The concessions only touch lodgement location, work and residence. Everything else on the page still applies:
- You, and any family members holding an eligible visa, must have complied with the conditions attached to your eligible visa when in Australia, for the whole period you hold the visa.
- Functional English at the time of decision, or payment of the second instalment of the visa application charge for your eligible visa, or payment of that second instalment when asked. The second instalment charge is AUD 4,890; pay it only if the department asks.
- Health requirement for you and any family members who apply with you, and character requirement for you and family members aged 16 years and over who apply with you (family members not accompanying you to Australia must also meet it).
- The Australian values statement, if you are 18 or over.
- Any debt that you or any family member (including family members who do not apply for the visa with you) owes the Australian Government must have been repaid or arranged to be repaid.
- No history that would count against you: a cancelled visa or refused application can affect eligibility.
Family members can be included if they hold an eligible visa, and must be included at lodgement — the department states you cannot add them afterwards.
Is the concession period still open?
The department links the concessions to a defined concession period on its visa concessions page rather than restating dates on the subclass 887 page, and the periods specified in a legislative instrument can also move. Treat the figures here as general guidance on how the published criteria operate, not as advice on whether your own application falls inside the concession period or meets the criteria; confirm the current concession period and the current instrument against the department's latest published information before you rely on either figure.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does the 9-month work concession apply if I lodge inside Australia?
Yes. Both onshore and offshore applicants who lodge during the concession period get the employment concession, which removes 3 months from the standard 12-month full-time work requirement. The work must still be in a specified regional area.
Can I be granted subclass 887 while I am outside Australia?
Only through the concession. The department states that eligible applicants can apply outside Australia during the concession period and be granted the visa while outside Australia. Outside that pathway, applicants must be in Australia and hold an eligible visa at lodgement.
My 489 visa expired while I was overseas. Can I still lodge?
Possibly, if it expired during the concession period while you were outside Australia and you lodge the subclass 887 application outside Australia during that period. The concession extends the "eligible visa" definition to cover a visa that expired in those circumstances.
Does the concession also shorten the 2 years I must have held an eligible visa?
No. The requirement to have held a subclass 489, 495, 496, 475 or 487 visa for a total of 2 years before applying is stated separately from the residence requirement, and the department's page does not apply a concession to it.
Can part-time work count towards the 9 months?
Yes, if the jobs run concurrently and add up to 35 hours per week, which is how the department defines full-time work. The work may be in your nominated occupation or any other occupation.
Could the residence requirement be shorter than 18 months offshore?
Yes, in principle. The offshore residence figure is 18 months "or, if the Minister specifies a shorter period in a legislative instrument, that shorter period". Any shorter period depends on what the instrument currently specifies.
Do I have to pay the second instalment?
Only if the department asks. If you do not have functional English at decision time, you can satisfy the English requirement by having paid the second instalment for your eligible visa or by paying it when asked; the charge is AUD 4,890.