Who can apply for the Skilled Regional visa (subclass 887) in 2026?

A clause-by-clause self-check for subclass 887: eligible visas, the two-year and 12-month regional rules, and the two conditions applicants most often miss.

Published: 8 October 2026

You can apply for the Skilled Regional visa (subclass 887) if you are in Australia holding an eligible visa at the time you lodge, have lived for at least two years and worked full-time for at least 12 months in the relevant regional or designated area as the holder of one or more eligible visas, and have complied with the conditions of those visas. The Department of Home Affairs sets out these requirements on its official Skilled Regional visa (Subclass 887) page, and this article follows that page as at the July 2026 version. It is general information rather than advice on your own circumstances, so test your situation against the official requirements or a registered professional's assessment before relying on the checklist below.

Which visas count as an eligible visa?

An eligible visa is one of these:

Skilled – Regional (Provisional) visa (subclass 489)
Skilled – Independent Regional (Provisional) visa (subclass 495)
Skilled – Designated Area-sponsored (Provisional) visa (subclass 496)
Skilled – Regional Sponsored visa (subclass 475)
Skilled – Regional Sponsored (Provisional) visa (subclass 487)
Bridging visa A or Bridging visa B, after you made a valid application for a subclass 489, 495 or 487 visa

Where a subclass 887 application is lodged outside Australia during the concession period under the COVID-19 arrangements, an eligible visa also includes one of the visas listed above that expired during the concession period while the holder was outside Australia.

There is a second layer for the main applicant. The person who seeks to satisfy the primary criteria must have held a subclass 489, 495, 496, 475 or 487 visa for a total of two years before the subclass 887 application is made. That eligible visa must have been granted either because they satisfied the primary criteria, or because they were the spouse or de facto partner of the person who satisfied the primary criteria. That same person is the one who must meet the residence and work requirements.

Do you have to be in Australia when you lodge?

Yes, in the normal case. The Department requires all applicants to be in Australia and to hold an eligible visa at the moment the subclass 887 application is made, unless the COVID-19 concessions apply. A bridging visa A or B held after a valid 489, 495 or 487 application can bridge that gap, so losing the substantive visa while waiting on a decision does not automatically end your pathway.

Where the COVID-19 concessions do apply, eligible applicants may lodge outside Australia during the concession period and be granted the visa while offshore.

How do the two years of residence count?

At the time you apply, you must have lived for a total of at least two years — unless COVID-19 concessions apply — as the holder of one or more eligible visas. The geographic test depends on how you obtained the eligible visa:

How you got the eligible visa	Where the two years must have been spent
A state or territory government nominated you	A regional or low-population growth metropolitan area, as set out in the Department's postcode list for subclass 887
A family member sponsored you	A designated area of Australia, as set out in the Department's designated area list

The two years are cumulative, so residence spread across several periods or several eligible visas counts toward the total. The counting question most 489, 475 and 487 holders actually have to resolve is the postcode: if your address falls outside the list that applies to your visa, that time does not count.

How does the 12 months of work count?

When you apply, 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. The same split applies: work must be in a regional or low-population growth metropolitan area if a state or territory government nominated you, or in a designated area of Australia if a family member sponsored you.

Three features of this requirement are easier to miss than the headline number suggests:

Full-time work means 35 hours per week.
You can combine work in concurrent part-time jobs to reach 35 hours per week.
The work can be in your nominated occupation or in any other occupation.

This means a period that looks like casual or fragmented employment can still qualify, provided the hours across all concurrent jobs add to 35 per week and the job was located in the correct area.

What do the COVID-19 concessions change for subclass 887?

The concession arrangements on the Department's page reduce the employment and residence numbers for eligible applicants who lodge during the concession period. The table below reproduces what that page shows.

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

In practice this means the figures differ depending on where you lodge:

Applicants outside Australia lodging during the concession period must provide evidence of at least 9 months full-time work and 18 months residence in a specified regional area, unless the Minister specifies a shorter period in a legislative instrument.
Applicants inside Australia lodging during the concession period must provide evidence of at least 9 months full-time work and 2 years of residence in a specified regional area.

Because the availability of the concession depends on the concession period itself, treat these shortened figures as current only if the Department's visa concessions material still records them as applying. The standard two-year and 12-month figures remain the benchmark for everyone else.

Which two requirements are most often overlooked?

The Australian Values Statement is the first. If you are 18 or older, you must have read, or had explained to you, Life in Australia, and you must confirm that you will respect the Australian way of life and obey Australian laws when you sign the Australian Values Statement. Nothing in the residence or work evidence substitutes for it, and there is no alternative pathway such as paying a charge.

The second is debt to the Australian Government. If you or any family member owes money to the Australian Government, that debt must have been repaid or arrangements must have been made to repay it. This extends to family members who do not apply for the visa with you, so a debt belonging to a relative outside your application can still affect your case. Payments owed for a subclass 489, 475 or 487 second instalment sit inside the same rule, and that instalment is also relevant to the English requirement below.

What is assessed when a decision is made rather than when you lodge?

Several criteria are tested at decision time rather than at lodgement, which is why they are easy to leave off a preparation checklist:

English. At the time of decision you must have functional English, have paid the second instalment of the visa application charge for your eligible visa, or pay that second instalment when the Department asks for it.
Health. You and any family members who apply with you must meet the health requirement. Because you already undertook a health examination for your eligible visa, you will in most circumstances not need another one.
Cancellation or refusal. We will consider your immigration history when we make a decision on your application, which means you might not be eligible for this visa if you have had a visa cancelled or refused. In some circumstances you may still apply for a permanent visa after a cancellation or refusal; the circumstances are set out in Form 1026i, Limitations on applications in Australia. For applications lodged outside Australia, see the re-entry ban information.
Family members. You and family members aged 16 and over who apply with you must meet the character requirement, and family members not accompanying you to Australia must also meet it.

Have you complied with your visa conditions?

You must have complied with the conditions attached to your eligible visa or visas while in Australia, and this applies for the whole period you have held them. Family members holding an eligible visa are covered by the same rule. It is worth checking the conditions attached to each visa in the chain separately, because conditions are not identical across the 489, 495, 496, 475 and 487 subclasses or across replacement visas issued over time. A single breach in an early period of your provisional visa can matter even if the rest of your residence is clean.

Your eligibility checklist in order

Confirm you hold an eligible visa, or a bridging visa A or B after a valid 489, 495 or 487 application.
Confirm you are in Australia when you lodge, unless the COVID-19 concessions apply to you.
Confirm the main applicant held a 489, 495, 496, 475 or 487 visa for a total of two years before applying.
Identify whether you were nominated by a state or territory or sponsored by a family member.
Match each period of residence against the right list: regional or low-population growth metropolitan postcodes, or designated areas.
Total your residence to at least two years, or 18 months if the offshore concession applies.
Total your work to at least 12 months at 35 hours per week, counting concurrent part-time jobs, or 9 months under the employment concession.
Check compliance with visa conditions for every day you held each eligible visa.
Read Life in Australia and be ready to sign the Australian Values Statement if you are 18 or older.
Repay, or make arrangements to repay, any debt owed to the Australian Government by you or any family member.
Confirm functional English or arrange payment of the second instalment of the visa application charge.
Confirm health and character requirements are met for you and the family members included in the application.

For a member of a family unit, apply the character and debt rules to them whether or not they are travelling to Australia with you in this application, while the health requirement applies to family members who apply for the visa with you.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do I need to be in Australia to lodge subclass 887 in 2026?

Yes, unless the COVID-19 concessions apply to you. The Department's requirement is that applicants are in Australia and hold an eligible visa at the time the application is made. Applicants relying on the concession period can lodge outside Australia and be granted while offshore.

Can part-time work count toward the 12-month requirement?

Yes, if the hours add up. Full-time work is defined as 35 hours per week, and the Department allows you to combine work held concurrently in part-time employment to reach that figure. The work does not need to be in your nominated occupation.

Does a debt owed by a family member affect my application?

It can. If any family member owes money to the Australian Government, it must have been repaid or arrangements must have been made to repay it. This applies even to family members who do not apply for the visa with you.

Who has to sign the Australian Values Statement?

Anyone aged 18 or over must deal with it. You must have read Life in Australia, or had it explained to you, and must confirm that you will respect the Australian way of life and obey Australian laws when you sign the Australian Values Statement.

Will I need another health examination for subclass 887?

Usually not. You already undertook a health examination for your eligible visa, so in most circumstances another examination is not required, although you and accompanying family members still have to meet the health requirement.

Does the second instalment of the visa application charge matter?

It does for the English requirement. At decision time you need functional English, or to have paid the second instalment for your eligible visa, or to pay it when the Department asks. That payment also sits inside the rule requiring government debts to be repaid or arrangements made.

What happens if an earlier visa was cancelled or refused?

Your immigration history is considered when the application is decided. An earlier cancellation or refusal does not automatically end your eligibility, but it can — the circumstances in which you may still apply are set out in Form 1026i, Limitations on applications in Australia, and re-entry bans matter for offshore applications.