3 New Skilled Visa Subclasses Soon Exempt from Section 48 Bar
November 3, 2021

If you have had a visa refused or cancelled in Australia, you may be affected by Section 48 of the Migration Act 1958 (Cth).

This section prevents certain applicants who have had a visa refused or cancelled in Australia from applying for a further visa from within the country. There are however some visa subclasses which are exempt from the s48 bar. This means that persons affected by an s48 bar can still apply for those prescribed visa subclasses.


Until now, there were no visas in the skilled visa category persons affected by Section 48 bar were able to apply for.


This is set to change from the 13th November 2021 when 3 new visa subclasses will be added to the prescribed list.


  • Skilled Nominated visa (subclass 190)
  • Skilled Employer Sponsored Regional (Provisional) visa (subclass 494)
  • Skilled Work Regional (Provisional) visa (subclass 491)


This is welcome news for persons onshore affected by Section 48 who were prevented from applying for the above 3 visas, even though they may otherwise be eligible. The COVID-19 pandemic and hard border closure stance taken by the Federal government has prevented Australia from being able to fill critical skills gaps in our market, and this is likely to be one of the key contributing factors in expanding the list of exempt visas to include a number of skilled work visas.


While this will bring some much needed relief to so many onshore prospective applicants, those wishing to apply for the Subclass 189 or Subclass 186 will unfortunately have to find alternative options, with those visa subclasses remaining impacted by Section 48.

If you are wishing to apply for the Subclass 190, 494 or 491, or are seeking to identify an alternative pathway to permanent residency, contact us today to discuss how we can assist. We Are One Immigration Services is located in Ballarat, Regional Victoria – and assist applicants and employers locally, nationally and globally.

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