Temporary Graduate Visa

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Subclass 485

Overview

The Subclass 485 Visa, also known as the Temporary Graduate Visa is designed for international students who have recently completed their studies in Australia. This visa provides an opportunity for graduates to gain valuable work experience and improve their employability in the Australian job market. It has three main streams:

  1. Post-Vocational Education Work stream (former graduate work stream)
  2. Post-Higher Education Work stream (former post-study stream)
  3. Second Post-Higher Education Work stream (former second post-study work stream)

Basic eligibility criteria

  • Must be 35 years of age or under when you apply for this visa. Holders of Hong Kong or British National Overseas passports are eligible to apply for this visa up to 50 years of age.
  • Must hold or have held a student visa within the last 6 months of applying for this visa.
  • Has not previously held a subclass 476 visa as the primary visa holder.
  • Must have had an Australian federal police check within the last 12 months before applying for this visa.
  • Must have scored a minimum overall score of 6.5 and a minimum of 5.5 in each component of the IELTS test or an equivalent English test such as PTE, TOEFL, etc.
  • Must have adequate health insurance for the intended visa duration.
  • Must satisfy public interest and special return criteria.

Specific eligibility criteria

1. Post-Vocational Education Work stream (former graduate work stream)

Key eligibility criteria in addition to the basic eligibility requirements:

  • Must nominate a skilled occupation from the Medium & Long term Strategic Skills Occupation List specified by the Department of Home Affairs.
  • Must have completed an associate degree, diploma, or trade qualification in an occupation closely related to the applicant’s nominated occupation.
  • Must satisfy the ‘Australian study requirement,’ which includes completing a full-time CRICOS registered course of at least 2 academic years or 16 calendar months while holding a student visa.
  • Must have provisional skills assessment for subclass 485 visa, which was assessed within the last 3 years of applying for this visa stream.

Duration of stay

Visa holders can stay for up to 18 months in Australia under this visa stream.

Processing times

The processing time for this visa can be up to 4 months.

Benefits of this visa stream include

  • Live, study, and work in Australia for up to 18 months. Holders of Hong Kong and British National Overseas passports may stay for 5 years.
  • Become eligible to bring family members to Australia for the same visa duration as yours.
  • Gain valuable work experience and higher employability skills, increasing prospects for Australian permanent residency pathways.

2. Post-Higher Education Work stream (former post-study stream)

Key eligibility criteria:
  • Must hold a Bachelor’s degree or above from a CRICOS registered education provider to be eligible for this stream, completed within the last 6 months of applying for this visa stream.

Benefits of this visa stream include

  • Live, study, and work in Australia for up to 2-3 years depending on your qualifications. Holders of Hong Kong and British National Overseas passports may stay for 5 years.
  • Become eligible to bring family members to Australia for the same visa duration as yours.
  • Gain valuable work experience and higher employability skills, increasing prospects for Australian permanent residency pathways.

Duration of stay for holders of 485 visa in this stream:

  • Bachelor’s degree (including honours) – 2 years
  • Masters (coursework and extended) – 2 years
  • Masters (research) – 3 years
  • Doctoral degree – 3 years

Length of stay for Indian nationals, as agreed in the Australia-India Economic Cooperation and Trade Agreement (AI-ECTA):

  • Bachelor’s degree (including honours) – 2 years
  • Bachelor’s degree (with first-class honours in STEM, including ICT) – 3 years
  • Masters (coursework, extended, and research) – 3 years
  • Doctoral degrees (PhD) – 4 years
  • Holders of Hong Kong and British National Overseas passports may stay for up to 5 years.

3. Second Post-Higher Education Work stream (former second post-study stream)

To be eligible for this stream, holders of the first Post-Higher Education Work stream (PHEW) must have lived, studied, and worked in a regional area/designated regional area while completing their Australian qualification that led to the grant of their first PHEW stream visa.

Duration of stay for this stream

Visa holders can live in Australia for a period of 1 to 2 years, depending on the region of the institution from which they obtained their Australian qualifications. This duration is determined by where they lived, worked, and studied while holding either the post-study work stream or post-higher education work stream visa.

Benefits of this visa stream:

  • Live, work, and study in a regional/designated regional area for up to 1-2 years depending on:
  1. Where you studied and graduated from
  2. What degree you completed as the holder of a Student visa
  3. Where you live as the holder of your Temporary Graduate visa in the Post-Higher Education Work, Post-Study Work, or Replacement stream.
  • Become eligible to bring family members to Australia for the same visa duration as yours.
  • Gain valuable work experience and higher employability skills, increasing prospects for Australian permanent residency pathways.

Processing times

This visa subclass can take up to 6 months to process.

DISCLAIMER:  The information provided above is general and may not be applicable to your specific situation. We encourage you to contact us for a comprehensive analysis that takes into account your unique circumstances.