Temporary Graduate Visa
Temporary Graduate visa is for international students who have recently graduated from an Australian education institution. This visa allows eligible students to live, work & study in Australia temporarily from 18 months to 4 years after completion of their studies.
It is a good opportunity to extend your stay in Australia, to gain work experience in your field & to improve your chances of becoming eligible for a permanent or a provisional skilled visa
With this visa you can
- Stay in Australia for the duration of your visa
- Study & work (Unlimited) till the visa period
- Apply to bring eligible family members to Australia as dependents
- Unlimited travel to and from Australia till the visa period
Temporary Graduate Visa (Subclass 485) has two streams:
Eligibility criteria:
At The Time Of Invitation You Must
- Be under 45 years of age.
- Have your nominated occupation on the relevant state or territory skilled occupation list.
- Have positive and valid skill assessment from the relevant skills assessing authority in relation to your nominated occupation.
- Be able to obtain minimum score on point test to apply for the visa. Currently it is 65
- Unless Exempt, have at least Competent English (6 minimum in IELTS on each band or equivalent)
- Meet the health and character requirements.
- be nominated by an Australian State or Territory Government.
- Submit an Expression of Interest (EOI) in SkillSelect and be invited to apply from any Australian state or territory government.
Post-study work stream
This stream is applicable to those students who have completed higher education degree (Bachelor, Master, PhD) from Australian Institution and have held a student visa on or after 5th November 2011. With this visa you can stay in between 2 to 4 years depending on your education qualifications.
Bachelor degree (including honours): 2 years
Masters by coursework: 2 years
Masters by research: 3 years
Doctoral degree (PhD):4 years
The Graduate work stream
This stream is applicable to those international students who have recently graduated with skills and qualifications that relevant to an occupation on Skilled Occupation List/ Medium and long Term Strategic Skilled List (MLTSSL). Most Trade Course would fit under this stream. This visa will allow student to stay 18 month.
Temporary graduate visa requirements
- You must be under 50 years of age at the time of application
- You must have held a student visa in the last 6 months unless a concession applies
- Have English scores equivalent to IELTS 6.0 overall and minimum of 5.0 in each module, unless you are holding passport from UK, USA, Canada, New Zealand or Republic of Ireland. The English test must have been taken within 3 years of your application
- Have health insurance for the duration of your visa (OVHC)
- Meet Australia Study requirement
- your course was CRICOS registered course
- completed your course as a result of at least two academic years (92) weeks study
- Have been in Australia for at least 16 months to complete the study
- you must provide evidence that you have applied for an AFP check when you apply
- Have not previously held the subclass 485 or subclass 476 visa as a primary visa holder
Additional eligibility requirements – Post-study work stream
- You must have held a student visa on or after 5th November 2011.
- You must have studied at a Bachelor, Masters or Doctorate Level
- You do not have to study a course which is listed in skilled occupation list
- Skill assessment is not required for this stream
Additional eligibility requirements – Graduate work stream
- You must have held a student visa on or after 5th November 2011.
- You must have studied at a Bachelor, Masters or Doctorate Level
- You do not have to study a course which is listed in skilled occupation list
- Skill assessment is not required for this stream
Extension for Temporary Graduate Visa for regional study
(Note: It does not apply to those who hold the Graduate Work Stream 18month 485 visa)
International students who are holding first temporary graduate visa in the Post-Study work stream and who have been living and graduated from an Australian education Institution located in a regional area will be eligible for extension of 485 PSW visa for 1 to 2 years.
Eligibility for extension of Temporary Graduate Visa
- You must hold a Temporary Graduate visa in the post-study work stream as the main applicant
- You must have graduated with higher education or a postgraduate qualification from a regional campus of a registered university or institution that led to the grant of your first Temporary Graduate visa in the post-study work stream
- have lived for at least two years in eligible designated regional area immediately prior to your second Temporary Graduate visa in the PSW stream
Latest updates and changes form the Australian Government
In the late November 2021 the Australian Government has announced some changes in Temporary Graduate visa:
– The stay period on the temporary graduate(Subclass 485) visa for Masters by Coursework graduates will increase permanently from 2 to 3 years.
– The Graduate Work Stream: applicants will not have to nominate an occupation in demand on the MLTSSL and completion of any 2-year Diploma or Trade qualification in any occupation in a VET college, will be eligible for 2-year Graduate 485 Visa, for all applicants. This will start with applications being made from 1 July 2022.