485 Visa is a temporary visa for international students who have completed 2 years study in Australia. It can be of 18 months or 2 years, depending on the education you have completed.
Great opportunity for students who would like to extend their stay in Australia after completed studies. It also helps those who are seeking to stay in Australia permanently – either through General Skilled Migration or employer sponsorship.
Eligibility Requirement for Temporary Graduate Visa 485
There are two eligibility streams for the Temporary Graduate Subclass 485 Visa:
- Post Study Work Stream: This stream is for the one who bachelors and masters. It provides visa stay for 2 years. Students need to complete studies at the Bachelor, Masters or Doctorate level which take at least 2 academic years. It lets you live, work and study in Australia, temporarily.
- The Graduate Work Stream: This stream is for the one who completed diploma or certificates. Maximum stays of 18 months from the date of grant. It lets you live, study and works in Australia temporarily.
General Requirement for 485 Visa Subclass
Age Limit
The main applicant must be under 50 at the date of lodgement.
English Requirement:
The applicant must have IELTS 6 overall score or and at least 5 in each band;
Study in Australia:
You must meet the 2-year study requirement and have completed qualifications within six months of applying for the visa. (You must hold an eligible visa at the time you apply for this visa, e.g. student visa)
SKILL ASSESSMENT:
You will need to pass skills assessment in your nominated occupation – this will depend on the occupation and will generally be based on your qualifications, English language ability, and any registration requirements.
Note: Skills assessment is NOT required for the post-study work visa.
HEALTH CHECKS
You would generally need to pass medicals for a grant for a 485 visa. If you’ve recently applied for a student visa extension, you may be able to re-use these medicals.
TIME LIMIT
You must apply for your 485 visa within 6 months of completion of your studies. You must either hold a student visa when you apply or have held a student visa within most recent a half year.
Specific Requirements for Graduate Work Stream 485 Visa
- Valid only for 18 months
- Each degree, diploma or trade qualification used to meet the Australian study requirement is closely related to your nominated skilled occupation.
- You must provide evidence that your nominated occupation is on the Skilled Occupation Lists (SOL) and that your skills have been assessed by a relevant assessing authority as suitable for your nominated skilled occupation.
Specific Requirements for Post-study Work Stream
- 2 years visa can be granted for a Bachelor or Master’s degree, 3 years for Master by Research and a 4 years visa for a Doctorate or Ph.D. degree.
- You must have completed one or more of the following qualifications in Australia: Bachelor degree, Masters, Ph.D., and Doctorate.
- Study resulting in a diploma level qualification or trade qualification will not be considered.
Degree- level courses packaged with a Graduate Certificate or Graduate Diploma course may be considered.
Including Family Members
- You can include the following types of family members in your application:
- Spouses, de facto partners, and same-sex partners
- Dependent children
- If you already hold a 485 visa, you can apply for family members to join you in Australia on 485 visas.
Apply from
The essential applicant must be in Australia when they make their application for a 485 visa and must have held an eligible student visa within the 6 month period before to lodgement.
Resulting contestants can be in or outside Australia when they apply and when grant them the visa.
Update: 485 Graduate Visa changes in 2022
In Nov 2021 the government announced that all graduates from master’s degree courses by Coursework will have open to a 3-year Graduate Visa, despite the consequences of where they finished that course. From 1st December, so to anyone being granted a Graduate 485 Visa from that date, if they finished a master’s degree by Coursework, the duration of the visa will be 3 years.
The other change announced: applicants will not have to nominate an occupation in demand on the MLTSSL and accomplishment of any 2-year Diploma or Trade Certificate in a VET college, will go ahead on to a 2-year Graduate 485 Visa, for all candidates. This will start with applications being made from 1st July 2022.
Graduate 485 visa holders who have been stuck outside Australia due to closed borders: they will be able to apply for a replacement visa. This will permit current and former Temporary Graduate (subclass 485) visa holders whose visas expired on or after 1 February 2020 to re-apply for a new 485 visa of the same period as their original visa, from 1st July 2022.
If you need help with creating a Visa Strategy so to use your Graduate Visa 485 in the best way likely to get a permanent visa later, our Registered Migration Agents can assist you.
