Graduate Temporary Visa

The Graduate Temporary Visa (Subclass 485) is a temporary visa which allows international students who have recently graduated with a specified qualification from an Australian educational institution to live, study & work in Australia temporarily. The visa is aimed at assisting a recent graduate to gain valuable skilled work experience in Australia.

This visa does not provide, by itself, a pathway to permanent skilled migration. However, as a Subclass 485 visa holder you might be eligible to apply for a skilled migration or employer sponsored visa. The Subclass 485 has 2 streams :

  • Graduate Work Stream : This stream is open to international graduates with an eligible qualification, including those from the VET sector, who graduate with skills & qualifications that relate to an occupation that is available on the Skilled Occupation List.
  • Post-Study Work Stream : This stream is open to international students who have recently graduated with an eligible higher education degree from an Australian education institution, regardless of their field of study.

Visa applicants cannot change the stream they have selected after filing their visa application.

The Graduate Temporary Visa does not require a visa applicant to be employer sponsored, Australian relative sponsored, be nominated by a State/Territory, file an EOI or be subject to a ‘Points Test’.

Some criteria to be met by Graduate Work Stream visa applicants are :

  • You must be under 50 years of age.
  • You must currently hold either a Student Visa or a Bridging Visa A/B or a Substantive visa.
  • You must not have previously held a Subclass 476 or Subclass 485 visa.
  • You must have met the “Australian Study Requirement” within the last 6 months before applying for this visa.
  • You must have completed a specified qualification in a CRICOS registered course within the last 6 months, and that qualification must be relevant to an occupation on the “Skilled Occupation List”.
  • You must undertake a “Skills Assessment” in your nominated occupation before filing your visa application.
  • You must nominate an occupation from the relevant Skill Occupation List.
  • You must meet the English Language requirement.
  • You & your family members must meet health & character requirements.
  • You & your family members must have adequate health insurance for the entire duration of your stay in Australia.
  • You must be in Australia both at the time of application & decision.

Some criteria to be met by Post-Study Work Stream visa applicants are :

  • You must be under 50 years of age
  • You must currently hold either a Student Visa or a Bridging Visa A/B or a Substantive visa
  • You must not have previously held a Subclass 476 or Subclass 485 visa
  • You must have met the “Australian Study Requirement” within the last 6 months before applying for this visa
  • You must have recently completed a degree qualification in a CRICOS registered course, within the last 6 months, from an Australian educational institution
  • You must meet the English Language requirement
  • You & your family members must meet health & character requirements
  • You & your family members must have adequate health insurance for the entire duration of your stay in Australia
  • You must be in Australia both at the time of application & decision

Rights of Graduate Temporary (Subclass 485) visa holders :

  • You can continue to live, work & study in Australia after finishing your studies, and increase your chances of being granted a provisional or permanent skilled visa
  • You have unrestricted work & study rights
  • You may include family members in your application
  • You can stay in Australia for a period of 18 months – 4 years, depending on your visa stream & qualification, and gain from an Australian work experience
  • You can travel to & from Australia as many times as you want while your visa is valid
  • If eligible, you can apply for either a skilled migration visa or an employer sponsored visa

The Australian government has recently announced changes to the immigration program in order to attract more migrants to regional areas, and thereby strengthen the economy of & get the right skills into these regional areas. Amongst the announced changes are :

  • More regional occupations to sponsor migrants to work in regional Australia
  • Priority processing of regional visa applications
  • Additional points for certain points-tested migrants who are sponsored to settle in regional Australia

There is, however, no impact for existing skilled visa holders.

In our almost 20 years of providing immigration assistance for Australian migration prospects, we have observed innumerable instances of the “Department of Home Affairs (DHA)” website being used as the primary source of providing immigration advice to prospective clients. Persons interested in migrating to Australia must note that the DHA website is useful in that it contains a great deal of explanatory material about visas. However, it does not distinguish between legislation & formal policy. There are critical factors relevant to each visa which can only be found in legislation. At times, even some basic relevant factors can be absent on the DHA website & your reliance on it to file a visa application can seriously jeopardize your chances of success. Experienced legal expertise in ever-changing Australian migration law is a prerequisite to succeeding in your migration goals.

Contact us to –

  • determine your eligibility
  • understand the laws & policy applicable to your situation
  • prepare & submit a decision-ready application
  • meet your migration goals