Graduate Visa Subclass 485

Australian visa for graduate students: Start your career here. You are studying in Australia and you’d like to stay and work here. The Skilled Graduate visa subclass 485 is a temporary work visa for you to live and work in Australia upon completion of your course.

How This Visa Works

There are two streams for the Temporary Graduate visa:

• Graduate Work stream which is valid for 18 months.
• Post-study Work stream which is valid for either two or four years, depending on the qualification completed.
• Hong Kong passport holders may stay for 5 years.
• Complete a professional year to be able to score additional points in a skilled application.
• Study to improve your English skills.
• Travel in and out of Australia.

Who Is Eligible For This Visa?

From 19 September 2020, a number of concessions, including 482 applicants, will be available for certain visa holders impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.

General Requirements:

• You must be younger than 50 years of age at the time you apply for this visa
• You must hold an eligible visa at the time you apply for this visa, e.g. student visa
• You must have met the two-year Australian study requirement in the past six months; this is two academic years with at least a total of 92 weeks being the duration of one or more courses.
• You must provide evidence that you have at least competent English, which is an IELTS (or equivalent) test result with at least 6 in each band.
• You must have acceptable health insurance in Australia and meet Australian health and character requirements.

Specific Requirements for Graduate Work Stream

Only valid 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 (‘suitable skills assessment’).

Specific Requirements for Post-study Work Stream

A two-year visa can be granted for a Bachelor or Master’s degree and a four-year visa for a PhD degree.

• Your first student visa to Australia was lodged on or after 5 November 2011.
• You must have completed one or more of the following qualifications in Australia: – Bachelor degree – Bachelor with Honours – Masters by coursework – Masters (extended) – Masters by research – Doctorate –- e.g. PhD
• Study resulting in a diploma level qualification or trade qualification will not be considered.
• You hold an eligible qualification, which was conferred or awarded by an Australian university or non-university education provider that is registered on the Commonwealth Register of Courses and Institutions for Overseas Students (CRICOS), and that provider offers courses at degree level and above.
• Degree- level courses packaged with a Graduate Certificate or Graduate Diploma course may be considered, provided they otherwise meet the Australian study requirement.