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485 graduate temporary visa helps to extend your stay in Australia
The Subclass 485 Temporary Graduate Visa is a work visa for international students who have completed 2 years of study in Australia. It can last from 18 months to 4 years depending on your condition.
This is a good way to extend your stay in Australia to improve your chances of qualifying for a temporary or permanent qualifying visa.
The main applicant must be in Australia when applying for the 485 visas and must have held an eligible student visa within 6 months before applying.
Conditions
- The duration of the 485 visa will depend on your case.
- The graduate student work cycle visa is valid for 18 months from the date of application.
- The length of PSW depends on your degree and whether you have completed your studies in an area of Australia. If you are studying in Melbourne, Sydney, or Brisbane, your PSW term will be:
- years: 2 years: Completion of a bachelor’s degree, bachelor’s degree with distinction, master’s degree by course or master’s degree (extended).
- 3 years: Master of Research
- 4 years: PhD
With a 485 visa, you have unlimited rights to work in Australia.
- You must maintain private health insurance while you hold an eligible graduate visa. A list of key providers can be found on page 485 Visa Insurance.
Common criteria
There are several criteria common to both post-research work (PSWV) and graduate workflows.
- Age: The primary applicant must be under 50 years of age at the time of application.
- English by taking an English test. You must demonstrate a threshold level of English language proficiency at the time of application.
- Study in Australia: You must meet the 2-year study requirement and have completed qualifications within six months of applying for the visa.
Two streams of eligibility for the Subclass 485 Graduate Temporary Visa
- Post Study Work Stream (PSWS): This visa is for international students who have recently graduated with a degree (at least Bachelor or above) from an Australian institution. It lets you live, work and study in Australia, temporarily.
- Occupational line for graduates: This visa is for international students who have recently completed their studies (with at least a diploma) and who have the skills and qualifications suitable for a specific job in Australia. You can live, study, and work temporarily in Australia.
Sponsored by qualified relatives (Family Stream)
Please note that your profession must be on the MLTSSL list of 491 Family Streams.
The sponsors are:
• 18 years old and over
• Usually located in a particular region of Australia
• Being an Australian Citizen, Permanent Resident of Australia.
• Become a legitimate relative of you or your partner
Legitimate relatives are:
• Parents
• Child or stepchild
• Brothers, sisters, adopted brothers, adopted sisters, brother-in-law, or sister-in-law
• Aunt, an uncle, adopted aunt, adopted uncle, in-law aunt, or in-law uncle
• Nephew, the niece, adopted nephew, adopted child’s niece,
• a grandparent, or
• a first cousin
Family included
You may include the following types of family members on your application:
- Spouses, Real Partners and Partners of Same sex
- Dependent children
English language requirements for 485
New English language requirements for both workflow and graduate studies:
- Hold a passport from the UK, Ireland, USA, Canada, or New Zealand; or
- ELTS (Academic or General Training): general common of 6 and as a minimum five in every band; or
- Occupational English Test (OET): B Pass in every band; or
- Pearson (PTE Academic): general common of fifty with as a minimum 36 in every band; or
- TOEFL IBT (Internet Based Test): the general rating of 64, with as a minimum of four in Listening and Reading, and as a minimum of 14 in Writing and Speaking; or
- Cambridge (CAE): 169 general common with as a minimum 154 in every band.
A few important things to note
- Some competency assessment agencies (such as accounting professionals) require graduate English exams for competency assessments-it has not yet been shown whether the assessors will change their knowledge of English.
- Upon completion of the OET, the required score has not changed.
- The same applies to the English requirements for accredited graduate subclass 476 visas.