Temporary Graduate Visa 485
Temporary Graduate Visa (Graduate Work Stream)
This visa is for international students who have recently graduated with skills and qualifications that are relevant to specific occupations Australia needs. It lets you live, study and work in Australia temporarily.
Overview of Temporary Graduate Visa 485
Stay
Usually up to 18 months. Hong Kong passport holders may stay for 5 years
Cost
From AUD1,650
Processing times
- 75% of applications: 5 months
- 90% of applications: 7 months
With this visa, you can
- live, study and work in Australia temporarily
- bring your family members
You must
- be under 50 years of age
- hold an eligible visa
- have held a student visa in the last 6 months
- have a qualification relevant to an occupation on the skilled occupation list
- have applied for a skills assessment in your nominated occupation on the skilled occupation list
- provide evidence of adequate health insurance for all applicants when you apply
- provide evidence you have applied for an AFP check when you apply
- provide evidence of the required level of English with the application
About The Temporary Graduate visa subclass 485
With this visa, you can
- stay in Australia, usually for 18 months
- travel, work or study in Australia during your stay
You must find your own employment if we grant this visa. We are not responsible for arranging employment.
How long you can stay
This is a temporary visa. You can usually stay in Australia for 18 months. Hong Kong passport holders may stay up to 5 years
The visa is granted with multiple entry. You can leave and re-enter Australia as many times as you want while the visa is valid.
The visa starts on the date we grant the visa.
Stay longer
You can’t stay in Australia longer by extending this visa.
You might be eligible for other skilled work visas.
Current temporary graduate visa holders from Hong Kong will be eligible for an extension of 5 years (from 9 July 2020) in addition to the time they’ve already been in Australia.
Current and future temporary graduate visa holders from Hong Kong will also have a pathway to permanent residency after 5 years.
Include family
You can include members of the family unit in your application when you apply.
Family members who apply for the visa must meet our health and character requirements.
You can add your children to the application until a decision on your application is made. You can’t add any other member of the family unit to your application during that period.
Your family can also apply to join you in Australia as a subsequent entrant after the visa is granted.
Cost
The visa costs AUD1,650 for the primary visa applicant.
There is also a charge for each family member who applies for the visa with you.
Subsequent entrants must pay the full visa application charge.
You might also have to pay other costs for health checks, police certificates and biometrics.
To work out what your visa will cost use the Visa Pricing Estimator. The estimator does not take into account the other costs.
The subclass 485 visa is exempt from the subsequent temporary application charge.
Apply from
You can be inside Australia but not in immigration clearance when you apply, and when we grant your application.
Graduates impacted by COVID-19 travel restrictions may also be able to apply for, and be granted this visa outside Australia.
Subsequent entrants can be in or outside Australia when they apply and when we grant them the visa.
Processing times
Your application can take longer to process if:
- you do not fill it in correctly
- we need more information from you
- it takes us time to verify your information
We can’t process your application if you do not pay the correct visa application charge. We will notify you if this is the case and if necessary return your application.
Your obligations
You and your family must meet all visa conditions and follow Australian laws.
Travel
You can travel outside Australia and return as many times as you want while the visa is valid.
The time you spend outside Australia does not extend the visa.
Visa label
We will digitally link your visa to your passport. You will not get a label in your passport.
Eligibility for subclass 485 Temporary Graduate Visa
Be this age
You must be under 50 years of age.
Have this visa
Eligible prospective subclass 485 visa applicants can make their visa application outside Australia during the concession period and be granted the visa while they are outside Australia.
We will only process your visa application if:
- you are the main holder of a current student visa (but not one supported by the Defence or Foreign Affairs and Trade Minister);
- you held a student visa within the past 6 months before your application and you now have a Bridging Visa A or Bridging Visa B, granted on the basis of a valid application for a visa
- you held a student visa within the past 6 months before your application and you now hold a substantive visa
- you are no longer the holder of a student visa, but if you have been impacted by COVID-19 travel restrictions and unable to travel to Australia to apply for a Temporary Graduate visa, provided you have held a student visa within the last 12 months, you are eligible to apply
We can’t grant you this visa if we have previously granted you a subclass 485 or a subclass 476 visa as a primary visa holder.
Meet the Australian study requirement
Unless impacted by COVID-19 travel restrictions, in the past 6 months before you applied for this visa you must have met the Australian study requirement. You will meet this if you are awarded at least one degree, diploma or trade qualification and:
- your course was a CRICOS-registered course
- you successfully completed all course requirements
- your study was in English
- you completed your course as a result of at least two academic years (92) weeks study
- you completed your course in Australia in not less than 16 calendar months
- you held an Australian study visa that allowed you to study
When applying for this stream of the subclass 485, the course or courses must have resulted in a degree, diploma or trade qualification.
To meet the 2 academic year component of the Australian study requirement, you may combine courses in some circumstances.
For example, a student may complete two consecutive Diploma level courses and satisfy the Australian study requirement under the Graduate Work stream, provided the other components of the requirement are satisfied.
Have skills and qualifications that Australia needs
You will need to:
- nominate 1 occupation on the Medium and Long-term Strategic Skills List (MLTSSL) and
- have a degree, diploma or trade qualification closely related to that occupation and
- be assessed by a relevant assessing authority as having skills suitable for that occupation
You must nominate the occupation when you apply, or we can’t process your visa application. You can’t change the occupation you nominate after you apply
The qualification level must be closely related to that occupation.
Example: Acceptable combinations of qualification and nominated occupations include:
- nominating ‘Physiotherapist’ as your skilled occupation and a degree in physiotherapy in Australia
- nominating ‘Air-conditioning and Mechanical Services Plumber’ as your skilled occupation and having a Certificate III in Plumbing and a Diploma of Plumbing and Services in Australia
Example: Not acceptable combinations of study of qualification and nominated occupation include:
An applicant’s nominated occupation is Registered Nurse but they satisfied the ‘Australian study requirement’ on the basis of having completed a Bachelor of Commerce.
Additionally, your skills must be assessed by a relevant assessing authority as suitable for the nominated occupation. For example, if you nominated ‘Speech Pathologist’, the authority you must get an assessment from is Speech Pathology Australia.
If your skills are assessed on the basis of a qualification you got in Australia when you held a student visa, the qualification must be from studying a course registered on CRICOS.
You must provide evidence when you apply that you have at least applied for a skills assessment or we cannot process your visa application.
It is your responsibility to arrange for the skills assessment. Contact the relevant assessing authority well before you apply for this visa, because each assessing authority has its own assessment procedures, timeframes and charges.
Some assessing authorities only provide assessments that are valid for a set period. It is your responsibility to check that this period has not expired by the time we make a decision. If there is no set period, then you must have obtained the assessment within the last 3 years.
Have this passport or this level of English language
You can either show us that you hold a valid passport from the United Kingdom, the United States of America, Canada, New Zealand or the Republic of Ireland, or prove your English proficiency. To do this, show us evidence that in the last 3 years, you achieved:
| Test | Score |
|---|---|
| International English Language Testing System (IELTS) | Overall score of at least 6 with a minimum score of 5 for each of the 4 parts |
| Test of English as a Foreign Language internet-based Test (TOEFL iBT) | Total score of at least 64 with a minimum score of 4 for listening, 4 for reading, 14 for writing and 14 for speaking |
| Pearson Test of English Academic (PTE Academic) | Overall score of at least 50 with a minimum score of 36 for each of the 4 parts |
| Occupational English Test (OET) | At least B for each of the 4 parts |
| Cambridge C1 Advanced test | Overall at least 169 with a minimum score of at least 154 in each of the 4 test components |
Have adequate health insurance
You and your family members are personally liable for all your healthcare costs while you are in Australia. Medical insurance helps limit your financial liability.
You must have adequate health cover for the whole of your stay to be granted this visa. Your cover should cover you for medically necessary treatment, including transport.
Reciprocal healthcare agreements
Some countries have a reciprocal healthcare agreement with Australia.
Overseas student health cover
Overseas Student Health Cover (OSHC) is acceptable health insurance if you are still on a student visa when you submit or send your application for a subclass 485 visa.
However, OSHC will not be acceptable evidence of adequate health cover if you no longer hold a student visa.
If you are applying for this visa while you are covered by OSHC, you will need to have adequate health cover (other than your OSHC) either immediately after your OSHC ends or before we make a decision, whichever comes first.
If we decide on your application before your OSHC ends, we will contact you to ask you to obtain non-OSHC cover before we decide it.
Meet our health requirement
You and any family members who apply for the visa with you must meet our health requirement.
Meet our character requirement
You and family members aged 16 years and over who apply for the visa must meet our character requirement.
Sign the Australian values statement
If you are 18 years of age or older, you must:
- have read, or had explained to you, the Life in Australia booklet and
- sign an Australian Values Statement that confirms you will respect the Australian way of life and obey Australian laws
Have no debt to the Australian government
If you or any family members owe the Australian Government money, you or they must have paid it back or arranged to pay it back.
Not have had a visa cancelled or a previous application refused
You might not be eligible for this visa if you have had a visa cancelled or refused while you were in Australia.
