Temporary Graduate Visa
Subclass 485
(Temporary)
Overview
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Temporary Graduate visa (Subclass 485) is for international students who have recently graduated with a degree from an Australian institution to live, work and study in Australia temporarily.
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You may include your family in your visa application so your entire family can live together in Australia.
4 Streams
Graduate Work Stream
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for international students who have recently graduated with skills and qualifications that are relevant to specific occupations Australia needs
Post-study Work Stream
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for international students who have recently graduated with a degree from an Australian institution
Second Post-study Work Stream
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for international students who already hold Subclass 485 visa in Post-study Work stream and seek to extend their stay and their educational institution is located in a regional area
COVID-19 Replacement Stream
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for Temporary Graduate visa (Subclass 485) holders impacted by the Australian travel restrictions. This means, people who could not stay in Australia for the full period allowed by their previous Temporary Graduate visa can have a replacement visa issued that will permit the same length of stay as the original visa.
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This is an interim measure. Please refer to Temporary Graduate Visa (COVID-19 Replacement Stream) for details.
Eligibility
Have applied for and hold your first student visa on or after 5 November 2011 (Post-study Work Stream only)
be aged under 50
currently hold a certain visa
Hold an eligible qualification at degree-level or above
have met the Australian Study requirement in the past 6 months
Have the required level of English proficiency
Have adequate health insurance
Meet health and character requirements
Graduate Work Stream (effective from 1 July 2023):
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nominate an occupation on the Medium and Long-term Strategic Skills List (MLTSSL)
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have a degree, diploma or trade qualification closely related to that occupation
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have a successful skills assessment for that occupation
Second Post-study Work Stream:
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you must have lived only in a designated regional area for at least 2 years
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If you worked and/or studied while you held your first Temporary Graduate visa (post-study work stream), the work and study must have been in the designated regional area
Special Notes
Eligible Qualification at Degree-level or Above
The qualification that you have completed must be an eligible degree. This means a:
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bachelor degree
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bachelor (honours) degree
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masters by coursework degree
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masters (extended) degree
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masters by research degree
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doctoral degree
If you have studied a standalone diploma or trade qualification, you are not eligible to be granted a visa in this stream.
Australian Study Requirement
You will meet this requirement if you have at least one degree, diploma or trade qualification and:
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your course was a Commonwealth Register of Institutions and courses for Overseas Students (CRICOS)-registered course
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you successfully completed all course requirements
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the study was in English
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you completed your course as a result of at least 2 academic years (92 weeks) study
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you completed your course in Australia in not less than 16 calendar months
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you held an Australian study visa that allowed you to study.
Please note: Student visa holders affected by COVID-19 travel restrictions, can count online study towards the Australian Study Requirement.
Location
Update: Covid-19 Concessions have been granted to all Subclass 485 streams to allow you to lodge and be granted the visa while you are outside Australia if:
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you are impacted by COVID travel restrictions and lodged an application for your first Subclass 485 visa during the concession period which commenced 1 February 2020 and is ongoing
Otherwise, you must be in Australia at the time of application and visa grant。
Duration of Stay
Graudate Work Stream
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Temporarily increased to 24 months for visas granted from 1 December 2021 (usually up to 18 months)
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Hong Kong and British National Overseas passport holders may stay for 5 years.
Post-study Work Stream
Hong Kong and British National Overseas passport holders may stay for 5 years. Otherwise, the duration of the visa depends on which studies have been completed as follows:
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PhD: 4 years
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Masters by Research or Coursework: 3 years
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Bachelor Degree: 2 years
Second Post-study Work Stream
1 – 2 years depending on the regional location of your Australian educational institution and the regional location you live in. Please refer to Classification of Regional Areas for details.
Tricks and Common Reasons for Refusal
1 – Unfamiliarity with How the Australian Immigration Works and Its Mentality
In many cases, applicants prepare and submit their supporting documentation in a disorderly way, giving the Immigration a hard time digging through tons of paperwork to get things in the right order when picking up a new visa application. This will potentially lead to endless back-and-forth clarification and explanation, wasting both sides lots of time and can even result in a refusal of Subclass 190 visa.
This is common since applying for a visa, especially a permanent one, is the very first time to most applicants. For this reason, our team have developed our own system for labelling, coding, structuring and, where necessary, cross-referencing documentation so your application can be submitted in the most presentable and logical manner. Making your application stand out among all competitors has been our goal from day one.
2 – Careless Yet Costly Mistakes
Applying for migration is seen as a delicate work of art due to the staggering amount of attention, paperwork, and details involved. A seemingly minor/harmless error such as a typo in your résumé, a date entered wrong, or a tick in the wrong box in the lengthy visa application form can prove costly as the Immigration processes all visa applications strictly in accordance with migration law, in particular Migration Act 1958 and Migration Regulations 1994. Even a small error can be regarded as failing to satisfy a visa requirement and therefore lead to a visa refusal. To minimise such incidents, our team pay extra attention while editing and drafting every client’s paperwork and always proofread and also conduct a final review of documentation before submission.
3 – Applications Not Being Decision-ready
Another common reason for refusal, even instant refusal, for Subclass 190 visa is submitting an application without all the required documentation. This happens when the application was prepared carelessly, or when the applicant was trying to rush an application for whatever reason (e.g. meeting a cut-off date of a major migration policy change which happens almost each and every year and often catches people off guard).
Even with 43 years of team experience, we handle each application cautiously and meticulously like our first to ensure nothing slips through the cracks. Should a sudden change of policy hit and impact you, we are more than capable of advising you how to salvage your application in terms of what documents are mandatory at the time of submission and what can wait so you are never in danger of a straight-up visa refusal upon submission.
Benefits
With this visa, you may:
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live with your family and work in Australia for a number of years upon graduation
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accumulate valuable local work experience which is crucial if you wish to permanently settle in Australia through skilled visas (e.g. Subclass 189, Subclass 190, Subclass 491) or employer sponsored visas (e.g. Subclass 482, Subclass 186, Subclass 494)
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potentially bring your extended family members to Australia permanently on parent visa or visa intended for other relatives
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travel overseas and back to Australia for any purposes (e.g. overseas holiday, visiting family and/or attending family matters in home country)
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work in Australia without any limitations
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study in Australia without any limitations
Application Fees
You may include your family in your Subclass 485 visa application so your entire family can live together in Australia.
Graduate Work Stream & Post-study Work Stream
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Primary applicant: $1730
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Each additional applicant aged 18 or above: $865
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Each additional applicant under 18: $425
Second Post-study Work Stream
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Primary applicant: $680
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Each additional applicant aged 18 or above: $340
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Each additional applicant under 18: $170
Please note: you may incur third-party charges, for example, for translation, English test, police certificate and health exam.
Processing Time
Kindly note the processing time constantly varies. Please contact us for update.
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75% of applications: 10 months
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90% of applications: 11 months
Unbeatable 5-step Services at Microscopic Level - How Exactly We Make It Hassle-free
Step 1: Initial Consultation
During our initial consultation, we thoroughly advise you on:
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your visa options and related matters
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your detailed application process
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potential challenges and solutions based upon your circumstances
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business sponsorship obligations for you as well as your employer
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your work rights during different stages of the application process
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estimate timeframe for preparing your application and its processing time
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compliances issues, including but not limited to how you ought to comply with your visa conditions
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potential breaches of business sponsorship obligations, and consequential sanctions and penalties
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fees involved in each stage (e.g. skills assessment, state/territory nomination, visa application, health examination, police certificate)
It goes without saying the first and foremost thing in a visa application is get a clear picture of what visas you are indeed eligible for, and equally importantly, which one of them suits you the most. We’ve seen too many clients who, for some reason, rushed an application and halfway through realised they were not actually on the right path due to ineligibility issues before approaching us, for example, because:
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their self-claimed work experience was not or only partially accepted by the Immigration, which was unfortunately common
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the length of their work experience or residence in Australia (as required by some visas) was not recognised by the Immigration
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they settled on an unsuitable occupation at the beginning of a work/employment visa application just because the occupation was migration-eligible whereas their daily duties failed to be in line with the prescribed job tasks of the selected occupation
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they simply took into consideration the visa requirements by the Immigration without even considering the criteria of skills assessment by the skills assessing body as well as those of the government for state/territory nomination which vary from time to time even without prior notice
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they applied for the partner visa they were not actually eligible for as they failed to meet the cohabitation requirement from the Immigration’s perspective
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the turnover and/or assets they relied on for business visa application was not recognised by the Immigration due to various reasons
Step 2 – Letter of Advice
Following the consultation, we will email you a letter of advice containing what we discussed during the initial consultation in case you miss out on anything. This gives you peace of mind as it outlines everything there is to know about your visa application.
Step 3 – Gathering Supporting Documents
During this stage, we will:
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send you a one-in-all, comprehensive and exclusive checklist for all the supporting documents you will need to provide and the checklist:
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outlines the detailed requirements (e.g. format, word limit, size limit, points of emphasis and information to be included and excluded) for each and every document you will need to provide
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contains critically useful templates not available anywhere else that are highly relevant to your visa application, for example, for work reference, employment contract and relationship statement depending on the type of visa you apply for
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working closely with you throughout to ensure supporting documentation is collected and done just right
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compile and filter your documents, retaining only the relevant ones and leave out those not to-the-point. Remember: it’s not ‘the more, the better’ when it comes to a visa application. Rather, being selective about what to submit and how to present it is actually more important
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clearly label and cross-reference your documents to ensure they are in the most organised and presentable manner in the eyes of the Immigration
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stay in touch with you by phone and email and you are also more than welcome to visit our office to chat to us in person
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clarify any doubts or questions you may have regarding your application so you can stay on top of things
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when ready, draft and submit EOI, skills assessment application, state/territory nomination application and visa application for you
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drafting certain legal documents for you where appropriate to make things easier for you
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keep you in the loop of any migration law update that may affect you, especially your visa eligibility
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thoroughly review all supporting documents you sent through to us
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correct errors in documents we received where appropriate or let you know exactly where and how you need to rectify an issue
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remind you of outstanding supporting documents via phone or email so that you are fully aware of where we are on your application anytime
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liaise with your partner (for partner visa application) or employer (for employer-sponsored visas) for missing information or clarification where necessary
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liaise with other third parties involved, including but not limited to skills assessing authorities, state/territory governments and the Immigration on your behalf to seek clarification on key information
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conduct a final review of your supporting documentation before the final submission
Step 4 - Submitting Your Visa Application
Upon the completion of the final review of, we will:
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attach all supporting documentation to your application
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submit your visa application to the Immigration
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email through the receipts for visa application fees for your record
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advise you of the most updated visa processing time so you know what to expect
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email you the bridging visa grant letter if applicable so you can breathe a sigh a relief and remain in Australia without having to leave while your application is being processed by the Immigration
Step 5 – After the Submission Until a Decision Is Made by the Immigration
Following the submission, we will:
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constantly keep an eye on your lodged application
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liaise with the Immigration in a timely manner, ensuring nothing slips through the cracks where the Immigration requires additional supporting documents and/or information, which is fairly common because it is a judgement call by the Immigration officer at the end of the day despite the seemingly straightforward visa criteria
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decide on the best approach to addressing the Immigration’s query by drawing on our nearly 20 years of expertise
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keep you updated should there be any notifications from the Immigration
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assist you in preparing the requested documents and/or information and submit them on your behalf
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chase up your application with the Immigration, especially when it has gone beyond the expected timeframe
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instruct you on when and how to book health examination and obtain police clearance
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notify you of the application outcome
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if application is successful - send you the visa grant letter and explain to you your employment and residence rights and the range of benefits you are entitled to
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if application is unsuccessful - properly advise you on your options moving forward to eventually obtain the visa you are after
