As an international student in Australia, you must have heard of the Temporary Graduate Visa 485, but you may not know the application procedure. This visa will allow you to study, work, travel, and make yourself prepared for future career opportunities after your graduation. In this post, we discuss what the 485 Visa is and where you can find the necessary information to make an application.
What is Temporary Graduate Visa Subclass 485?
First, you have to open the official website of the Department of Home Affairs. Under the category of working visas, you will find the information about the Temporary Graduate Visa Subclass 485.
As per the official description, the temporary visa 485 is: “A temporary visa that allows international students to live, study, and work after you have finished your studies.”
An important point to note here is that it is a temporary and short-term visa for an eligible Australian student. With this visa, you can stay back in Australia after completing your graduation, travel, and gain relevant work experience for further opportunities in Australia. You can eventually get the permission of a PR with this visa. This visa will also help you prepare yourself for future options to immigrate to another country for a job.
If you hold a valid Temporary Visa 485, there will be no work restrictions as they were in the case of the Student Visa 500. Thus with a 485 Visa, you can work for any duration you like.
Two types of Temporary Graduate Visa 485
There are two streams under this visa, and you have to know the difference in opportunities and eligibility for the two visas. And these two streams are:
• Graduate Work Stream Visa (GWS)
Suppose you are an international student and have completed an AQF-registered (Australian Qualification Framework registered) course, a level lower than an Australian undergraduate degree. In that case, you will be eligible to apply for the Graduate Work Stream. You should also have the specific qualifications and skills necessary in a particular occupation.
With this stream, you can stay in Australia for a maximum of 18 months. However, if you are a passport holder from Hong Kong, you will have the opportunity for a 5-year visa. You can get this visa depending on the vocational skills in the Vocational Education and Training or the VET sector.
• Post-Study Work Stream Visa (PSWV)
Suppose you are an international student and have completed your undergraduate studies from an Australian university with a Bachelor or Masters or a PhD. In that case, you will be eligible for a PSW visa. In the case of a Post-Study Work Stream visa application, there will be no restrictions regarding the study area, but you must have completed an undergraduate degree or higher.
With this visa, you can stay for a much longer period, in contrast to the Graduate Work Stream. 2 to 4 years will be your staying period, depending on your qualification level. For a Bachelor student, the period will be 2 years, and that for a Masters and PhD student will be 3 and 4 years, respectively.
What Are The Eligibility Requirements For The Visa?
You can see the eligibility criteria for the two streams separately if you click on the two titles.
The eligibility requirements will be shown on the right.
• Specific requirements for the GWS Visa
For the Graduate Work Stream visa, you should meet the following conditions.
• Your age should be under 50 years.
• You should hold an eligible Australian visa.
• You should have held a valid Australian student visa in the last six months before you make the application.
• You should qualify as an occupation included in the Skilled Occupation List or SOL.
Here, you should nominate an occupation listed on the Medium and Long-Term Strategic Skills List or MLTSSL.
• You should apply for a skills assessment test.
• At the time you apply, you should submit valid health insurance.
• You should also provide the evidence that you have applied for the check by the Australian Federal Police.
• You have to provide evidence that you have the required English language level. The authority will accept an IELTS band score of 6 or equivalent scores in other examinations.
• Specific Requirements For The PSWV
For Post-Study Work Stream, the main difference is that here you do not need to have the skilled occupation qualification, and thus, no skills assessment will not be required. The other requirements like submitting health insurance, submitting AFP check, and English language proficiency, are also needed here. Another difference from the GWS is that, while doing a Diploma or Trade Qualification will make you eligible for a GWS, for PWSV, you will need to complete a Bachelor or Masters or PhD.
• What’s More To Know?
But, you will need to know more about the general requirements of the Visa Subclass 485. For details, you should click on the tab titled ‘Eligibility’. Now on the page that will open in front of you, you will spot the ‘Details’ boxes, in which you can get to know the additional requirements under each basic requirement written on the left side of this page.
For example, let us explain the meaning of ‘Meet the Australian Study Requirement. Under this category, you will find six points to know how you can meet the Australian study requirement. These six points are as follows:
• The course must be CRICOS-registered.
• You should have completed the course.
• The teaching language was English.
• The course was finished in at least 2 academic years (study for 92 weeks)
• The completion period was at least 16 months.
• While studying, you should have held a valid Australian student visa.
Here, the CRICOS refers to the Commonwealth Register of Institutions and Courses for Overseas Students. The CRICOS system consists of all institutions based in Australia that satisfy the international registration criteria to give education to international students.
According to Australian law, any Australian university or institute that takes international students should register with CRICOS. Not only the institution, but the courses should also be registered. So, when you apply, you should pay attention to whether the institute and the courses have updated registration with the Australian Government. If the course is not registered, you will not be granted the
Subclass 485 Visa In Australia
To check whether the institution and the course are registered, you should open the government website. You have to give the CRICOS Institution code to apply.
The course should take at least 92 weeks to complete. It means that if you have completed a CRICOS-registered, 78-week course in 92 weeks, it will not be counted. Another duration eligibility is 16 months. It is also the minimum requirement. Thus, if the study credits have shortened this time amount, you can think of completing some extra units to gain the 16-month time duration.
You have to apply for the visa within 6 months after you have completed your graduation. You should note that this completion date is the day when final results are published and not the graduation day. As proof, you have to make an application to the university for a Completion Letter. For the application procedure, you can take help from an immigration consultant in Perth.
Conclusion
As the application procedure involves many steps and conditions, you can take help from the best immigration agent in Perth, WA.
Also Read : What Mistakes Hits Majorly On Your Temporary Graduate Visa Subclass 485?