About 485 Visas.

The subclass 485 visa (Temporary Graduate visa) is for international students that have studied in Australia and it lets you live and work in Australia temporarily. Visas are granted for between 2 and 4 years and allow you to travel, work and study in Australia.

You must be in Australia when you apply for the visa and when the visa is decided.

Streams of the 485 Visa.

The 485 visa has two separate streams:

  • Graduate Work Stream
  • Post-Study Work Stream

Applying for your visa.

You can apply for a 485 visa if you:

  • are under 50 years old;
  • are in Australia;
  • hold an eligible visa;
  • have competent English;
  • have studied at least 2 years full-time study within the last 6 months;
  • meet the requirements of one of the streams; and
  • have adequate health insurance.

You do not need to use a migration agent to lodge your visa, but the Department of Immigration and Citizenship recommends that if you do use a migration agent, you should use a registered migration agent. If you plan to lodge your visa application yourself, you need to make sure you complete a 形式1409 - 临时毕业生签证申请 in English

Eligible Visas.

You must hold one of the following visas in order to apply for a 485 visa:

  • a 572, 573 or 574 student visa;
  • a Bridging Visa A or Bridging Visa B (after holding a 572, 573 or 574 visa in the last 6 months); or
  • holding a substantive visa other than a 570, 571, 575 or 576 visa.

Competent English.

Unless you are from the United Kingdom, United States, Canada, New Zealand or the Republic of Ireland, you must have a score of at least 6 in each of speaking, reading, listening and writing components in an IELTS test within the last 3 years.

Two year full-time study.

In the 6 months before you apply you must have completed a course which meets the following criteria:

  • it results in the award of a bachelors, masters or doctoral degree;
  • it is conducted in English;
  • it is at least two academic years (92 weeks) duration;
  • it is completed in no less than 16 months; and
  • it is completed at a CRICOS registered provider in Australia.

Graduate Work Stream.

You can apply for a 485 visa in this stream if you:

  • nominate an occupation on the Skilled Occupation List; and
  • have a suitable skills assessment for your nominated occupation.

Post-study Work Stream.

You can apply for a 485 visa in this stream if you:

  • applied for, and were granted, your first student visa to Australia on or after 5 November 2011 (this includes the following student visas, 560, 562, 570, 571, 572, 573, 574, 575, 576 or 580); and
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  • have completed one or more of the following qualification from an Australian educational provider.

When is the course completion date.

Your course is taken as having been completed when your education provider publicly notifies you that you have met the requirements of the award. It is not the date you actually receive your award.

Health Insurance.

All 485 visa holders are subject to visa condition 8501. This condition requires you, and your accompanying family members, to maintain adequate arrangements for health insurance for the duration of your stay. See Government Info for more information on your 485 insurance.

Application by Family Members.

If you want to keep your family with you, or have them join you in Australia, you should try to make a combined application. This way you will only pay one visa application charge. If you need to make a separate 485 visa application, then you will be required to make a separate visa application and pay the visa application charge again.

Processing Times.

The Department of Immigration and Citizenship details processing time service standards for 485 visas. See the department's website for processing times. Please note, as 485 visas are exempt from priority processing, they are processed in the order in which they are received. The current processing time is 12 months.

Bridging Visas.

Given the current processing times for 485 visas, it is likely that you will need a bridging visa while your 485 visa is being processed. As your last visa would have been a student visa, all conditions of the student visa apply to you while you are on the bridging visa. This means that you will need to have Overseas Student Health Cover for the duration of your bridging visa.

Fees.

See the Department of Immigration and Citizenship's form 990i for information on the department's current 485 visa fees. The particular fee you are interested in is listed under "General Skilled Migration" and is currently $1,250.

Other Costs.

You may have to pay other costs, such as the costs of health assessments, English language tests, skill assessments and police certificates, if required.