485 visa – Live, work & study in Australia after graduation

485 visa header image

In this post, we aim to answer many recurring questions around Temporary Graduate (subclass 485) visa. Please feel free to jump to a specific section if you wish to learn more about a particular aspect of the visa.

What is a 485 visa?

The Temporary Graduate visa commonly knows as the 485 Visa (or TR), allows international students to live, work and study in Australia for up to four years after completion of their course. There are two application streams available for this visa (click on the link to learn more about each stream).

Which visa stream should you choose?

If you received your first student visa ON or AFTER 5 November 2011, you’re eligible for both streams. This includes pretty much everyone who arrived in Australia recently. However, for students who came before 5 November 2011, Graduate Work Stream is the only option.

Here is a little flow chart to help you decide

Graduate work stream

Regardless of the stream, an applicant must meet certain eligibility criteria before applying for a 485 visa. In the next two sections, we’ll look at the eligibility criteria for both Post-Study Work and Graduate Work stream for this visa.

Post-Study Work stream

As mentioned above, this stream is only available for students who received their first student visa on or after 5 November 2011 (let’s say in the last few years). To make things easier, we have broken the eligibility criteria for this visa into two segments: Skills & Qualification, and General.

Skills & Qualifications

You must have completed at least one of the following degrees 6 months before your application for the 485 Visa under this stream. The course must take place in an approved Australian college and should be at least registered for 92 academic weeks (over 16 months).

  • Bachelor’s degree (with or without honours)
  • Master’s degree (by coursework or research)
  • Master’s extended degree
  • Doctorate

General eligibility criteria

In addition to the qualification, applicants must also meet the age, language, health insurance and character requirements for the 485 visa under Post-Study Work stream. Let’s look at these criterias below.

  • Be under 50 years of age
  • Have the required level of English proficiency i.e.
    • Hold a valid passport issued by the UK, USA, Canada, New Zealand or the Republic of Ireland (and you are a citizen of that country) OR
    • An IELTS overall test score of at least 6.0 (with a minimum of 5.0 in EACH test component) OR
    • A PTE overall test score of at least 50(with a minimum of 36 in EACH test component) OR

NOTE: In each case, the test must have been undertaken within the last three years.

  • Have made adequate arrangements for health insurance during your stay in Australia
  • Apply for an Australian Federal Police clearance

Application process

Students wishing to apply themselves can find more information on the Department of Home Affairs website (click here).

If you wish to utilise our service, we’ll start by assessing your eligibility for the 485 Visa under the Post-Study Work stream. We’ll then guide you to gather necessary documents for the visa while we prepare your online application. Once we have all the necessary paperwork, we’ll lodge your visa and send you a confirmation of lodgement. From this point on, we’ll monitor all correspondence from the Department and let you know the outcome once we receive it.

Once granted, the visa will be valid for up to four years depending on your qualification. See below for the visa duration applied to different degree holders.

  •  Bachelor’s degree (with or without honours); master’s degree by coursework; or master’s extended degree: visa is valid for TWO years
  • Master’s degree by research: visa is valid for THREE years
  • Doctorate: visa is valid for FOUR years

Application cost

DescriptionAmountDOHA Surcharge 1.32%†Total
Visa Fee  – Main Applicant$1650$21.78$1671.78
Visa Fee –  EACH Additional Applicant Aged 18 + (e.g. spouse)$825$10.89$835.89
Visa Fee – EACH Additional Applicant Aged Under 18 (e.g. EACH dependent child)$415$5.48$420.48
485 visa – Post-Study Work Stream DOHA fee and service charges as at May 2020

Graduate Work stream

This stream is available for all international students who graduate with skills and qualification that relates to an eligible occupation. Unlike Post-Study Work, this pathway is open to all eligible students. Also, this is the only option for 485 visa applicants who first arrived as a student before 2011.

Skills & Qualifications

At the time that you lodge your visa application, you must:

  • Nominate an occupation that is included on the Medium and Long-term Strategic Skills List (MLTSSL)
  • Have applied to have your skills assessed by the appropriate Australian skills assessing authority as suitable for your nominated occupation

NOTE: Your skills must be assessed as relevant to your nominated occupation in order for your visa application to be successful.

  • In the last 6 months have completed one or more qualifications that are closely related to your nominated occupation, following at least 2 years of study in Australia

General eligibility criteria

Similar to the Post-Study Work stream, there are age, language, health insurance and character requirements for the 485 visa under Graduate Work stream. You must:

  • Be under 50 years of age
  • Have the required level of English proficiency i.e.
    • Hold a valid passport issued by the UK, USA, Canada, New Zealand or the Republic of Ireland (and you are a citizen of that country) OR
    • An IELTS overall test score of at least 6.0 (with a minimum of 5.0 in EACH test component) OR
    • A PTE overall test score of at least 50(with a minimum of 36 in EACH test component) OR

NOTE: In each case, the test must have been undertaken within the last three years.

  • Have made adequate arrangements for health insurance during your stay in Australia
  • Apply for an Australian Federal Police clearance

Application process

The visa application process under Graduate work stream is a bit longer compared to the Post-Study Work stream. Therefore, we’ll divide it into three stages and explain.

Stage 1: Initial eligibility assessment

First, we’ll conduct an eligibility assessment. This involves reviewing your recent qualification, language and other circumstances.

During this process, we will also assess your course against the MLTSSL occupations list. This will help us decide which occupation to nominate for and, subsequently apply for a skill assessment.

Note: Eligibility assessment doesn’t guarantee that you will obtain a positive skills assessment, or successfully apply for this visa.

Stage 2: Skills Assessment

We’ll prepare and lodge your skill assessment form in this stage. We will only proceed once we validate that you meet the criteria for positive skill assessment.

For each skilled occupation listed in the MLTSSL, the Department of Home Affairs (DOHA) has specified the assessing authority to carry out skills assessments for that occupation. We will work with you to gather the required evidentiary documents and apply.

Stage 3: Visa Application

Once your skills assessment application has been lodged, we will prepare your visa application. Once we lodge your visa, we’ll keep you informed about the progress, including the request for further information such as a request to do medical for the visa.

Upon a successful outcome, you will receive 18 months visa to live, work and study in Australia.

PLEASE NOTE:  The actual time taken by the DOHA to approve an application and grant a visa varies case by case depending upon an applicant’s circumstances, and the amount of supporting information that the Department requests.

Application cost

DescriptionAmountDIBP Surcharge 1.32%†Total
Visa Fee  – Main Applicant$1650$21.78$1671.78
Visa Fee –  EACH Additional Applicant Aged 18 + (e.g. spouse)$825$10.89$835.89
Visa Fee – EACH Additional Applicant Aged Under 18 (e.g. EACH dependent child)$415$5.48$420.48
485 visa – Graduate Work Stream DOHA fee and service charges as at May 2020

In addition to the Department of Home Affairs application charge, students will have to pay for the skill assessment fee to the relevant assessing authority.

As a full-service consultancy, we pride in our customer service. If you are thinking of applying for a 485 visa (graduate visa) please contact us today.

Disclaimer: Information provided on this page may be outdated. We do our best to update the articles frequently. However, we do not take any responsibility for outdated information that you may choose to rely on.