You can imagine living in Australia and having already receive your degree. While Studying in Australia, select a course from different options, scholarship applications, the brilliant university campus where you have done your education. The different assignments and projects that you have undergone, all of these seem okay when you receive your graduation hat.
But when all this ends, you think about the expiry of your student visa and might want to extend your visa to stay longer. Well, for that, you will need a Temporary Graduate Visa Subclass 485; this blog will provide you with all the information regarding this visa.
Only Eligible Visa Holders can apply
The most important thing you need to ensure is you are eligible for the 485 visas. You have to apply for the visa within six months of finishing your study if you are under a bridging A, bridging B or a visitor visa in Australia. It would help if you made sure that:
- Your current visa does not have an NFS (no further stay) condition. You will not be eligible to apply for any onshore visa if it has. You need to leave the nation and then apply for it.
- It would help if you were onshore to apply for the 485 visas. It is not possible to apply for this visa offshore.
- To be able to apply for this temporary graduate visa, you need to be under 50 years old.
Why Is a Temporary Graduate Visa Needed?
The temporary graduate visa, also known to many as the Subclass 485 Visa in Australia, is made for people who have graduated as an overseas student and have finished two years of study in Australia. You can live and work in Australia; the visa has two streams.
Graduate work stream and post-study work-stream are the two streams of the 485 visa; you can choose either of the streams as per your qualification.
Graduate Workstream
The validity of this 485 visa stream is about 18 months. You can only apply for this visa if:
- Finished studying for two years in Australia
- If your occupation is listed on MLTSSL.
Post-Study Workstream
The post-study workstream is valid for four years and is applicable only if:
- You have finished your Bachelor’s, Master’s or a Doctorate’s degree from Australia.
- The student visa is issued after the 5th of November, 2011.
You will not be allowed to include family members while applying for the 485 visas.
Study Requirements for the 485 Visa
If you want to qualify for the 485 visas, the following conditions are important for you:
- The course that you have undergone need to be register under CRICOS,
- The program needs to be taught in English.
- The program needs to be at least 92 weeks or about 16 calendar months, equal to two years.
- The course needs to be complete while your student visa is valid.
Character Certificate Requirement
You and your family members need to hold a character certificate that is given by an Australian federal police check. The certificate must not be more than a year old from the issue date while lodging the visa.
Health Requirements
You and your family members have to undergo important medical examinations and have basic health standards to meet the 485 visa requirements. You could consult a 485 subclass visa Migration agent in Perth to know more about this aspect.
Health Cover Requirements
You and your family members are required to have an ideal health insurance cover while applying for this visa. This is necessary to bear your and your family’s health expenses during your stay in Australia. The company that issued the health insurance needs to be either from your home country or from Australia.
You need to have active health insurance while applying for this Australian visa; other important things that you need to remember are:
- If you are under a student visa, you need a valid overseas student health cover.
- If you are under a visitor or a bridging visa, you need a legal OVHC cover to apply for the temporary graduate visa.
Debt-Free Status
As a visa applicant, you need to be debt-free. This indicates that you have to clear all remaining debts to the Australian government if you have any. The rule is the same for other family members.
English Skill Requirement
You need to show you have Basic English writing, reading, listening, and speaking proficiency. If you reside in the USA, Ireland, Canada, New Zealand and the UK, you do not require this. If not, you need to undergo any of the below mentioned English proficiency tests to prove your English skills. The test is valid for three years till the result date. The tests are:
- IELTS
- OET
- CAE
- PTE Academic
- TOEFL.
Important Documents Are Needed to Apply for the 485 Visas in Either Stream
Some of the important documents that you will require for the 485 visas are as follows-
- Photographs (passport sized)
- Health insurance- a signed letter from a legitimate insurance provider
- A valid passport
- Character certificate- the certificate needs to be from the Australian Federal Police.
- Documents of the completed courses
- English proficiency test proof
- Attested transcript copies
- Family/relationship documents, if you have any
- Skilled assessment documents, if you applied in the graduate work-stream, you have to show skill assessment documents that state your assessed skills are suitable for the visa. You could contact an Immigration Perth to know more details regarding the documents.
Visa Updates
The eligibility requirements for the temporary graduate visa can be relaxed if you are associated with an Australian education provider and have been affected by the ongoing pandemic and associated travel restrictions. Under such conditions:
- You can add this to the Australian study requirement if you are an existing or a new student visa possessor and studying outside the country due to the pandemic.
- Eligible graduates who are affects due to the travel restrictions (due to COVID-19) can also apply for the subclass 485 visa and be grant the same.
- More time can be grant to prove your English proficiency results if you cannot take the test in your country due to the pandemic. Extra time can also be provide to you to collect biometrics and health checks if services have been disrupted due to COVID-19.
Will You Need OSHC to Support the Application for the 485 Visas?
During the application, if you have a valid student visa, you can already be covered under an OSHC policy as a condition to the student visa requirement. You need to provide proof of your existing OSHC with the 485 visa application. But you will also have to get a 485 visa health insurance within some time during the visa processing period for the visa to be grant.
At this time, you will be contacted by the Department of Home Affairs as they will need proof that you have sorted out a policy that falls under the temporary graduate visa requirements before issuing the visa.
Contact an Immigration Agent in Perth
If you want to live in Australia for an extended time after completing your studies, you can apply for the 485 visas. If you have trouble filling out the visa application forms or have doubts about the rules, you can contact an Immigration Agent Perth. Due to years of experience and expertise, these agents can help you fill out the visa application form and ensure your visa is grant.
