Today, we will limelight the work VISA options available to international students after completing their studies. Graduate 485 visa Australia is a promising career-oriented migration approach designed for students studying in Australia. As we know, Work opportunities are open to every individual in Australia. All, including international students, foreign skilled workers, and outsiders with relevant work experience, have the best migration options to work and settle on this beautiful island. The motive behind introducing this VISA category is to strengthen students' skills at workplaces after graduation. At the same time, students get the benefits of working in Australia for up to 5 years. Also, students can have many PR options after working in Australia on Graduate Work VISA. Let's start and learn in depth.
 

The Subclass 485 visa Requirements
 

The Subclass 485 visa Australia is divided into four major streams based on students' recent qualifications (bachelor, master, or doctoral degree, diploma, or trade certificates) and relevant courses best fitted into the listed Australian occupations. We will fetch key information related to all four streams associated with 485 VISA. Before that, take a look at the general requirements to apply for 485 VISA Australia.

 

• Must be under 50.
• Meet Australian study requirements as per the VISA stream.
• Must have English proficiency of CEFR level B2 (IELTS or PTE equivalent score also valid)
• Students with Australian student visas can directly apply to work in Australia.
• Applicants who have completed their studies in the past six months and have been issued a bridging VISA (A or B) or substantive VISA can also apply for a work VISA.

 

There are also some additional requirements as per the particular steam that we will discuss later on in our guide.
 

Types of subclass 485 VISA

 

1. Graduate Work Stream - It is a great opportunity for foreign students with qualifications and skills directly linked to occupations included in the Medium and Long-term Strategic Skills List (MLTSSL). Applicants must nominate the profession as per their eligibility on the application form. Profile assessment from an authorized agency is also required for your nominated profession. With your profile assessment, you will have proof of being eligible to work for skilled occupations. In short, other than general requirements, one must have the following eligibility to apply for Graduate Work Stream.

 

• 2-Years of education in Australia
• Occupation nomination in MLTSSL
• Skill Assessment Report (valid up to 3 years)- Relevant to the work

 

Once the VISA grant is approved, the candidates have the responsibility to find the relevant jobs; the Immigration authority won’t be responsible for the employment.

 

Stay Period: Candidates have the 18 months staying period grand with this VISA. For the time being, the staying duration has been increased to 24 months. The option to extend this visa is not available. One has to apply for a different work visa to stay in Australia.

 

 

2. Post-Study Work Stream - Recent graduates with bachelor, master's, or doctoral degrees can apply for this stream. Candidates must

 

• Have studied the course from an Australian education provider
• Candidates must have their first Student visa issued on or after 5th November 2011

 

Stay Period: The length of the staying period depends on the course type and duration. Check out the tabular date to fetch the exact information.

 

 

Qualification	Length of VISA Grant
Bachelor’s degree	4 Years
Master’s degree	4 Years
Doctoral degree	6 Years
Hong Kong and British National Overseas passport holders with a degree at any level	4 Years

 

Likewise, graduate work stream, no stay-extension option is added in Post-Study Work Stream. But one can apply for a second Post-Study work stream or a different work visa.

 

3. Second Post-Study Work Stream - Post-Study Work VISA holders are eligible to apply for this stream with qualification completed at an Australian institution in a regional area. Mandatory conditions to be fulfilled by the candidates are-

 

• Candidates studied their course in a regional area (Australian affiliated institution)
• Candidates must have spent two years in any regional area on their Post-Study Work VISA.

 

Stay Period: Usually, 1 to 4 years of stay is allowed. Also, the visa grant depends on various factors, such as

 

• The type of area where your studied and graduated
• The type of degree as a student visa holder,
• And the place where you resided with your post-study work VISA or Temporary Graduate visa in the replacement stream.

 

 

Categories (Studied and lived)	Stay Period
Category 2	1 Year
Category 2 - (with select degree)	3 Years
Category 3	2 Years
Category 3 - (with select degree)	4 Years

 

 

Candidates can visit the “Australian Government Department of Home Affairs” site to know their eligibility for a particular category (2 or 3) and Select Degree list. You can’t stay longer as no extension option is available. You may apply for a different work visa.

 

4. Replacement Stream (Started from 01 July 2022) - COVID-19 brought many difficulties to immigrants during the critical phase. Many of the 485-VISA holders lost their staying time due to the pandemic restriction on travel. Therefore, the replacement stream came into existence. This stream allows immigrants to live, work, and study in Australia. Candidate must apply before 01 January 2027. After that applications portal will be closed. Requirements to be eligible for Replacement Stream are

 

• Must hold a subclass 485 work visa or have been granted a work visa but currently hold a bridging visa (A or B) or substantive visa
• Must have held a work visa-485 granted before 15 December 2021 and still valid on or after 1 February 2020
• Lost time due to COVID-19 traveling restriction

• You were issued VISA-485 while in Australia and traveled outside Australia on this visa between 1 February 2020 and 14 December 2021.
• You were issued VISA-485 while outside Australia, entered the country on this visa, and then departed before 15 December 2021
  
  
  Stay Period: New VISA will be issued with the same stay rights as your previous visa, except
• Past Post-study work visa holders with recent master coursework degrees will have three-year stay permission.
• Past Graduate Work visa holders will have the right to stay for two years.

 

 

Why choose Western Overseas?

 

Graduates opt for work visa options like subclass 485 visa Australia for the benefits of staying and working in Australia. Also, they can include their family members in visa applications with the same rights. Isn’t it awesome? Of course, yes! Wait no more and talk to our immigration lawyers Australia for right guidance to apply for your work visa. Settle in Australia with Western Overseas!