Introduction to 485 Visa Australia
As an international student, if you are planning to stay in Australia to get some work experience and potentially gain permanent residence, the 485 visa subclass is the perfect option for you. This blog article will guide you regarding the application process and the time required to do everything so that you can prepare accordingly. If you are thinking of other visa routes as well, you can read this article to weigh your options properly before deciding on one and paying the visa processing fee.
Purpose and Benefits of the 485 Visa Australia
The 485 visa allows the visa holders to stay in Australia for up to 18 months with the permit to work full-time or part-time. This is a great option because it allows international students to later on apply for visa subclass 189 or 190. You can talk to us about these visas in depth- book a session now with our mentors and find out more about the different pathways to stay in Australia after completing your studies. Our experts will guide you well and keep you updated about the entire process and deadlines. There are four streams for this visa type:
- Graduate Work stream
- Post-study work stream
- Second post-study work stream
- Replacement stream
Rights and obligations of 485 Visa holders in Australia
Each stream of the 485 visa gives you a different set of rights regarding your stay in Australia and you must fulfil the obligations of your visa to keep it valid. This section covers what each stream of visa will offer you.
- Graduate Work stream: Live, study and work in Australia for up to 18 months. You can also bring your family members
- Post-study work stream: After finishing your studies, you can live, study and work in Australia for 2 to 4 years. You are also allowed to bring immediate family members
- Second post-study work stream: With this visa, you can travel, stay and work in Australia for 1 to 2 years depending on the regional area where you studied and worked under the Temporary Graduate visa
- Replacement stream: This visa can be granted at any time between 18 months to 5 years (the grant period will be the same as your previous visa but there is extended period granted for Masters students who had Post study work visa and for Graduate Work visa stream holders) and you can live, study and work in Australia with this visa. Immediate family members can also be brought
Types of 485 Visa Australia and their eligibility requirements
Each of the visa streams mentioned above have their own eligibility criteria and they are suitable for different kinds of candidates. Here’s a quick summary of the eligibility criteria for each of the streams:
- Graduate work stream
- You should be under the age of 50
- You should be holding an eligible visa
- You have been holding a study visa in the past six months
- Your educational degree should be related to an occupation on the skilled occupation list
- You should have applied for the skills assessment of your occupation
- Provide evidence of health insurance and AFP (Australian Federal Police) check
- Provide proof the required level of English
- Post-study work stream
- All of the eligibility criteria of the Graduate Work stream applies except the need for a skills assessment application
- Your first study visa should have been granted or applied for before 5th November 2011
- Second post-study work stream
- You should be under the age of 50
- You should be residing in Australia at the time of application
- At the time of application, you should be holding a Temporary Graduate visa in the post-study work stream or replacement stream, and you should have been the main applicant for the Temporary Graduate work visa
- Your previous Temporary Graduate work visa should have been based on the degree you have earned in a course that is CRICOS registered and the institute should have been situated in a regional area in Australia
- You should have been living in the designated regional area for the past two years as a requirement of your Graduate work visa
- Provide evidence of health insurance for yourself and other applicants
- Replacement stream
- You should apply before 1st January 2027
- Your relevant Temporary Graduate visa should have been granted before 15 December 2021 and you should have lost time on it due to the COVID-19 restrictions
- After your Temporary Graduate visa, you should not have been granted with another visa or have it cancelled from the immigration office
Application process for the 485 Visa Australia
The application process for each of the visa streams is slightly different but here is the general summary of the process:
- Before you apply, check if you have a valid passport and fulfil the conditions for the visa. Also organise the required health exams
- Then gather all your required documents and this includes documents for the dependents applying with you
- Make an account on ImmiAccount and apply there
- You must take care of the deadlines and apply according to Australian local time
- After your visa is granted, you will receive the visa grant number, date and the conditions for the validity of the visa (the processing time for each type of visa varies)
Required documents for the 485 Visa Australia application
Generally, for all four streams, you will be required to submit the following documents with your visa application:
- Identity documents as well as divorce or marriage certificates if dependent are applying with you
- Your educational documents and related CRICOS registration numbers of your institute
- The results of your English language proficiency tests
- Skills assessment documents
- Health insurance documents
- Character documents
Make sure all these documents are translated if they are not in English
Processing time and duration of the 485 Visa Australia
For each of the streams, the processing times are as follows:
- Graduate Work stream: 90% of the visas are processed within 13 months
- Post-study work stream: 90% of the visas are processed within 15 months
- Second post-study work stream: Processing time is not mentioned on the Immigration website
- Replacement stream: Processing time is not mentioned on the Immigration website
