Can You Apply For A PR While Holding Temporary Graduate Visa Subclass 485?

Can You Apply For A PR While Holding Temporary Graduate Visa 485?

Have you completed your study in Australia and wondering what to do next with your qualification? Well, as of now, you must have realized that this country is a great place not only to study but to work as well. So, why aren’t you thinking about staying in this country permanently? Or, did you? If so, then you must first obtain your Temporary Graduate Visa Subclass 485 and then go for Permanent Residency or PR.

What Is A Temporary Graduate Visa 485?

According to researches, the majority of foreign students prefer to continue living in Australia after completing their graduation. Most of the students want to go for higher education or apply for skilled migration visas after their graduation ends. But, it is quite impossible for most of them to pay the expenses for studying further or acquire a skilled migration visa right after their graduation.

If you are a student interested in applying for skilled migration visas or for permanent resident in Australia, then you should opt for Temporary Graduate Visa 485, in which you can learn certain occupational skills or find a suitable job to become eligible to apply to the general skilled migration visas in a later period. 485 visa processing time is 5 months for 75% of the applicants while 6 months for 90% of the applicants under Graduate Work Stream. Under the Post-Study Work stream, 75% of an application takes 6 months and 90% of an application takes 12months. The exact processing time for the Second Post-Study Workstream is not available as per the Department Of Home Affairs.

Also Read, TEMPORARY GRADUATE VISA SUBCLASS 485 PROCESSING TIME AND CONDITIONS

What Are The Three Streams of Visa Subclass 485 That You Can Apply For?

There are three streams of temporary graduate visa subclass 485 that you can apply for.

  1. Graduate Work Stream: If you’re an international student and have completed at least a diploma or a trade certificate in a course which is included in the list of skilled occupations of Australia. This visa will let you stay back in Australia for 18 months.
  2. Post-Study Work Stream: This type of visa is applied if you’re an international student and have completed a Bachelor’s degree or above (Masters or Ph.D.) in a course. Remember, the course must be registered in the Commonwealth Register of Institutions and Courses for Overseas Students or simply, CRICOS register. This visa will let you stay back in Australia for a period of 2 to 4 years.
  3. Second Post-Study Work stream: This type of visa is for the applicant holding a temporary graduate visa subclass 485 in the Post Study Work Stream and has completed a degree from an Australian institution located in a regional area.

Eligibility Requirements For Subclass 485 Visa Australia

There are general as well as stream-specific 485 visa requirements. Here we enlist those requirements that includes both.

  1. Age limit: You have to be less than 50 years of age at the time of application.
  2. Student visa requirement: You must have held a student visa within the past 6 months of your application. And if you have bridging visa A or bridging visa B, granted on the basis of a valid application that can also be applicable.
  3. Course requirement: You must complete a course (a diploma for graduate workstream or a bachelor or master’s or Ph.D. for post-study workstream) that is CRICOS-registered.
  4. Course duration requirement: The course that you have completed must have been of 2 years duration.
  5. Availability: You must have resided in Australia for at least 16 months to complete the course.
  6. Skill assessment requirement: You must be equipped with one of the skills from the Medium and Long Term Strategic Skills List (MLTSSL) and get a skill assessment by a relevant assessing authority. This is exclusively for a graduate work stream visa.
  7. CRICOS registered education: For a post-study work stream visa, you must study with a CRICOS registered education provider in Australia.
  8. English language requirements: If you’re not coming from a country like UK, USA, Canada, Ireland, or New Zealand (English-speaking countries) you need to meet English language requirements. The score of any English test like IELTS, TOEFL iBT, Cambridge, PTE Academic is eligible.

Also, Read- HOW TO APPLY FOR A POST STUDY WORK VISA IN AUSTRALIA?

What Are The Benefits Of 485 Subclass Visa?

Under this visa, Australian government had divided all the cities and regions into three categories: category 1 (which includes all the major cities of Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane), category 2 (which includes cities and major regional centres like Perth, Adelaide, The Gold Coast, Canberra etc.) and category 3 (which includes regional centres and other regional areas, not included in the previous two categories).

If you study from an institution belonging to category 2 city, you will get a one-year extension on your post-study work stream visa. And, if you study from an institution belonging to a category 3 city, you will get a two-year extension on your post-study work stream visa.

For example, if you are granted a 4 year-stay back for your doctoral studies, you will get an extra one year to complete your research in a category 2 city while extra two years in a category 3 city.

How Can You Apply For A PR While Holding Visa Subclass 485?

There are certain options available, which can turn your visa subclass 485 into permanent residency. These are as follows:

  1. Temporary Skill Shortage Visa (Subclass 482): To apply for this TSS 482 visa, you must gain experience in an occupation or a related field, for at least 2 years. You can get this two year-work experience from full-time work rights on a 485 visa.
  2. Skilled visas (190, and 189): While holding a 485 visa, you can get the necessary work experience to get points required for points-based visas like Skilled Independent Visa 189 and State-Sponsored 190 visa. You can also get the necessary points to get benefits in necessary skill assessment if you’re an accountant, engineer, or IT professional.
  3. Employer-Sponsored 186 Visa: This is also a permanent visa that you can get if you have your employer sponsoring your stay in Australia. For this visa, you need to gain three years of work experience, which you can get while working with a 485 visa.

If you choose Perth as the preferred destination, then it will be beneficiary in more than one cause. In Perth, you will get excellent working conditions and also a 1-year extension on your post-study work stream visa. The eligibility criteria mentioned here will give you a rough idea of the application. But, you should always consult with the Best Migration Agent Perth who can provide appropriate explanations to your queries. Immigration Agents Perth can help you in finding such an agent.