What is a 485 visa?

The 485 visa, also known as the graduate work visa, is valid for 1 year and 6 months to 4 years. This visa is designed specifically for Australian graduates, allowing international students to travel, work or continue their studies in Australia after graduation. The 485 visa does not have any restrictions on work or study. Graduates can work or study full-time and enter and exit the country unlimited times. For students studying engineering, IT or Accounting, holding a 485 visa, they can continue their Professional Year studies, obtain an additional 5 immigration points, and can also pass the career assessment with lower requirements through PY. It can be said that the 485 visa is a welfare-type visa only for Australian graduates. As the main applicant, a person has only one chance to obtain a 485 visa in his or her lifetime.

485 visa subclass:

 There are two sub-categories of the 485 visa: GW and PSW.

General requirements for 485 visas:

Under 50 years old

Hold the required visa type when applying for 485:

Student visa

have held a student visa in the past 6 months and currently hold a Bridging A or Bridging B visa, or

A valid physical visa (a bridging visa is not a physical visa)

The student visa was cancelled, but within the past 28 days, the Tribunal ruled that the decision of the Immigration Department to cancel the visa was overturned;

Qualifying English scores:

Citizens of certain countries with valid passports: United Kingdom, United States, New Zealand, Canada, Ireland;

An IELTS score equivalent to 6 overall, with no less than 5 in any single section (PTE, OET, etc. are accepted), obtained within the last three years;

Australian study requirements: no less than two years of full-time study (only successfully graduated courses can be counted as valid study time);

You must submit your 485 visa application within 6 months of completing your course;

Meet health requirements: If you have not had a physical examination in the past 12 months, you must complete the physical examination items as required;

Meet the character requirements: You must have applied for an AFP (Australian Federal Police Check) when submitting your visa application, and the result must be valid for 12 months;

The applicant and his/her family members have no debt to any Australian government department;

Have purchased the required health insurance when submitting your application (Overseas Student Cover does not apply).

Instructions for 485-PSW:

Apply for and obtain your first Australian student visa after November 5, 2011;

No career assessment is required, and there is no restriction on majors;

Applicants must have a bachelor's, master's or doctoral degree;

Bachelor's and Master's students can obtain a 485 visa with a validity period of 2 years, and doctoral students can obtain a 485 visa with a validity period of up to 4 years.

485 visa matters needing attention:

 Two-year study requirements in Australia: The course must be registered on CRICOS for at least 92 weeks, and the student must actually study for at least 16 months;

If you are enrolled in an Australian course for two years but have been exempted through RPL (Recognition of Prior Learning), you will still meet the two-year Australian study requirement regardless of whether the course you were exempted from was completed in Australia or overseas.

The completion date of the course is based on the completion letter issued by the school, not the date of the degree certificate or graduation ceremony. The 485 visa must be applied for within 6 months after graduation, and it should be noted that the 485 visa application cannot be submitted on the day the completion letter is issued;

English transcripts must be valid for no more than 3 years;

You must have purchased the required health insurance when submitting your 485 visa application;

When submitting a 485 visa application, you must hold an AFP certificate within 12 months or have already submitted an AFP application with a receipt number;

When submitting 485-TR, you must have applied for a skills assessment and have a relevant reference number;

485-TR, the courses used to meet the two-year study requirement must be closely related to the nominated position: for example, if the nominated position is Internal Auditor, but the last course is a Diploma in Hospitality Management, the Diploma course does not meet the relevance requirement; on the contrary, if the nominated position is Chef, then the Diploma course meets the relevance requirement.