Continue your stay in Australia with a Temporary Graduate visa – Subclass 485

Temporary Graduate visa – Subclass 485 visa is the ultimate option for international students who want to continue to work or study in Australia. Australia is known as a peaceful and beautiful country with high quality education, well paid – jobs with many opportunities for students after they graduate to develop their career and future.
Therefore, a Subclass 485 visa is the next option for graduate students. The question is what makes you qualify for this graduate visa?
Table of Contents
What is a Temporary Graduate visa – Subclass 485
How many types of Temporary Graduate visa – Subclass 485 are there?
The benefits of a Subclass 485 visa
The requirements of a Subclass 485 visa
The Australian Government has loosened the requirements of a Subclass 485 visa
What documents and papers are required for a Subclass 485 visa?
Step by step of an Australian Temporary Graduate visa – Subclass 485
The cost of a Subclass 485 visa
What is a Temporary Graduate visa – Subclass 485
A Subclass 485 visa is a temporary visa for international students who recently graduated a 2-year course in Australia.
A Subclass 485 visa lets you stay live, study and work in Australia temporarily from 18 months to 4 years. Applicants may have time to prepare for the application for a Skilled visa.

How many types of Temporary Graduate visa – Subclass 485 are there?
There are 2 options when it comes to applying for a Subclass 485 visa.
The Graduate Work Stream
This visa is for international students who have recently graduated with skills and qualifications that are relevant to specific occupations Australia needs. It allows you to stay in Australia for another 18 months.
The Post-study Work Stream
This visa is for international students who have recently graduated with a degree from an Australian institution. Applicants must hold a degree in a CRICROS-registered course.
Moreover, applicants may apply for the second stage which is the Second Post-study Work Stream to stay in Australia longer.
To know the differences between the two options, contact VEM now for professional advice from our registered consultant (MARN: 1577877).
The benefits of a Subclass 485 visa
Residence benefits | With a Graduate Work Stream: 18 months. With a Post-study Work Stream: 2-4 years.
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Free entries benefits | Travel to and from Australia as many times as you want before the expired date of your visa. |
Working and studying benefits | Work or study in Australia during your stay. |
Sponsor family members benefits | You can sponsor another eligible family member to Australia. |
Applicants may find it hard to apply for a job in Australia with a Subclass 485 visa. According to many business recruiters, training for an employee who can only work from 18 months to 4 years would be a waste of time. That’s why they have a tendency of hiring a Australian permanent residents.

Therefore, if you’re currently holding a Subclass 485 visa, contact VEM now. Mr. Phong Cao (CEO of VEM) who has more than 10 years of experience in Australian migration. He’s capable of giving you the most suitable advice and tips for your specific case.
The requirements of a Subclass 485 visa
Graduate Work Stream | Post-study Work Stream | |
Age requirements | Under 50 years of age. | |
Qualifications | Must graduate a 2-year course in Australia. Skills and qualifications must be relevant to specific occupations Australia needs. | Must hold a degree in a CRICROS-registered course. Must hold a Bachelor (honours) degree, Masters by coursework degree, Masters (extended) degree, Masters by research degree, or a Doctoral degree. |
Skill assessment | Compulsory | Not compulsory |
Study course / Job | Your course or job must be included in the (MLTSSL – Medium and Long-term Strategic Skills List). | |
Visa | Must hold a Student visa – Subclass 500 six months before lodgement. Bridging visa A or B. | |
English language requirements | Meet the requirements of the Australian Government. Details will be listed in the following section. | |
Health insurance requirements | Have health insurance at the time you submit your visa. | |
Health and character requirements | Must meet the health and character requirements of the Australian Government. |

There are 5 types of English certificates approved by the Australian Government. Specifically,
Graduate Work Stream | Post-study Work Stream | |
IELTS | At least score 6.0 in overall. At least score 5.0 in each of 4 parts. | Overall band score must be at least 6.0 At least score 4.0 in each of 4 parts. |
TOEFL iBT | At least score 64 in total. Listening: 4 Reading: 4 Writing: 14 Speaking: 14 | |
PTE Academic | At least score 50 in total. Each skill must be at least 36. | |
OET | At least score B in each of 4 parts. | |
Cambridge C1 Advanced test | At least score 169 in total. At least score 154 in each of 4 parts. |
The Australian Government has loosened the requirements of a Subclass 485 visa
Due to COVID-19, the international borders of Australia still remain closed. This has greatly affected the studying process of several Subclass 485 visa holders.
Therefore, to support many international students the Australian Government has brought out some new changes. Specifically,
- Provide online courses for the current and upcoming Subclass 485 visa holders.
- The applicants can apply for a Subclass 485 visa offshore instead of onshore.
- Longer visa application time: 12 months after finishing your courses instead of the usual 6 months.
- The applicants don’t have to hold a Subclass 500 visa six months before lodgement.
- The visa duration will start when the applicants come to Australia.
- Current Subclass 485 visa holders can apply for this visa a second time starting from 20th January, 2021.
- The applicants must graduate from any schools in Australia except schools in Sydney, Brisbane, Melbourne.
- The applicants must live in areas of their schools for at least 2 years before the second lodgement.
If you meet all of these requirements, start your application as soon as possible. Contact VEM today so that our professional migration can evaluate your documents.
What documents and papers are required for a Subclass 485 visa?
Is it hard to get a Subclass 485? Preparation is always the key!
The more carefully you prepare, the higher chance for you to get a visa. These are the some main documents you need to prepare before apply:
Identification papers |
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Form | An application form 157 and 1221. Written documents that show you have registered for the AFP test (12 months since the visa lodgement). VEM will provide these forms and instruct you. |
Proofs of your eligibility |
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Step by step of an Australian Temporary Graduate visa – Subclass 485
- Step 1: Check to see if you’re qualified or not and take part in a skill assessment (if needed)
- Step 2: Gather necessary documents.
- Step 3: Making the application and paying the visa application fee.
- Step 4: Your application is processed.
- Step 5: Add any additional required documents.
- Step 6: Being granted a visa.
The cost of a Subclass 485 visa
The applicants | 1,680AUD |
The accompany family member |
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Note: The fees listed above do not include a 1.4% surcharge.There will be other costs for a police check and health check.
Each family member will also be charged to apply for the visa with you. For subsequent entrants, they have to pay a full visa application fee.
Any kind of refund is impossible when your application is rejected. Additionally, when the Department of Home Affairs doesn’t approve your visa for the first time, any visa applications in the future will be much harder and much more complex.
Beside MARN, Mr Phong Cao is a member of the Australian Migration Institute (MIA: 12648), so when working with VEM, clients will also be informed about any new changes or adjustments. Thus, increase their chances of getting a visa approval.
Processing times of Subclass 485 visa
Each stream has different processing times:
Streams | Processing time |
Graduate Work Stream | 75% of applications are processed in 10 months. 90% of applications are processed in 12 months. |
Post – Study Work Stream | 75% of applications are processed in 10 months. 90% of applications are processed in 11 months. |
Your application may take longer to process if the DHA needs more information from you.
International students who study outside Australia (holding a Subclass 500 visa) because of Covid – 19 are still counted as study period in Australia (as required your course must be 2 years or more to apply for a Subclass 485 visa).
Due to travel restrictions, international students are allowed to apply for a Subclass 485 visa outside of Australia. They are also given more time to prepare for the English requirement.
VEM’s consultants will help you step by step with your documents, fees and applications. Do not hesitate to contact us for help.
Frequently asked questions
A Subclass 485 visa is also known as the Temporary Graduate visa. It allows graduated students to continue their stay in Australia after the Subclass 500 visa expired.
The answer is no. The Australian Department of Home Affairs requires that the English certificates must be included in the application at the time of the lodgement.
The answer is yes. Check out the previous part in this article for more information.
If you’ve never held a Subclass 485 visa or a Subclass 476 visa as the main applicant, you can still apply for a Subclass 485 now. And your husband can also be included in your application.
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VEM hopes this article gives you an overall understanding of the Subclass 485 visa. If there’s any questions, don’t hesitate to comment below. We’ll contact you as soon as possible.
Find out more about other Australian visa: