After graduating from an Australian University, some international students will be able to apply for a Temporary Graduate Visa Subclass 485. This visa is divided into two streams:
Stream 1: Graduate Work
This visa is intended for international students who have recently completed their studies with skills and qualifications appropriate to specific professions in Australia. This allows you to live, study and work in Australia for 18 months.
Stream 2: Post-Study Work
This visa is for international students who have recently graduated from the University of Australia. This allows you to live, work and study in Australia for 2-4 years.
Temporary Graduate Visa is a good option for students who want to extend their stay for a while and seek to obtain a permanent residence further down the track.
And recently, the Department of Home Affairs has announced a new initiative for an additional Temporary Graduate Visa for international students who:
– graduated from the regional campus of a registered university or institution with higher education or postgraduate qualifications; and
– retained a permanent residence in the regional region, holding their first temporary graduate visa (subclass 485)
Thus, students who meet the above criteria can apply for an additional visa, extending the right to work in Australia for another year.
The definition of regional Australia for this purpose will be the same as the definition for skilled migration – all of Australia, with the exception of Sydney, Melbourne, Perth, Brisbane and the Gold Coast. To qualify for a visa extension, students must graduate from a regional educational institution and then spend at least two years living in regional Australia. Regional areas may include Newcastle, Wollongong, Central Coast of New South Wales, Adelaide, Hobart and Canberra. An additional temporary visa for graduates was officially launched in November 2019 and will be available to first eligible graduates from 2021.