Graduate Temporary Subclass 485 visas

Overview

In today’s article, we are writing in relation to the Temporary Graduate Subclass 485 Visas (also known as “TR Visas” to many international students.)

An unknown fact for many, this visa was first introduced to the Australian visa system as part of the 2007 General Skilled Migration (GSM) reforms. But it only gained public and media notoriety after the amendments made in March 2013, as a result of the Strategic Review of the Student Visa Program.

One visa subclass two streams

This Visa subclass has two streams:

• Graduate Work Stream– This stream is available to recent graduates with an eligible qualification who have graduated with skills and qualifications that relate to an occupation that is considered in demand, as indicated in the relevant skilled list. If successful, the applicant will be granted an 18 month visa. A positive skill assessment in the nominated occupation is required for this stream.

Please also note that this steam is also applicable to graduates with an eligible occupation from the Vocational Education and Training (VET) sector.

• Post Study Work Stream– This steam is open to international students who have recently graduated with an eligible higher education degree from an Australian Educational Institution, regardless of their field of study. Successful applicants are granted a visa for two, three or four years depending on the highest educational qualification that they have obtained.

This stream is only open to international students, who had been granted, their first student visa on or after 5 November 2011.

Advantages of holding a Temporary Graduate Visa

Because this visa subclass has unrestricted work rights, it may allow visa holders to obtain those additional points missing for an eventual permanent residency application, via the General Skilled Migration Scheme. (GSM).

For example, applicants who may be missing 5 or 10 points, may obtain those by completing a professional year and/or having local relevant experience in their eligible occupation.

Furthermore, it may also lead to employer sponsored opportunities such as the temporary business 457 visa or the ENS permanent sponsored visa.

High Refusal Rate

The Temporary Graduate visa may look like a simple process, and for that reason many eligible international students attempt to apply themselves not knowing that temporary graduate visas have an extremely high refusal rate if compared to other visa subclass such as student visas and employer sponsored skilled visas.

The reason behind this high refusal rate is due to the fact that there is a lot of “time of application” requirements that must be met. If an application is lodged and not all “time of application” requirements are met, the application must be refused. This issue cannot be remedied even in the event of applying to the Administrative Appeal Tribunal.

The visa must be applied for within 6 months of completing studies in Australia, so if the first visa is refused, this 6 month period may have lapsed closing the opportunity to apply again. Furthermore, onshore refusals whilst holding a bridging visa leads to restrictions from applying for other visas onshore for a lengthy period of time!

Conclusion

This visa is a great option to eligible international students who are looking to extend their stay and increase their chances of permanent residency either via obtaining those valuable missing points needed for a skilled permanent residency application or through opening up employer sponsored options.

Having said that, applicants must be aware of the several nuances of this visa that if not satisfied may result in a refusal.

This is just one of the reasons why we strongly recommend applicants seek professional advice from a registered migration agent, before initiating their visa application.

Here at First Class Migration we have a team of very experienced and skilled migration agents and we are very confident we can guide you through the process to secure you a positive outcome.

If you have any enquires in relation to your eligibility for a Temporary Graduate visas or any other visa subclass, please do not hesitate to contact us on .