Skilled Migration

The Subclass 485 visa enables overseas student graduates to stay back in Australia with unlimited working rights to contribute to the Australian economy. The Subclass 485 stream includes:

Temporary Graduate (subclass 485) visa – Post Study Work Stream

This stream allows international students who have completed a Bachelor’s, Master’s, or Doctoral degree in Australia on a student visa to work in the country to gain international work experience. The length of your Subclass 485 – Post Study Visa will depend on the level of your Australian qualification.

• Bachelor’s degree (including honor’s): 2 years
• Masters by research and masters by coursework: 3 years
• Doctoral degree: 4 years
• Hong Kong and BNO passport holders with a bachelor’s, master’s or doctoral degree: 5 years

Subclass 485 – Graduate Work Stream

Students may be eligible for this stream if they have graduated with the skills related to an occupation in the Skills Occupation List. 

Graduates can usually stay on this visa for 18 months. However, the stay period has been temporarily increased from 18 to 24 months for visas granted from 1 December 2021.

In addition to this, Hong Kong and British National Overseas passport holders may stay up to 5 years.