For those finishing University Studies, the temporary graduate visa subclass 485 is an ideal potential path to permanent residency. It allows you to remain in Australia for up to 4 years and is split into two streams. The two streams are the Graduate stream and the Post-Study Work Stream.
Graduate Stream
The first stream is the graduate work stream which is for students from overseas with a qualification that is relevant to an occupation on the Skilled Occupations list. This is the more restrictive of the two visas to apply for as it requires a skills assessment to be completed by the applicant. The graduate stream allows a person to remain in Australia for up to 18 months after they have studied.
The Post-Study Work Stream
The post study work stream is for international people who have a higher degree from an Australian education provider without any test placed upon their field of study. It is only available to students who received a student visa after 5 November 2011. This part of the temporary graduate stream can last for as long as four years depending upon the qualification obtained by the student. When making an application for this visa, you have to be located in Australia and you also have to be in Australia when the visa is granted.
In cases where a person has a no further stay condition placed upon their visa, they can apply to have this Visa condition waived in order to take up the temporary graduate visa subclass 485. This is a visa of much increasing popularity and it is very common for people to complete their studies at an Australian University and then find employment relevant to their field which mean that they then need to stay in the country for a longer period with full rights to work, study and travel which this visa does allow. Because it also facilitates the development of work experience in their chosen field, this visa is a common path way to permanent residence for students who need to boost their work experience component on the points test for general skilled migration.
