Australia To Introduce New Post-Study Work Visa Arrangements for Graduates

The Department of Immigration and Citizenship (DIAC) will introduce new post-study work arrangements in early 2013 for overseas graduates who hold an Australian Bachelor's, Master's or a Doctoral degree, a DIAC spokeswoman announced.

According to the announcement, the new post-study work arrangements is an additional stream in the existing temporary skilled graduate (subclass 485) visa which allows overseas graduates with skills and qualifications related to an in-demand occupation to remain in Australia for an additional 18 months. The introduction of new post-study work arrangements for degree level graduates in Australia was a key recommendation of the Strategic review of the student visa program 2011, conducted by the Hon Michael Knight AO.


The post-study work stream of the subclass 485 will be available for overseas students who lodged their first Australian student visa application after the introduction of the genuine temporary entrant requirement (GTE) on November 5, 2011.


If applicants do not meet the requirement, they can still apply for the temporary graduate visa through the graduate work stream (the existing subclass 485 arrangements).


To qualify for the new post-study work arrangements, applicants must graduate from an Australian educational institution with a Bachelor's, Master's and/or Doctoral degree. To complete this qualification, the study must have been at Bachelor level and above and must meet the Australian study requirement.


As the spokeswoman stated in the announcement, the duration of the subclass 485 visa under the new post-study work arrangements that applicants are granted will depend on the qualification that they have used to qualify for the stream. Graduates who have completed a Bachelor's degree, Master's by coursework degree or Master's extended degree may be eligible to apply for a two year post study work visa. Graduates who have completed a Master's by research degree or a Doctorate may be eligible to apply for a three or four year post-study work visa respectively. Other graduates may be eligible to apply for an 18 month subclass 485 visa through the graduate work stream.

Global Visa Support offers a variety of programs in Australia. Please visit our Australian page for more information: http://www.globalvisasupport.com/australia.html