Immigration Lawyers and Migration Agents

Your Australian Visa Our Focus

In December 2023, the Australian government announced a new Migration Strategy, introducing significant changes to various visa programs, including the Graduate Visa.

The reforms are set to impact many people currently studying in Australia, prospective students, and the education sector, as the substantial reduction in age eligibility could make Australia less attractive for those seeking study opportunities and a pathway to Permanent Residency.

Changes to the 485 Temporary Graduate Visa are proposed to be implemented on the 1^st of July 2024 and include: 

Graduate Work stream

• The Graduate Work stream will be renamed to the Post-Vocational Education Work stream.
• Maximum eligible age will be reduced from under 50 to 35 years of age or under.
• Applicants are allowed to remain for a maximum of 18 months.
• Hong Kong and British National Overseas passport holders who are under 50 years of age will remain eligible.
• Hong Kong or British National Overseas passport holders may be able to stay for up to 5 years.
• Applicants must hold an associate degree, diploma or trade qualification, closely related to their nominated occupation on the Medium and Long-term occupation list.
• Applicants with a degree-level qualification or higher are no longer eligible for this stream and must apply through the Post-Higher Education Work stream instead.

Post-Study Work stream

• The Post-Study Work stream will be renamed to the Post-Higher Education Work stream.
• Maximum eligible age will be reduced from under 50 to 35 years of age or under.
• Hong Kong and British National Overseas passport holders who are under 50 years of age will remain eligible.
• The 2-year extension for selected degrees will be discontinued.

Stay periods:

• Bachelor degree (including honours) – up to 2 years
• Masters (coursework and extended) – up to 2 years
• Masters (research) and doctoral degree (PhD) – up to 3 years.

Hong Kong and British National Overseas passport holders may be able to stay for up to 5 years.

Stay periods for Indian nationals, as agreed in the Australian Indian – Economic Cooperation and Trade Agreement (AI-ECTA), remain as:

• Bachelor degree (including honours) – up to 2 years
• Bachelor degree (with first class honours in STEM, including ICT) – up to 3 years
• Masters (coursework, extended and research) – up to 3 years
• Doctoral degrees (PhD) – up to 4 years.

Second Post-Study Work stream

The Second Post-Study Work stream will be renamed the Second Post-Higher Education Work stream, with no additional changes to the stream.

This visa is designed for individuals holding a Temporary Graduate visa (from the first Post-Study Work stream or Replacement stream) who earned their degree from an Australian institution in a regional area. It allows you to live, work, and study temporarily in Australia.

To apply for this visa you must:

• Be under 50 years of age.
• Currently hold a Temporary Graduate visa in the post-study work stream or have held one previously in the replacement stream.
• Possess a degree from a CRICOS-registered course at an institution in an eligible designated regional area, which was the basis for the first Temporary Graduate visa.
• Have lived in a designated regional area for a minimum of two years prior to applying.

Replacement stream

The Replacement stream will cease.

What can you do now?

With the changes, it seems there will be no transition provisions for those currently studying in Australia who are over 35 years old. Unfortunately, this is particularly concerning as many people over 35 are nearing the completion of their courses and will not be eligible to apply for the Temporary Graduate Visa after July 1st.

Applicants no longer eligible for the Post-Vocational Education Work stream or the Post-Higher Education Work stream due to the age reduction may still qualify for other visas, such as the Employer-sponsored 482 or 494 visas, the 407 Training Visa, or Skilled Visas 189, 190, and 491, among others.

If you are over 35, you might need to explore other potential visa options upon completing your studies. Please book an appointment with us; we are here to help.

Do you need help with an Australian visa application?

Our team of experienced Immigration Lawyers and Migration Agents look forward to assisting you with your visa application.

Based in Adelaide, South Australia, we provide Australian Immigration advice to people and businesses from all over the world.

You can book an appointment online or call us at (+61) 8 8351 9956.

Sources: 

https://immi.homeaffairs.gov.au/visas/getting-a-visa/visa-listing/temporary-graduate-485/changes

https://immi.homeaffairs.gov.au/programs-subsite/migration-strategy/Documents/migration-strategy.pdf

Recent changes to Australia's student visa and graduate visa policies signal a significant shift in the landscape of international education and post-study opportunities in the country. Starting from March 23, 2024, these updates include an increase in the English language requirements and the introduction of the Genuine Student Requirement.

English Language Requirement

Student Visas:

• The minimum test score for English proficiency will rise from an IELTS score of 5.5 to 6.0 (or equivalent). For PTE the minimum test score is now 50.
• For those enrolling in ELICOS (English Language Intensive Courses for Overseas Students), the required score will increase from IELTS 4.5 to 5.0 (or equivalent). For PTE the minimum test score is now 36.

Graduate Visas:  

IELTS:

• The English requirements will go up from IELTS 6.0 to 6.5 (or equivalent) with a minimum score of 5.5 for each component of the test (reading, writing, speaking, and listening).

PTE:

• An overall band score of at least 57; for the listening test component a score of at least 43; for the reading test a score of at least 48; for the speaking test component a score of at least 42; and the writing test component of the PTE — a score of at least 51.

Big Impact on the Graduate Visa:

The validity period for the English test has been reduced from three years to just one year prior to the application date, a change that may present challenges for many applicants.

The new Genuine Student Requirement

The Department of Home Affairs has recently updated its website to include crucial information on the Genuine Student (GS) requirement, set to take effect on March 23, 2024. This update aims to provide applicants and stakeholders with a comprehensive understanding of the GS criterion, including what evidence and information should be incorporated into the application. The GS is replacing the Genuine Temporary Entrant (GTE).

What is the Genuine Student Requirement?

The Genuine Student requirement is designed to assess an applicant's intention to genuinely pursue studies in Australia.

Key Factors in Assessing the Genuine Student Requirement

The assessment of whether an applicant meets the GS requirement will consider various factors, including:

Applicant's Circumstances: This can include the reasons for choosing a particular course, the relevance of the course to the applicant's past or proposed future employment in their home country or a third country, and the potential for the course to enhance the applicant's career prospects.

Immigration History: The Department will look into the applicant's previous travel to Australia and other countries, including compliance with visa conditions and the laws of those countries.

Compliance with Visa Conditions and Other Relevant Matters: Any previous history of visa compliance, as well as other matters deemed relevant by the Department, will be taken into account.

Plans to be a Skilled Migration Now Acceptable

The GS criterion also acknowledges that there are post-study pathways available for students who may be eligible, recognizing the potential for students to transition to other visa categories following their studies.

This is a welcome change from the previous GTE requirement, which required the applicant to make a statement about why they desperately wanted to leave after their studies.

Contact us if you need assistance with your Student or Graduate Visas. As soon as we have more updates about the Student and Graduate Visas, we will post them on our website and social media channels: TikTok, Facebook, and Instagram.

Do you need help with an Australian visa application?

Our team of experienced Immigration Lawyers and Migration Agents look forward to assisting you with your visa application.

Based in Adelaide, South Australia, we provide Australian Immigration advice to people and businesses from all over the world.

You can book an appointment online or call us at (+61) 8 8351 9956.

On 25 November 2021, the Department of Home Affairs announced some much anticipated changes to the Graduate Visa program - 485 Graduate Visas are going to be extended, at last! 

The announcement comes as a huge relief to those who were granted Temporary Graduate Visas but rhwen stranded outside of Australia during the Covid pandemic. It has taken months of campaigning but finally the Australian Government is establishing a concession to allow them to get the time in Australia they deserve.

It is estimated there are more than 30,000 people who could benefit from these changes.

BREAKING NEWS

Prime Minister Scott Morrison has formally announced that Australia's international borders will be reopening on 01 December 2021 to fully vaccinated visa holders - yes, it's finally happening!  As of December, you will be able to travel back to Australia without needing a travel exemption. All you need is an eligible visa and a vaccination.

Since the outbreak of Covid, thousands of international students have been stranded overseas. Most of them choose to continue their studies online while they are in their home country but this raises the question... if the Student Visa expires during this time, do you need to apply for another Student Visa?

Apply for a 485 Temporary Graduate Visa if you are eligible

There are two streams to the 485 visa which are:

1. Graduate Work Stream 

2. Post-Study Work Stream

Graduate Work Stream

• For international students who graduated with a qualification related to an occupation on the Skilled Occupation List (SOL)

• Requires a positive skills assessment

•  Valid for 18 months from the date of grant

Post-Study Work Stream

• For International students who graduate with a higher education degree from an Australian education provider, regardless of their field of study.

• This stream is only available to students who applied for, and were granted their first student visa to Australia on or after 5 November 2011.

• This visa can be granted up to 4 years from the date the visa is granted, depending on the visa applicant's qualification.

Other criteria require for both streams include:

• meet English language requirements. You have achieved an overall score of at least 6 with a minimum a score of 5 in each of the four test components (speaking, reading, listening and writing) in an International English Language Testing System (IELTS) test that has been undertaken in the three years immediately prior to lodging the visa application.

• meet the 2 years full time Australian study requirement

Many graduates choose to apply for the 485 visa to give them more time to achieve the requirements for General Skilled Migration (GSM) or Employer Sponsored visas. While holding the 485 visa, you could:

• obtain a positive skills assessment

• improve English test scores

• find an employer to sponsor you

• gain more work experience (an application for a Temporary Skills Shortage subclass 482 visa requires 2 years of relevant work experience)

The subclass 485 Temporary Graduate Visa is a good option, but it is not available to all students. Many vocational course graduates miss out and may need to consider other options.

If you cannot apply for one of the two Graduate visas, then you mayneed to consider your other options below. If GSM and Employer sponsorship are not suitable, then you may have to apply for further studies visa.

Apply for a Skilled Visa – Subclass 189, 190 or 491

Apply for a 482 Temporary Skills Shortage Visa

You may be eligible to apply for a 482 visa if you have worked the permitted 20 hours per week for 2 years while holding your student visa. You will also need an employer who is willing to sponsor you for a work visa.
This pathway requires a few stages of work as the employer needs to be an approved sponsor first before sponsoring you. Work Visa Lawyers assists in checking the eligibility of the employer to be a sponsor and the sponsorship application process. If you have an employer willing to sponsor you, do contact us immediately as the preparation involved before your visa application can take some time. It is noteworthy that some employers may sponsor you for a permanent visa immediately.

Apply for a Partner Visa

Apply for a Further Studies Visa

• The course you recently completed does not meet the 2-year study requirement, or
• The course you completed has no suitable occupation to be nominated for a visa application

Pathways Taken By Other Graduates

Rosa

Bruno

Sources:

Immigration SA website

Department of Home Affairs website

https://immi.homeaffairs.gov.au/visas/getting-a-visa/visa-listing/temporary-graduate-485

https://immi.homeaffairs.gov.au/visas/getting-a-visa/visa-listing/skilled-nominated-190

https://immi.homeaffairs.gov.au/visas/getting-a-visa/visa-listing/skilled-work-regional-provisional-491

https://immi.homeaffairs.gov.au/visas/getting-a-visa/visa-listing/temporary-skill-shortage-482

https://immi.homeaffairs.gov.au/visas/getting-a-visa/visa-listing/partner-onshore

This information is accurate on 28 February 2020.  Department of Home Affairs will change requirements in an ongoing manner and all current requirements must be established prior to lodging an application.

Do You Need Help?

At Work Visa Lawyers we are experienced in assisting applicants with skilled visa applications such as subclass 189, 190, 489, 485, 457 visas as well as the Regional Sponsored Migration Scheme (RSMS). We also handle family visa applications including Partner, Parent and Child visas.

If you require further information regarding your current visa options you can contact us through:

 (08) 8351 9956 or +61 8 8351 9956 

or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.