If you’re tired of sifting through countless websites and just want to get started, book a chat with me. I’ll help you secure your 485 visa, also known as the Temporary Graduate Visa (TR).
In this article, we highlight common pitfalls to avoid. Discover where you might go wrong and how to ensure a smooth application process for your Temporary Graduate Visa.
Ensure you provide all required supporting documents at the time you lodge your 485 Visa application.
Upload the documents to your online IMMI account immediately when submitting your 485 visa application.
There is one problem that comes up over and over again in relation to the subclass 485 application.
Do you meet the two-year study requirement? Have you studied the right courses for the right length of time and have you actually completed the course, not just completed your final submission for the course?
The second is whether you have lodged within the 6 months window allowed for lodgement of this visa. Be careful here. You need to lodge within 6 months of course completion.
First, it’s important to understand that CRICOS is the authority for”evaluating” the duration of a “course”.
The 2-year study requirement can include the completion of one or more courses.
The study must total “2 years”. But this “2-year” concept must be understood.
To meet this requirement, you must accumulate the equivalent of 92 weeks of study.
It’s essential to note that “92 CRICOS weeks” does not directly equate to “2 years” of study in Australia.
For example, if you complete Course A, which CRICOS evaluates as 46 weeks of study, but you took 18 months to finish due to failing 2 subjects, CRICOS will still evaluate it as 46 weeks.
In this case, you have only fulfilled 50% (46/92) of the required 92 weeks.
Consequently, you will need to remain enrolled and possibly reapply for a student visa to complete additional CRICOS courses.
The additional courses must make up the shortfall, which in this example is 46 weeks.
Some other reasons why your 485 visa could be refused are that you have failed to meet the English Language test evidence requirement at the time of application or you have failed to meet the requirement to provide evidence of your police check at the time of your 485 visa application.
Not doing so, risks a 485 visa refusal!
Firstly, be aware that evidence of health insurance and evidence of an application for an AFP certificate within 12 months of the application date must be provided at the time of lodgement.
Secondly, remember that you must provide (among other things) the following documents to the Department:
* Evidence of English Language Ability;
* Evidence that you meet the Australian Study Requirement; and
* A valid Skills Assessment from a Skills Assessing Authority….depending on the stream you are applying for. A skills assessment is not normally required for the “post-study work stream” of the 485 visa but is required for the “graduate work” stream of the 485 visa.
If the Department refuses your 485 visa then you may have limited options, especially if you do not hold a substantive Visa.
Depending on when you lodged your and when you receive your 485 visa refusal, you might forever be prohibited from getting any 485 visa granted.
You need to decide if you can make another application while you are inside Australia. If so, determine which type of application is appropriate. You will also need to decide whether or not to exit Australia to make your next visa application from outside Australia.
You might face the “section 48 problem.” In such cases, you could apply for a protection visa, partner visa, subclass 491, subclass 494, subclass 190, or a medical treatment visa. Seek advice if you receive a refusal.
If you feel the decision you have received is incorrect, then there is an opportunity to apply for review of your 485 visa refusal decision, at the Administrative Appeals Tribunal. You’ll need to make an application for appeal within 21 days and you will need to be physically present in Australia.
If your visa application is invalid it is as if no application was made and if an earlier visa has since expired, you could be unlawfully present in Australia. Note that a bridging visa will only be granted to you if you make a valid application for your 485 visa and you were and are onshore at the relevant times.
Let’s consider this question from a visitor/client recently:
The starting point is to note that two (2) academic years of study is a measure of the amount of study successfully completed, not the length of time taken to complete the study.
You cannot extend one year of study or 1 1/2 years of study into 2 years of study in order to satisfy the 2-year rule.
For example, if you enroll part-time and take two years to complete a 78-week course, it doesn’t count as 2 years. You’ve completed only 1.5 academic years, extending the duration but not the total study time.
It all comes down to the “registered duration” of your course.
In simple terms: you cannot artificially extend your study in order to satisfy the Australian study requirements. If your course is registered for 1-year full-time study, it will be counted as 1 year.
Case officers will evaluate whether you meet the 2 academic years requirement. They will consider the standard duration of your course as registered on CRICOS.
What other questions do you have about your 485 graduate skilled visa application?
Let me know what questions you have in the comments section below or book a consultation with me.
“Hi,
I have some questions about applying for the Temporary Resident 485 visa.
Currently, I hold a Student Visa 500 and have just graduated. My student visa will expire at the end of next month.
Although I can apply without the IELTS test, I’ve heard this might lead to rejection. Can I submit my IELTS results after applying? Due to the pandemic, I can’t book an IELTS test soon, with the earliest test available at the end of next month. I’m unsure if the results will arrive before my student visa expires.
I have lived in English-speaking countries for over 5 years and didn’t need an IELTS for my master’s degree. I’m not sure if this information is relevant here.
Thank you.”
Migration Regulation 485.212 requires 485 visa applications to include English test results. Late IELTS submissions may result in a visa refusal.
Even though you have lived in English-speaking countries, this information does not exempt you from the requirement. Unless you hold a passport from a few specific countries, you will need to satisfy the language requirement.
In your situation, you might consider applying for a subclass 600 visa first. This approach could give you additional time to obtain the necessary English results.
I hope this clarifies your question. Mistakes in this process could result in permanently losing the chance to obtain a 485 visa. This visa is quite a treasured visa for most international students choosing to study in Australia.
Please share your comments with me.
I’d love to know more about your experience with applying for this visa subclass!
View Comments
Thanks for the information. I'll be applying soon for the 485 visas. I'm wondering if can I use the IELTS results (5 years old) that I used for my student visa application. Or do I have to take a new IELTS exam?
Hi,
I'm Chinmoy, I just graduated 1 month ago and am applying for 485 visa. I had some questions regarding police check. I already have a police check for 2 countries I stayed at for more than 12 months and I have never left Australia or visited those countries after the police check, do I still need to apply for the police check for those countries again again? I have also stayed in another country till 2015, I was 17 then after which I never visited that country again, do I need to apply for a police check for it?
Thank you!
With regards,
Chinmoy
HI,
I have recently been refused of Tourist Visa subclass 500 in Australia. If I study for 2 years Master's in Australia in the future, Will I get a 485 visa?
Will I still be able to apply for 190/491/189 in the future?
Thanks,
Deepak
Hi Nilesh,
I am have completed a course in Advance Diploma in June 24 however my student visa was until June 04. So what I did to extend my stay was I applied for covid visa 408 and was granted. My issue now is I am trying to apply for my graduate visa and Im getting an error message that is preventing my application to continue.
This error was coming out from the page 4 of 20 on the application. Does it mean I am no longer eligible for this application?
Thank you for your feedback in advance!
I am writing to request for possible solutions in regards to a complicated situation that I have encountered with my current visa status/application. I have been on the subclass 500 student visa since 2016-2019 (with a 1 year extension until 2020). While I successfully graduated and was awarded with my Bachelor’s (undergraduate degree qualification), I wanted to further my study/work, hence I applied for the subclass 485 visa (Hong Kong stream, allowing 5 years of stay) on the 16th of December, 2020. I applied for the visa through a Singaporean agent called AIMS immigration. after the application, I was granted with Bridging Visa A. From then on, I have been studying a Master’s degree (postgraduate coursework) in Brisbane.
I am about to graduate my master’s degree at the end of this month. During the time I lodge my application until now, I have been trying my best to keep my communication active with the agency. Unfortunately there were a lot of issues on the part of the agencies with many agents quitting their jobs and having my case passed on to different agents again and again. As a result, this caused many barriers for me to obtain official documents about my application progress. I tried logging into ImmiAccount - immigration Australia to check on my application progress but I cannot find my application and have not been successful due to the lack of information provided by my agency. I tried telling the agent about my difficulties in logging in and checking my progress. However, they have not given me appropriate response. For this whole time, I tried to asked the agency as to whether my visa was approved, but yet again, they did not give me any reliable responses (I have some screenshots attached).
Fast forward until today, I finally got a reply from the agency, who finally informed me that my 485 visa application was actually rejected back in 5th November 2021 . The reasons for my visa application rejection, according to my agent was because the rules for applying for a 485 visa is to apply within the 6 months timeframe from my graduation. When I applied for the 485 visa however, I applied a bit earlier that my official graduation date considering the urgency - I hence asked for an earlier version of my Bachelor’s transcript, which had a date on paper earlier than my actual graduation date. This however, caused them to misinterpret that my graduation date to be earlier (falling out of the 6 months period from when my lodge my application of the 485 visa).
Due to these situations, I have a lot of concerns. My most imminent problem is that I am worried as to what will happen since I have been studying for over a year throughout my Master’s degree without a valid visa. Hence, I am writing to look for advice - do you know if there are any solutions or will it be possible if I could apply for another visa/appeal for my previous application on the grounds that I was not properly informed by my agent on my application status/progress of my visa?
Thank you very much
I've completed cert 3 and 4 in automotive, but now I want to pursue advance diploma in civil construction and designing, can I get 485 visa?
Hello!
I have an enquiry in regard to my eligibility to apply for the 485 visa. I am doing a Masters program that meets the study requirement. However, a few of my classmates and I did the entire first year online (due to covid in 2021) with the uncertainty of coming over we were told that it was not necessary to hold a student visa. We applied as soon as we got the green light to travel into Australia post covid (we have been here since Jan 2022 and are graduating in Dec 2022). We are confused about the eligibility due to our duration of holding the student visa being around 15 months instead of 16 months and whether this will effect our application although we have studied for 2 years.
Any advice would be great!
Thanks!
Hello, first I need to appreciate people who are helping us with their of advice one could receive. Thanks for all that.
My situation is that my degree completion date is as same as my last academic results date. The date was 3 march 22. I had to apply for TR485 , so on 4 September 22, the visa application was submitted. I have a thinking that 6 months criteria starts from the next date the completion date ie 4 march 22 and ends at 4th September 22.
Can you elaborate if this is so. Tia.
Hello! I currently hold a bachelor of science in psychology in the United States. As part of my course though, I completed a semester of study abroad at the University of Melbourne. I am currently considering a masters business course in Australia that is 1 and 1/2 years long and I was wondering whether you could advise me on whether my study abroad semester would count towards the two year study requirement for the post-study work visa.
Best Regards!
Hi. My agent lodged my 485 visa and did not informed me there is a correspondence letter that requires me to attached additional documents. My question is: I proceeded for an EOI lodgement for 491 visa, is it possible to withdraw the pending 485 application with a "received" status?
Thanks in advance