This Is a Key Australian Visa Almost Everyone Has to “Deal With”! Recent Exemption Transition Policies and Easy-to-Trigger Refusal “Danger Zones” — Pay Close Attention!

quite a few students have already received their completion letters and transcripts and are getting ready to apply for the 485 work visa. Over the past two weeks I’ve received a huge number of enquiries about the 485 visa.

students whose visas are about to expire need to get their 485 application ready and lodged as soon as possible, otherwise missing the lodgement window means overstaying.

The 485 visa is a short-term work visa for graduates who’ve completed two years of study in Australia but haven’t yet met the points score required for migration. Once granted the 485 visa, students can travel freely in and out of Australia, and can work, study, travel, orcomplete a Professional Year in Australia, giving graduates who want to migrate to Australia enough time to prepare and meet the points score required for migration.

[The 485 visa comes in two streams] 

Graduate Work Stream – the old graduate work visa, commonly known as the “old TR”;

Post-Study Work Stream – the post-study work visa, commonly known as the PSW visa

In this article, I mainly want to walk you throughthe eligibility requirements and key points to watch for the PSW 485 visa,as well asthe Department of Home Affairs’ transition policy for the 485 visa during the pandemic.

[Basic eligibility requirements for the 485 PSW visa]

— Applicants who first applied for an Australian student visa after 5 November 2011;

— Qualification level of bachelor’s degree or above;

— Completed a CRICOS-registered Australian bachelor’s, master’s, or doctoral degree programme;

— An overall English score of at least 6 (IELTS/PTE/OET/TOEFL iBT or other Department-recognised English tests all accepted);

— Must be lodged within 6 months of graduation;

— Must have held a student visa within the 6 months before lodging the 485 application.

1. How long is an English test score valid for? 

A:The Department recognises English test results as valid for 3 years;

2. Do I need to have already received my Australian Federal Police (AFP) check result before lodging the 485 application?

A:When applying for the 485 visa, you’re not required to have already received the result of your Australian Federal Police (AFP) check,but you must have at least lodged the AFP application and attached the application’s reference number.The most common mistake with the police check is applicants not selecting the correct AFP check type —if the wrong type is selected, the application is very likely to be refused for providing the incorrect AFP check type.

3.What are the study requirements for the 485 visa?

A:Two years of full-time study in Australia, in a CRICOS-registered course with a registered duration of at least 92 weeks — this can be made up of two or more courses combined.

If a leave of absence, deferral, failed subjects, early completion, or similar has affected your normal study duration, please contact me directly for a specific assessment.

4. After using up the 485 visa, can I still apply for a student visa?

A:Before your 485 expires, if you want to continue studying in Australia afterwards, you can still lodge a new student visa — you’ll need to prepare and apply for a new CoE in advance.

5. How many times can you apply for the 485 visa? Once it expires, can you renew it for a second visa?

A:As the main applicant, you can only apply for the 485 visa once in your lifetime. If your spouse is eligible to lodge as the main applicant for a 485 visa, you’d still have the chance to obtain the 485 visa again as a secondary applicant. However, ifyour qualification is from a regional university and you’re a long-term resident of a regional area, you may be able to provide the relevant supporting documents to apply for a second 485 visa.

6.Can I return home first, and then lodge the 485 visa application from offshore?

A:The 485 visa can normally only be lodged onshore — applicants must be within Australia at the time of lodging. However, due to the impact of the pandemic,from 19 September 2020, the Department of Home Affairs officially allowed offshore lodgement of the 485 application, along with offshore grant, and the 485 visa’s validity period can start counting from the visa holder’s first day back in Australia after the grant!

7. Can applicants who first came to Australia to study before 5 November 2011 also apply for the 485 PSW?

A:No. However, they can apply for the old 1.5-year Graduate Work Stream visa (the “old TR”), but before applying they must have at leastthe receipt for their nominated occupation’s skills assessment,and it must match the skills assessment obtained later.

8. If I’ve already finished my exams but haven’t received my completion letter yet, can I lodge the 485 PSW application early?

A: No. You must have the complete visa application documents ready before you can lodge.

1. Is the 485 visa allowed to be granted offshore?

From 19 September 2020, the Department of Home Affairs officially allowed offshore lodgement of the 485 application, along with offshore grant, and after the grant, the 485 visa’s validity period can start counting from the visa holder’s first day back in Australia!

2. If I lodge the 485 application first, can I submit my English test results later?

In principle, no. However, because of the recent impact of lockdowns in various states, students who needed to book IELTS or PTE tests over these past few months haven’t been able to successfully book an in-person IELTS or PTE test, which has affected their 485 applications,the Department of Home Affairs has now introduced a transition policy allowing applicants to lodge their 485 application first and submit their English test results later!However, applicants need to attachproof of a successful booking for their next testandevidence that, after attempting to book,the test was cancelled due to objective pandemic-related factors.

3. Does simply being offshore during the pandemic transition policy period — 1 February to 19 September 2020 — mean you can apply for the 485 within 12 months of graduating?

Of course not!

This policy should be read as follows: under migration law,only people who were unable to apply for the 485 because they were living offshore for some or all of the period from 1 February to 19 September 2020are eligible to apply for the 485 within 12 months of graduating.

Whereas applicants who graduated at the end of 2020 or later,even though they may have been offshore for some or all of that period, the real reason they couldn’t apply for the 485 during that time is that they simply hadn’t graduated yet and weren’t eligible to apply for the 485 — not because they were offshore! Therefore,they don’t meet this definition under migration law, and applicants in this category must apply for the 485 within 6 months of receiving their completion letter.