With another wave of student visas and Subclass 485 Graduate Work visas set to expire in July and August — and the 2026–27 financial year now confirmed to prioritise onshore applicants — there is really only one thing on everyone’s mind:extending your visa.
The question is,how?
Some people are approaching the end of their Subclass 485, others are on a student visa that is about to expire, and some are worried because their points or English scores aren’t there yet — wondering whether they can still stay in Australia.
Today we run through the most practical visa extension options available right now.
Option 1: Apply for a Subclass 407 Training Visa
A Subclass 407 application involves three steps: employer sponsorship approval, position nomination, and the visa application itself. From early 2026, these three steps must be lodged separately — each step can only be submitted once the previous one is approved. This has significantly extended wait times overall.
That said, since the reform each step has also been processed noticeably faster. For example, we recently had a Subclass 407 nomination lodged in late May approved in early June.
So if you have already graduated and your current work is related to your field of study or your future career direction, the Subclass 407 Training Visa may be worth considering.
The Subclass 407 is fundamentally a vocational training visa, suited to people who want to develop their professional skills through structured training. Compared to the Subclass 482 employer-sponsored pathway, the Subclass 407 places lower requirements on the employer and does not require meeting the Subclass 482 work experience and salary thresholds — making it a reasonable transitional option for some graduates.
Who it suits:Applicants with limited work experience or who have not been in Australia very long. If your Subclass 485 is about to expire and you are considering extending via a Subclass 407, please contact us for a case-by-case assessment.
Option 2: Apply for a Working Holiday (Subclass 462) Visa
For eligible applicants holding a mainland Chinese passport, the Working Holiday Subclass 462 visa is another option worth looking at. The current round of Subclass 462 EOI submissions closes on 25 June — just three days away — so there is still time to submit.
The Subclass 462 allows you to work, travel, and live in Australia. For those who have not yet met the skilled migration requirements but want to remain in Australia and build experience, it can be a useful transitional option.
After submitting your EOI you wait to be randomly selected, and if selected you must lodge the visa application from outside Australia. The Subclass 462 for mainland Chinese applicants opens only once per financial year — miss this window and you will need to wait another year.
Option 3: For near-graduates on a student visa — prepare your English early
Applying for a Subclass 485 after completing a Subclass 500 student visa is a well-trodden path, but we want to emphasise once again: prepare your English well in advance.
First: for mainland Chinese graduates applying for a Subclass 485, the English test result is only valid for one year — meaning the test score you used for your study-abroad application will almost certainly not be usable.
Second: the English requirement has been raised to an overall score of 6.5 (with no band below 5.5; PTE is accepted). Do not take this lightly — sit the test sooner rather than later; nobody wants to be the exception.
Third: the Subclass 485 must be applied for within six months of graduation.
Fourth: a visitor visa may not save you.
Some students might think, “It’s fine — if I can’t get the score in time, I’ll just apply for a visitor visa to bridge the gap and study for the language test at my own pace.” However, onshore visitor visa renewals are now being assessed with increasing scrutiny.
In many cases, even if a visitor visa is granted, the permitted stay may be very short — some applicants receive only around one month, along with a letter warning that a future application may be refused. And if a visitor visa is refused, section 48 of the Migration Act will prevent you from lodging the Subclass 485 onshore — yet the Subclass 485 must be lodged onshore. That is a dead end.
Option 4: Enrol in another course and restructure your migration pathway
For some applicants, enrolling in a master’s programme is a common way to extend their visa. This is particularly worth considering for those whose field of study is not favourable for migration, whose skills assessment is difficult to obtain, or whose EOI is facing intense competition — further study can improve your future migration prospects.
For example:
- switching to a field of study with stronger migration pathways;
- completing additional courses required for a skills assessment;
- studying in a regional area to earn regional study bonus points.
There is one important caveat:
If you have already completed a master’s degree, or if you are over 28 years of age, applying for a new student visa carries certain risks. If you previously held a Subclass 485 and are now seeking a student visa, you will need to lodge the application from outside Australia.
In these situations, do not proceed without proper guidance. We strongly recommend a professional assessment before deciding whether the student visa route is right for you.
Option 5: Become a secondary applicant
If you have a partner in Australia who holds a Subclass 482, 500, 485, 407, 491, or similar visa, you may be able to apply as a secondary applicant on their visa.
However, if your partner is waiting for a Subclass 189, 190, or 491 to be granted (not yet approved), do not add yourself as a secondary applicant while the application is still pending.
Option 6: It may be time to explore other migration pathways
Most people treat the Subclass 189, 491, and 190 as their first choice. Some feel that employer sponsorship means being “tied to an employer”; others find partner migration takes too long. These are understandable concerns. But if your preferred pathway continues to yield no invitation, there is no harm in learning about the alternatives early.
If you are already working in Australia, employer sponsorship is worth considering. The Subclass 482 Skills in Demand visa, for instance, does not currently require a skills assessment for most occupations, and the English requirement is typically just four scores of 5 — lower than many skilled migration programmes.
If you are in a committed relationship or married to an Australian citizen or permanent resident, partner migration is also an option.
For some applicants, partner migration is actually a more reliable path than skilled migration.
Considering other pathways does not mean giving up on skilled migration. In fact,we encourage everyone to adopt a ‘two-pronged approach’: pursue skilled migration, state nomination, or an EOI on one track while simultaneously planning for employer sponsorship, partner migration, or another viable pathway on the other — and start exploring your extension options six months to a year out,so that if one pathway changes, you are not left without options.
