How to Apply for a 485 Visa After Graduation in Australia: 2026 Guide

You have finished your degree. The Subclass 485 Temporary Graduate Visa is the next step — but the 2026 rules are significantly stricter than what was in place even 18 months ago. The application fee doubled in March 2026. The English requirement went up. The age limit dropped to 35. And the six-month window to lodge is absolute: one day late means an automatic, non-refundable refusal.

Here is how the process works, what you need to have in place before you pay the AUD $4,600 fee, and where applicants most often go wrong.

The First Decision: Which Stream Are You Applying Under?

The Subclass 485 operates through two distinct streams. Applying to the wrong one results in refusal — and no refund.

Post-Higher Education Work stream
For graduates who completed a Bachelor's degree, Master's degree (coursework, extended, or research), or a Doctoral degree (PhD) at an Australian institution. No skill alignment requirement applies to this stream — you do not need to nominate an occupation or provide a skills assessment at the time of application.

Stay durations:

• Bachelor's degree or Master's by coursework: 2 years
• Master's by Research: 3 years
• Doctoral degree (PhD): 3 years

Under the Australia–India Economic Cooperation and Trade Agreement (AI-ECTA), Indian passport holders receive extended durations:

• Bachelor's with First Class Honours in STEM including ICT: 3 years
• Master's degree (all types): 3 years
• Doctoral degree: 4 years

Post-Vocational Education Work stream
For graduates who completed a trade qualification, diploma, or associate degree at an Australian VET institution, where that qualification is closely related to an occupation on the Medium and Long-term Strategic Skills List (MLTSSL). This stream requires you to provide evidence that you have applied for a skills assessment from the relevant assessing authority at the time of visa lodgement — the assessment does not need to be completed, but the application for it must be in.

Stay duration: up to 18 months.

Eligibility Requirements: Check These Before You Pay

Age: You must be 35 years of age or under on the date you lodge the application. The exceptions are Masters by Research graduates, PhD graduates, and Hong Kong/British National Overseas (BNO) passport holders — these cohorts remain eligible up to age 50.

English: IELTS overall 6.5 (minimum 5.5 in each band), or equivalent in PTE Academic, TOEFL iBT, or Cambridge English: Advanced (CAE). The result must be from a test taken within 12 months of your application date. This is not 12 months before graduation — it is 12 months before you actually lodge the visa application.

Australian Study Requirement (ASR): You must have completed exactly 92 weeks of CRICOS-registered study in Australia, over a period of at least 16 calendar months, while physically present onshore. Weeks spent studying online from overseas, or weeks covered by overseas credit transfers, are deducted from the count. If your Australian study total falls to 91 weeks, you are ineligible.

Application timing: You must lodge within 6 months of course completion. "Course completion" is the date you first satisfied the academic requirements for your award — typically the date results were published online or the date on your official completion letter from the university. This is emphatically not your graduation ceremony date. Graduation ceremonies can be months after academic completion. Lodging based on the ceremony date is the most common reason for late applications and refusal.

Previous student visa: You must have held a Subclass 500 student visa as part of your study period.

The Six Documents You Need at Lodgement

1. Official Completion Letter from your university — stating the exact date you met all academic requirements. This establishes your six-month deadline.

2. Academic transcripts — showing completion of all units and the 92 weeks of CRICOS study.

3. Valid passport — with at least six months of validity remaining.

4. English test results — IELTS 6.5 or equivalent, from within the past 12 months.

5. Overseas Visitor Health Cover (OVHC) — active and valid from the date of lodgement. You must switch from your student OSHC to OVHC before applying. The OVHC must be in place on the exact day you submit the application in ImmiAccount.

6. Evidence of applied-for skills assessment (Post-Vocational stream only) — a confirmation receipt or acknowledgment from the assessing authority showing you have lodged the skills assessment application.

Additionally: you will need to have applied for an Australian Federal Police check before lodging. The check does not need to be returned — you need the receipt showing the application was submitted. If you have lived in any country for 12+ months over the past 10 years, you may also need offshore police clearances from those countries.

The Application Process Step by Step

1. Confirm your completion date and calculate your deadline. Your six-month window starts the day the university advises you in writing that you have met the course requirements — check your university's results portal or the email notification. Mark the exact six-month anniversary.

2. Check your English result is current. If your test result is older than 12 months on the day you plan to lodge, book a resit immediately. IELTS registration closes weeks in advance during peak testing periods.

3. Arrange OVHC. Contact a health cover provider to switch from OSHC to an OVHC product that begins on your intended lodgement date. Keep your OSHC active until that transition.

4. Apply for AFP check. Submit your AFP national police check online at afp.gov.au and save the acknowledgment receipt.

5. Lodge through ImmiAccount. Create or access your ImmiAccount at immi.homeaffairs.gov.au. Complete the online application form, attach all supporting documents, and pay the AUD $4,600 application charge. You will receive a Transaction Reference Number confirming lodgement.

6. Apply for a bridging visa. When you lodge your 485 application before your student visa expires, you are automatically granted a Bridging Visa A (BVA). This allows you to remain lawfully in Australia while your application is processed. The BVA carries work rights.

Processing Time for the 485 Visa in 2026

The Department of Home Affairs does not guarantee specific processing times, and individual cases vary significantly. Based on industry reporting and applicant tracker data in 2025–26:

• Median processing time: approximately 8–14 weeks for straightforward applications
• 75th percentile: 16–20 weeks
• Complex cases or requests for further information: 5–9 months

Priority processing is given to applicants who have lived, studied, and worked in designated regional areas — these applicants tend to receive decisions faster than metropolitan graduates.

If you have prior visa refusals, character concerns, health examination requirements, or if a request for further information is issued, processing extends significantly.

Regional Extension and the PR Pipeline

Graduates who studied and lived in designated regional areas during their initial 485 period can apply for a Second Temporary Graduate Visa: +1 year for Category 2 areas (Perth, Adelaide, Canberra, Gold Coast) and +2 years for Category 3 areas (all other regional postcodes). From mid-2026 this extension is increasingly tied to occupation demand on national shortage lists.

The 485 itself is not the end goal — it is the window to accumulate points for permanent residency. A standard Bachelor's graduate starts with roughly 50 points (30 for age, 15 for Australian degree, 5 for Australian Study Requirement), well below the 90+ points needed for competitive occupations. The gap is typically closed through the NAATI CCL test (5 points), a Professional Year in IT, accounting, or engineering (5 points), achieving Superior IELTS 8.0+ (10 bonus points over Proficient), or securing state nomination under Subclass 190 (5 points) or Subclass 491 (15 points).

The Australia Student Visa (500) and Post-Study Work Guide covers the 485 application in full, including stream selection, timeline tools, and the complete transition from student to PR.

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