Australia's Subclass 485 Visa now open to applicants aged below 50

Highlights: Australia announces minimum age requirement of 50 years for Subclass 485 visa

• The Australian Department of Home Affairs has announced the minimum age requirement for a Subclass 485 Visa.
• Applicants below 50 years will be eligible to apply for the Temporary Graduate Visa program.
• The two-year extension on Temporary Graduate 485 Visa Streams is to come to an end.
• The new changes for the Subclass 485 Visa will be effective from July 1, 2024.

 

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Changes in the age requirement for Subclass 485 Visa

In a recent announcement, Australia's Department of Home Affairs set the minimum requirement for a Subclass 485 visa to be 50 years. Research candidates aged below 50 years can apply for post-study work visas in Australia.

 

The minimum age requirement for the Subclass 485 visa stream was planned to be lowered to 35 years, except for Hong Kong and British National Overseas passport holders. However, the department decided to maintain the age limit of 50 after considering the probable impact on the Post-Higher Education Work Stream.

 

The new guidelines allow Master's (research) and doctoral degree (PhD) students, as well as Hong Kong and British National Overseas passport holders below 50 years, to apply for the Subclass 485 visa. This decision aims to maintain the government's goal of inviting foreign students and balancing the age requirement for students.

 

Note: The 35-year age limit is still applicable for Master’s, Bachelor's, or graduates with associate degrees or vocational programs.

 

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Post-Study Work Rights in Australia

The Australian government offers the following post-study work rights:

 

• 2 years for Bachelor’s Degree (no change)
• 2 years for Master's by coursework (reduced from 3 years )
• 3 years for Master’s by research (no change)
• 3 years for PhD (reduced from 4 years)

 

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Other changes to the Temporary Graduate Visa Program

Australia's Department of Home Affairs has renamed certain streams under the Temporary Graduate Visa Program. The details of the renamed streams are given in the table below:

Current Name	New Name
Post Study Work Stream	Post-higher Education Work Stream
Second Post-Study Work Stream	Second Post-Higher Education Work Stream
Graduate Work Stream	Post-Vocational Education Work Stream

 

The two-year extension on the Temporary Graduate visa introduced in 2022 is to be discontinued. However, there are no changes in the eligibility criteria for the Subclass 485 visa.

 

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