From December 1, 2021
- The stay period for Masters by Coursework/Masters extended graduates is permanently increased from two to three years same as Masters by Research graduates.
- The stay period for Vocational Education and Training (VET) students is extended to two years.
- From 1 December 2021 as a concession during the COVID-19 pandemic, the stay period on the Graduate Work stream, will temporarily increase from 18 to 24 months.
- Undergraduate students can apply for two-years temporary graduate visa after graduation. You will be able to count this towards the Australian Study Requirement if you’re an existing or new student visa holder undertaking online study outside Australia because of COVID-19.
- Students who completed a doctoral degree are able to apply for four-years temporary graduate visa.
- Hong Kong and British National Overseas passport holders may stay for 5 years.
From July 1, 2022
- COVID-19 Temporary Graduate replacement stream will be available for new applications from mid-2022. Applicants will receive the full validity of their initial Temporary Graduate visa. This is determined by the level of their qualification.
Eligibility
To be eligible, applicants must:
- currently hold, or have held a Temporary Graduate visa that expired on or after 1 February 2020; and
- have been outside Australia at any time between 1 February 2020 and 15 December 2021.
In normal circumstances, applicants can only be granted one Temporary Graduate visa, and a further visa is only available on the basis of regional work and study.
- The requirement for graduates of VET courses to nominate an occupation from the skills occupation list will be temporarily removed from 1 July 2022 till 30 June 2023. This means if your client studied any Diploma or Advanced Diploma in Australia for at least 92 weeks and finished their course before June 2023, they can obtain a 485 graduate work visa for 2 years.
Further details will become available over the coming months, we will update latest information, please continue to check back for updates.
