So over the last few years you have toiled away attending lectures, showing up to those late tutorials and spending many long nights completing assignments at the last minute. You have finally achieved your qualification and the world is your oyster. The only problem you have now is that you want to stay in Australia but your Student visa is due to expire in March! What do you do now?
It is not all doom and gloom though as there are a number of options available to students who have completed their studies in Australia and wish to reside here long term. If you are a fortunate enough to have an occupation on the Skilled Occupation List or one of the State Sponsored lists there may be options to apply for permanent residency straight away. For those that don’t have an occupation on one of the lists or don’t yet meet the criteria for a General Skilled visa there is always the Temporary Graduate Visa.
The Temporary Graduate Visa is a great option for international students that have undertaken at least two years of study in Australia in a CRICOS registered course which was completed in the last 6 months. The visa can be granted from 18 months to 4 years (depending on the application stream and what level of course you have studied) and will allow you to live in Australia with full work rights.
This visa is ideal if you need more time to meet the skilled criteria for permanent residency, or more time to look at applying for other visa options, or if you just want time in Australia to get some work experience or travel after the completion of your course.
While there are different criteria that need to be met depending on the stream you apply through, the common requirements for this visa are that you must meet the English language requirement and have applied for your Australian Police Clearance.
As both the police clearance and language requirement must be met prior to lodgement, we would recommend organising this well in advance of applying. After all, March is just around the corner and English test dates book out quickly.
If you would like further information about your individual circumstances, we do offer discounted consultations fees for graduates. If you would like to arrange an appointment to speak to one of our Registered Migration Agents, please contact us on (07) 3212 2200.
