Migration Lawyers - Post Study Visa Options

Welcome to our first blog of 2016! We took a little time off from creating our unique blog content (we blame the Christmas ham), but we are back and ready to provide you with helpful and useful information in 2016! So without further ado, this blog is for all those foreign students out there asking “what do I do now?”.

Well, you are now fully settled in Australia. You have just invested thousands of dollars and countless hours completing your course of study and now you want to know what your options are to stay longer in the country. Never fear, as Migration Consultants, Migration Agents and Migration Lawyers in Brisbane it’s our job to explain and teach you how the migration system works and what visa’s may be available to you to extend your stay in the country.

Firstly, completing your studies in Australia does not automatically entitle you to stay permanently. Unfortunately, you and thousands of other foreign students in similar positions will need to qualify for a visa which either allows you to stay longer or preferably, grants you permanent residency to Australia.

​So what are your options? Well, the easiest way we can explain is to direct you to our handy graphic below which details the common pathways students take after the completion of their study in Australia. We like to classify these visa options as either SPONSORED VISAS, SKILLED VISAS or FAMILY VISAS. In a nutshell, following the completion of their studies, the vast majority of students will attempt to fall into one of these categories of visas in the hopes of securing their future in Australia:

​SPONSORED VISAS

If you have recently completed your studies in a field related to a skilled occupation, you may be able to be sponsored by an Australian employer. Generally speaking, due to its lower requirements, students will first apply for a Subclass 457 visa and look to stay with their employers for 2 years in order to qualify for the ENS (186) visa through the Transition Stream. Alternatively, some students are often successful in finding regional employment and look to apply for an RSMS (187) which also enjoys lower evidentiary requirements to qualify for the visa and in this case grants permanent residency. For more information on the Sponsor Visa options please see our previous blogs on each respective visa:

For the 457 Blog click here

For the ENS Blog click here

For the RSMS Blog click here

SKILLED VISAS

The skilled visas available to students will vary depending on several factors. For visas such as the 189, 190 and 489, students would first require a positive skills assessment in a skilled occupation as well as satisfying the points test currently in place for these visas. Commonly, as it can often be difficult for students to satisfy skills assessment requirements directly after completing their studies, or find it difficult to meet the points test due to high English level requirements, some students may first extend their stay through the Temporary Graduate (Subclass 485) visa. The benefit of a Temporary Graduate (485) visa is that it can be used by students to extend their stay in the country and give themselves sufficient time to either obtain their skills assessments or improve their points score by re-sitting their chosen English tests. Alternatively, students on this type of extended temporary visa can often secure long term employment which may then lead to a sponsored visa discussed above.

FAMILY VISAS

Last, but certainly not least, some students may find our Australian people simply irresistible and fall in love with an Australian. Importantly, the benefit of being in a genuine and committed relationship with an Australian is that it can potentially lead to a Partner visa. Importantly, Partner visas from inside Australia are only available to those who are either married or in de facto relationships, meaning that students will need to be able to evidence the genuineness and nature of their relationship to the Australian Government in order to be eligible for one of these visas.

OUR STUDENT VISA HOLDER PROMOTION - FREE TELEPHONE CONSULTATIONS!

In order to try and assist as many Student visa holders before the dreaded 15th of March expiry date, for the months of January, February and March, Salvo Migration will be offering free telephone consultations to anyone inside Australia on a Student visa. That is a saving of $110 off our normal consultation fee!

So if you need Migration Advice in Brisbane  about applying for a visa after the completion of your studies, then speak to a Migration Lawyer by giving us a call on 1300 MIGR8TE (644 788) or send your questions to enquiry@salvomigration.com.au.