Expanding Opportunities: Two-Year Visa Extension for IT Graduates and University Pathway Agreements
International students with an IT degree may be eligible for a visa extension in Australia for an additional two years after completing their studies. This is thanks to changes in the migration system that came into effect on July 1.
The extension of the Temporary Graduate visa’s post-study stream was announced earlier this year, with the Home Affairs Minister stating that it is beneficial to have international students remain in Australia for longer.
Applying for the extended two-year visa requires online submission for both students and individuals already holding the post-study work visa. The post-study work visa application charge of at least $1,730 can be waived for students with specific degrees.
The government has recently published a list of university degrees that qualify for a free two-year visa extension. This list comprises 3,264 bachelor’s, master’s, and PhD programs from Australian universities. More than 575 of these programs are in the IT field, including degrees in artificial intelligence, cyber security, data science, enterprise resource management, software engineering, and business analytics.
The qualifications were determined based on the National Skills Commission’s Skills Priority List, which identifies areas with strong future demand and national shortages.
For international students, one of the significant changes is the reintroduction of work hour limits. During the academic term, student visa holders are now restricted to working a maximum of 48 hours per fortnight. This change marks the end of the previous unrestricted student work program implemented in January 2022.
Additionally, we are pleased to announce that we have established pathway agreements with Torrens University and SCU (Southern Cross University), both of which are included in the list of universities offering eligible degrees for the free visa extension. These pathway agreements provide international students with seamless opportunities to further their education and career prospects. We are actively working on establishing additional agreements with other institutions, and further announcements will be made in the near future.
