From Student visa (500) to Temporary Graduate visa (485) in 2026: the 6-month rule
How the six-month rule governs the move from a Student visa (500) to a Temporary Graduate visa (485) in Australia in 2026.
Yes — the move from a Student visa (subclass 500) to a Temporary Graduate visa (subclass 485) is a recognised onshore step, and the gate on it is timing. According to the Australian Department of Home Affairs' official Student visa (subclass 500) page, you may be eligible for the 485 if you hold or have held a Student visa and completed specific qualifications in Australia in the last six months. That single sentence carries the whole transition: the visa you held, the qualification you finished, and the six months that follow completion. This article is general information only and is not personalised advice on your own visa position; the official pages remain the controlling source, and where your history includes a refusal, a cancellation or a gap in lawful status, professional advice is worth getting before you rely on any of it.
What does the six-month rule actually require?
Read the sentence on the Student visa page as three separate limbs, because each one does independent work:
- You hold or have held a Student visa. The pathway is defined by reference to the Student visa (subclass 500) specifically, not by reference to study in Australia generally.
- You completed specific qualifications in Australia. The page uses the phrase "specific qualifications" without listing them. Which qualifications count is a matter set out on the Temporary Graduate visa (subclass 485) page, not on the 500 page.
- Completion happened in the last six months. This is the timing element, and it is the one that catches people out, because it runs from completion rather than from anything you choose to do afterwards.
The page frames all three as conditions under which you "might be eligible" — it is a gateway, not a guarantee. Meeting the six-month rule does not by itself mean a 485 will be granted.
When does the six-month clock start?
The clock starts at completion of the qualification, not at your graduation ceremony, not at the date your Student visa ceases, and not at the date you decide to apply.
The Student visa framework supports that reading from a second direction as well. On the enrolment rules, a Confirmation of Enrolment (CoE) is no longer valid if it is cancelled or the course is complete. Completion is therefore a defined event in the student visa system, not a matter of when the paperwork catches up. If you finish your course but still need a Student visa, the page states you will need a new CoE attached to your ImmiAccount — which is a different problem from the 485 pathway and points back to maintaining enrolment rather than to graduating.
Assume an applicant completes their qualification at the end of one semester and their ceremony is held months later: on the wording of the official page, the six-month reference point is the completion, and waiting for the ceremony eats into the window rather than starting it.
Do you still need to hold the Student visa when you apply?
No — and this is the most commonly misread part of the rule. The page says "hold or held". A lapsed Student visa does not, by itself, take you outside the pathway, provided the qualification was completed within the last six months.
That matters in practice because Student visa grant periods and course end dates rarely line up neatly. A graduate whose 500 has already ceased is not automatically excluded. What it does mean, though, is that your lawful status on the day you lodge is a separate question from the six-month eligibility rule, and the Student visa page does not answer it. Where you must be, and what visa you must hold, when a 485 application is lodged are matters for the official Temporary Graduate visa (subclass 485) page.
Can you switch back to a Student visa once you hold a 485?
No. This is the restriction that makes the 500-to-485 move effectively one-directional onshore, and it is stated directly on the Student visa page.
The page sets out that you can apply for a Student visa in Australia if you hold a substantive visa, except for a listed set of visas. The 485 is on that list, and so is the Visitor visa (600).
| Visa you hold | Can you apply for a Student visa (500) in Australia? |
|---|---|
| Student visa (subclass 500) | Yes, subject to the other Student visa criteria |
| Temporary Graduate visa (subclass 485) | No — 485 is on the excluded list |
| Visitor visa (subclass 600) | No — 600 is on the excluded list |
Assume an applicant moves onto a 485 and then decides to enrol in a second course: on the wording of the official page, they cannot make a Student visa application from inside Australia while they hold the 485. The same page notes a separate 28-day window for applicants who do not hold an eligible substantive visa — running from when they last held a Student visa, a special purpose visa or a dependent Diplomatic (temporary) visa, or from being notified by the Tribunal that your visa cancellation has been set aside — but that is a fallback for people without status, not a route back from the 485; the page also states that you cannot make a valid Student visa application if you do not hold a substantive visa and you have previously been granted a visa based on an application made when you did not hold a substantive visa.
The page also lists further exclusions beyond those above, including several transit, medical, electronic travel and diplomatic visas.
What if your Student visa expires before you graduate?
This is a different failure point from missing the six-month window, and the Student visa page addresses it separately.
If your Student visa will expire before your graduation, the page states you might be eligible for a Visitor visa (subclass 600), and that you will need a letter from your education provider with the date of your graduation.
Two cautions follow from that. First, the 600 sits on the excluded list above, so bridging on a 600 means you cannot then apply for a Student visa from inside Australia. Second, a 600 is a way of remaining lawfully in Australia to reach graduation — it is not a substitute for completing the qualification, and completion is still what starts the six-month clock for the 485.
What happens if you miss the six-month window?
Nothing on the Student visa page extends it. The page presents completion "in the last six months" as the condition attached to possible 485 eligibility, and once you are outside that window the pathway is no longer available on those terms.
The page's general answer for staying longer for other reasons is that you must apply for a new visa that suits your circumstances, and it points to the Department's visa finder for that exercise. There is no provision on the page for reinstating the window, and no discretion described for late completion or delayed results.
Where does the 485 sit in a longer-term pathway?
The 485 is a temporary visa — the name is the clearest indicator — and nothing on the Student visa page turns it into a permanent residence outcome on its own. For graduates who are treating it as the first onshore step towards permanent residence, the practical significance is narrower than it is often made to sound: it preserves a lawful onshore position after study while the next application is prepared, rather than delivering any status beyond its own validity.
What it does not do is shorten or replace any later requirement. The criteria that determine whether an onshore temporary-to-permanent pathway is open to you are set out on the visa pages for those subclasses, and they are assessed on their own terms.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I need to still hold my Student visa when I apply for the 485?
No. The official Student visa page refers to applicants who "hold or held" a Student visa, so a visa that has already ceased does not by itself exclude you. The other two conditions — completed specific qualifications in Australia, and completion within the last six months — still have to be met.
Does the six months run from graduation or from course completion?
The page uses "completed specific qualifications", so completion is the reference point rather than the graduation ceremony or the expiry of the Student visa. The Student visa enrolment rules treat a course as complete for CoE purposes in the same way, which supports reading completion as the trigger.
Which qualifications count for the six-month rule?
The Student visa page does not list them; it refers only to "specific qualifications". The qualifications that qualify, and any associated study or course requirements, are matters set out on the official Temporary Graduate visa (subclass 485) page.
Can I apply for another Student visa while I am on a 485?
Not from inside Australia. The Student visa page lists the Temporary Graduate visa (subclass 485) among the visas whose holders cannot apply for a Student visa in Australia. Further study onshore would need to be approached on a different basis.
My Student visa will expire before I graduate — what options does the official page mention?
The page states you might be eligible for a Visitor visa (subclass 600), and that you will need a letter from your education provider with the date of your graduation. Note that the 600 is also on the excluded list for making a Student visa application in Australia.
What happens if I apply for the 485 after the six months have passed?
The Student visa page offers no extension of the window. Outside the six months, that pathway is not available on the terms described, and the page directs applicants who want to stay longer for other reasons to a new visa that suits their circumstances.
Is the 485 a permanent residence visa?
No. It is the Temporary Graduate visa, a temporary visa, and the Student visa page presents it as an option for staying on after completion rather than as a permanent outcome.