How International Students Can Get PR in Australia After Graduating (2026 Overview)

Once your course finishes, the 485 Temporary Graduate visa buys you time in Australia — but it isn’t permanent residence, and a lot of students reach the final months of their 485 without a clear plan for what comes after. There are two main roads to PR for skilled graduates: qualifying yourself through the points test, or being sponsored by an employer. This guide maps out both, using the actual points table and visa criteria published by the Department of Home Affairs, so you can start planning early rather than scrambling in your last year.

TL;DR

• Two main tracks: points-tested skilled visas (subclass 189, 190, 491) where you qualify yourself through a points test, or employer sponsorship (subclass 482 then often 186) where a company sponsors you.
• Points-tested visas need a minimum of 65 points just to be eligible for an invitation — but 65 is a floor, not a guarantee, since invitations go to the highest-scoring applicants in each round.
• Your occupation has to be on the right list — the Core Skills Occupation List (CSOL) for the employer-sponsored 482 visa, or the relevant skilled occupation list for points-tested visas — and you generally need a positive skills assessment for that occupation.
• Your study choices already earn you points — the Australian study requirement, study in regional Australia, a Professional Year, and postgraduate STEM research degrees can each add points toward the 65 minimum.

The Two Main Roads to PR After You Graduate

Almost every international graduate aiming for permanent residence goes down one of two roads, and it’s worth understanding both before you commit years of study or job-hunting to one direction.

• Track 1 — Points-tested skilled visas. You qualify based on your own age, English level, education, and work experience, submit an Expression of Interest (EOI) through SkillSelect, and wait to be invited. No employer or state government needs to want you specifically — you just need enough points and an eligible occupation.
• Track 2 — Employer sponsorship. An Australian employer sponsors you for a temporary skilled visa (subclass 482), and after a period of working for them, potentially nominates you for permanent residence (subclass 186). This depends on finding an employer willing to sponsor you, which is its own job-search challenge.

There’s also a third, smaller path worth knowing about: partner or family sponsorship, and state or territory nomination (which sits inside Track 1, attached to the subclass 190 and 491 visas). We cover partner and family visas, and state nomination in more depth in later guides in this series.

Track 1: Points-Tested Skilled Visas (189, 190, 491)

These three visas all use the same points test, but differ in who can apply and where you’re required to live:

For all three, the process is the same shape: get a skills assessment for your nominated occupation, submit an EOI in SkillSelect, and wait to be invited to apply. You must be able to score at least 65 points on the points test to be eligible — if you can’t reach 65, you won’t be invited at all. But 65 is only the minimum bar to enter the pool; because only the highest-scoring EOIs are invited in each round, the score that actually gets you an invitation is often well above 65 and changes from round to round and occupation to occupation.

How the Points Test Actually Works

Here’s the points table currently published by the Department of Home Affairs for the points-tested skilled visas. You only claim points for your highest qualification in each category, and employment points are capped.

The full points table, with detailed eligibility rules for each category, is published on the Department of Home Affairs points table page — check it directly, since specific thresholds and eligible fields can change.

Track 2: Employer Sponsorship (482 → 186)

The employer-sponsored path doesn’t use the points test at all — instead, you need a genuine job offer from an Australian employer willing to sponsor you.

Step 1: Skills in Demand visa (subclass 482)

The subclass 482 — officially the Skills in Demand (SID) visa — is a temporary visa that lets an employer sponsor you when they can’t find a suitably skilled Australian for the role. It has several streams, including a Core Skills stream (your occupation must be on the Core Skills Occupation List, and you’re paid the going market rate) and a Specialist Skills stream for higher-paid roles above a specific income threshold. It replaced the old Temporary Skill Shortage (TSS) visa in December 2024.

Step 2: Employer Nomination Scheme (subclass 186)

The subclass 186 is the permanent employer-sponsored visa, with three streams:

• Temporary Residence Transition stream — for people who already hold a subclass 457 or 482 visa, usually after around two years of full-time work for the sponsoring employer.
• Direct Entry stream — for people nominated by an employer without necessarily having held a 482 first, provided your occupation is on the relevant list and you meet the experience and English requirements.
• Labour Agreement stream — for employers who have a specific labour agreement with the Australian Government, often used in industries with tailored arrangements.

In practice, many graduates follow 482 → 186 in sequence: get sponsored into a 482 role, work in it, then transition to permanent residence through the 186 once eligible.

Why Your Occupation List Matters So Much

Whichever track you’re on, your specific occupation has to appear on the relevant government list, and you generally need a positive skills assessment from the assessing authority for that occupation. For the 482 Skills in Demand visa, that’s currently the Core Skills Occupation List (CSOL), introduced in December 2024 and covering several thousand occupations across sectors like construction, healthcare, ICT and engineering. Points-tested visas reference their own relevant skilled occupation lists. These lists are reviewed and can change, and your specific ANZSCO occupation code determines which assessing authority you need — so this is one of the first things to check before you plan a career direction around a PR outcome.

A Typical Roadmap

The exact steps depend on which track you’re on, but broadly:

1. Identify your nominated occupation and confirm it’s on the relevant occupation list.
2. Get a positive skills assessment from the relevant assessing authority for that occupation.
3. For Track 1: submit an EOI in SkillSelect and wait to be invited (or nominated by a state, for 190/491). For Track 2: find an employer willing to sponsor you for a 482 visa.
4. If invited or nominated, lodge your visa application with supporting documents within the time allowed.
5. For Track 2 specifically: after meeting the relevant work period, your employer may nominate you for the 186 permanent visa.

Processing times and invitation numbers move around a lot depending on occupation, visa subclass and current government priorities — the Department publishes a visa processing time guide and pricing estimator you should check directly rather than relying on a fixed number from any guide, including this one.

Where to Get Real Help

This guide is a map, not a decision engine — it can’t tell you your actual points score, whether your occupation currently has good invitation prospects, or which track suits your situation. For that, a MARA-registered migration agent (search the register at the Office of the Migration Agents Registration Authority) or a qualified immigration lawyer can assess your specific circumstances against the current rules. Your university’s international student office is also often a free first stop for general orientation before you pay for advice.

If you’re still finishing your degree, see our guide on after-study options for international students for the bigger picture, our breakdown of PTE score requirements for the 485 visa if that’s your immediate next step, and our piece on common myths about PR and after-study options before you make any big decisions based on something you heard secondhand.

Frequently Asked Questions