International students who are currently studying in regional Australia will be able to apply for extensions on their post-study visa from 2021, the Department of Home Affairs has announced.
According to the announcement, international students studying at locations excluding Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane will be offered an extension on their current two-year Post-study Work stream of their Temporary Graduate Visa (subclass 485).
International students who have studied at a regional campus of an Australian metropolitan university will be eligible for this extension.
Additional post-study work arrangements will be made available from 2021, with the international students requiring continuous residence in an Australian regional area.
International students who have lived and studied in Category 2 – Cities and Major Regional Centres of Perth, Adelaide, Canberra, the Gold Coast, the Sunshine Coast, Newcastle/Lake Macquarie, Wollongong/Illawarra and Geelong and Hobart – will be eligible for a one-year extension on their subclass 485 visa.
On the other hand, international students belonging to Category 3 – Regional Centres and Other Regional Areas excluding Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and Category 2 areas – will be eligible for an additional two years on their subclass 485 visa.
The Department of Home Affairs also said this initiative would provide international students with an additional incentive to continue their stay and study in regional areas, boost diversity and prosperity throughout regional Australia, and ease increasing infrastructure pressures in major cities in Australia.
