Key takeaways
- The Temporary Graduate visa (subclass 485) runs two years for a bachelor’s or coursework master’s, three for a research master’s and four for a doctorate, per the Department of Home Affairs.
- You must be aged 35 or under when you apply, with limited exceptions — calculate your age at expected graduation, not today.
- The English requirement is an IELTS 6.5 overall with 5.5 in each component from a single sitting, as at September 2026.
- The primary applicant charge rose from AUD 2,300 to AUD 4,600 for applications lodged on or after 1 March 2026.
- Studying and living in a Category 2 regional area such as Adelaide or Wollongong may add a year via a second Temporary Graduate visa.
- Saudi equivalency requires at least 75 per cent of degree requirements at a recommended institution, full-time on-campus study, and Cultural Mission attestation.
In this article
- Can Saudi students stay in Australia after graduating?
- Subclass 485 requirements and length of stay
- How much does the subclass 485 visa cost?
- Is there an extra year for graduates of certain cities?
- What a Saudi scholarship student must do at graduation
- How Australian degrees are recognised in Saudi Arabia
- Steps to apply for equivalency
- The decisions that are made early, not late
You can stay and work in Australia after you graduate through the Temporary Graduate visa (subclass 485). It runs for two years for a bachelor’s or coursework master’s degree and four years for a doctorate, according to the Department of Home Affairs. If you return to Saudi Arabia, your degree needs certificate equivalency (معادلة الشهادات) from the Ministry of Education — a free service that takes five working days.
Can Saudi students stay in Australia after graduating?
Yes, and the legal instrument is the Temporary Graduate visa (subclass 485). It is a temporary visa that lets you live, work and study in Australia after completing a recognised Australian qualification, and it is usually lodged while you are onshore and before your student visa expires.
The requirement that catches people out is age. Study Australia states you must be "aged 35 years or under when you apply," with limited exceptions. If you are planning a master’s and then a doctorate, calculate your age at your expected graduation date, not today.
The three subclass 485 streams
As at September 2026, Study Australia lists three streams:
- Post-Vocational Education Work — for diploma, associate degree and trade qualifications tied to the Medium and Long-term Strategic Skills List.
- Post-Higher Education Work — the stream that matters to university graduates, covering bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral degrees from an Australian institution.
- Second Post-Higher Education Work — a second visa for graduates who studied and lived in a designated regional area.
Subclass 485 requirements and length of stay
Three things drive eligibility on the higher education stream: an Australian qualification that meets the Australian study requirement, an English score, and the age limit above.
On English, the Department of Home Affairs raised the minimum for the Temporary Graduate visa to an IELTS overall score of 6.5 with a minimum of 5.5 in each component, and the result must come from a single sitting rather than a One Skill Retake, per the Department of Home Affairs as at September 2026. Check the score in force on the day you lodge — it has changed more than once in recent years.
Length of stay follows your qualification:
| Australian qualification | Visa length | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Bachelor Degree, or Bachelor Degree with Honours | 2 years | Department of Home Affairs |
| Masters by Coursework or Masters (extended) | 2 years | Department of Home Affairs |
| Masters by Research | 3 years | Department of Home Affairs |
| Doctoral Degree | 4 years | Department of Home Affairs |
Note the gap between a coursework and a research master’s: a full extra year for the research pathway. That is worth weighing before you choose a program, not after.
How much does the subclass 485 visa cost?
The charge has risen sharply. Study Australia reports that the primary applicant charge on the standard stream moved from AUD 2,300 to AUD 4,600 for applications lodged on or after 1 March 2026; the charge for a secondary applicant aged 18 or over moved from AUD 1,150 to AUD 2,300, and for a secondary applicant under 18 from AUD 580 to AUD 1,160. For the Second Post-Higher Education Work stream, the primary charge moved from AUD 905 to AUD 1,810.
For comparison, the student visa charge itself is from AUD 2,500 since 1 July 2026, per Study Australia. Budget for both figures from day one.
Is there an extra year for graduates of certain cities?
Yes. Australia classifies its regions for migration purposes, and Category 2 (Cities and Major Regional Centres) covers Adelaide, Perth, Canberra, the Gold Coast, the Sunshine Coast, Newcastle/Lake Macquarie, Wollongong/Illawarra, Geelong and Hobart, per the Department of Home Affairs.
Graduates who studied and lived in a Category 2 area may be eligible for one additional year on a second Temporary Graduate visa; those in Category 3 may be eligible for two additional years, per the same source. The University of Wollongong sets out the practical effect: a graduate who stays in Wollongong benefits from priority processing and access to 25,000 dedicated regional visa places.
Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane sit outside these categories, so the city you choose has a migration consequence, not just a lifestyle one.
What a Saudi scholarship student must do at graduation
If you hold a King Salman Scholarship Program (برنامج خادم الحرمين الشريفين للابتعاث) award or another Saudi scholarship, your path runs through the Saudi Arabian Cultural Mission (الملحقية الثقافية) first:
- Complete your program and obtain the graduation letter from your university, along with your transcript and original testamur.
- Lodge the graduation confirmation and scholarship closure request through the Safeer portal, the Ministry of Education’s official platform for scholarship services.
- Have your certificate attested by the Cultural Mission. The Saudi Arabian Cultural Mission in Australia states that attestation for a government-sponsored student takes five working days, that the requirements are the original certificate, the transcript and the graduation letter, and that there is no fee for Saudi scholarship and self-funded students.
- Arrange your return ticket and graduation entitlements through the same portal before you leave Australia, not after.
Self-funded students follow the same route, but the Cultural Mission additionally requires prior approval to study abroad and an authorisation form, per the same page.
How Australian degrees are recognised in Saudi Arabia
Equivalency is decided by the General Committee for Equivalency of University Degrees at the Ministry of Education. It is what unlocks further study, employment in the public sector and government companies, promotion to a higher grade, and practising the liberal professions, per the summary of the equivalency regulation issued under Ministerial Decision No. 45449 of 25/6/1429 AH.
The general conditions
From the same regulation:
- The institution and the program must appear on the Ministry’s list of recommended universities and programs.
- You must complete at least 75 per cent of the degree requirements at recommended universities or colleges.
- If you transfer between institutions, you must complete at least 25 per cent of graduation requirements at the awarding institution.
- Study must be full-time, on campus, with residence in the country of study.
- Documents must be attested by the Saudi cultural attaché in the country that issued the certificate, or by the Saudi embassy.
- Self-funded students need prior approval to study abroad — though that approval is not itself a commitment to grant equivalency on graduation.
Conditions by degree level
| Degree | Key conditions under the regulation |
|---|---|
| Bachelor | Study duration plus admission requirements of no less than four years, or 120 semester credit hours, or 180 quarter credit hours |
| Master’s | Preceded by a bachelor’s, no less than one academic year, and 24 semester hours with a thesis, 30 without, or by research only |
| Doctorate | Preceded by a master’s, no less than two years after the master’s or three years after the bachelor’s, with original research |
Source: Summary of the University Degree Equivalency Regulation – Ministry of Education.
Study modes that cannot be recognised
The regulation expressly excludes degrees earned by external enrolment, correspondence, distance education, weekend or holiday study, internet or email delivery, or at an administrative branch of a university located outside the country of the parent campus. This is why full-time, on-campus study at the main campus matters — and why, if you study at a branch, you must confirm that the specific branch is recommended.
The regulation also warns applicants to confirm that a postgraduate program is an academic program for specialists rather than a professional or non-specialist one, and that a master’s qualifies the holder for doctoral study.
Steps to apply for equivalency
- Assemble your documents: national ID, passport, certificate, transcript and a credit-transfer statement where relevant, per the Saudi national government platform.
- Attest the documents with the Cultural Mission before you leave Australia.
- Register in the equivalency system at eqs.moe.gov.sa and lodge the application.
- Track the application: processing time is five working days and the service is free, per the Saudi national government platform.
Note that the committee does not assess work experience however long, training or professional courses shorter than one year, or secondary certificates and below.
The decisions that are made early, not late
Most "after graduation" outcomes are settled years earlier: a recommended university, a full-time on-campus mode, a city that may add a year to your stay, and a research master’s rather than a coursework one if staying in Australia is the goal. Review the process steps to see the order of the stages, and read the guide to Saudi scholarship tracks if you are still choosing yours.
At KD International we help you choose the university and the program and guide you through visa procedures, and the admissions service is free for students seeking to enrol in scholarship-program disciplines at universities approved by the Ministry of Education. Start with the application form or contact us to review your plan before admission deadlines close in.
Frequently asked questions
It depends on your qualification. A bachelor’s, bachelor’s with honours or coursework master’s gives two years, a research master’s three years and a doctorate four years, per the Department of Home Affairs as at September 2026.
An Australian qualification that meets the Australian study requirement, an IELTS 6.5 overall with 5.5 in each component from a single sitting, and an age of 35 or under at application with limited exceptions. It is usually lodged onshore before your student visa expires.
The primary applicant charge on the standard stream is AUD 4,600 for applications lodged on or after 1 March 2026, up from AUD 2,300, per Study Australia. The second regional stream charge is AUD 1,810. Check the charge in force on the day you lodge.
In specific cases, yes. Graduates who studied and lived in a Category 2 area such as Adelaide, Wollongong or Perth may be eligible for one extra year on a second Temporary Graduate visa, and Category 3 graduates for two, per the Department of Home Affairs. Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane sit outside these categories.
Have your certificate, transcript and graduation letter attested by the Saudi Arabian Cultural Mission before leaving Australia, then register at eqs.moe.gov.sa and lodge the equivalency application. Processing takes five working days and the service is free, per the Saudi national government platform.
Common reasons are an institution or program outside the Ministry’s recommended list, completing less than 75 per cent of degree requirements at a recommended institution, a distance, external or correspondence study mode, or documents that were never attested by the Cultural Mission.
No. The University Degree Equivalency Regulation excludes degrees earned by external enrolment, correspondence, distance education or the internet, and requires full-time study with residence in the country of study.
Yes. They lodge a graduation confirmation and then a scholarship closure request through the Safeer portal, have the certificate attested by the Cultural Mission, and arrange the return ticket and graduation entitlements before leaving Australia.
Official sources
- Temporary Graduate visa (subclass 485) – Post-Higher Education Work stream — Department of Home Affairs (Australian Government)
- Temporary Graduate visa (subclass 485) — Study Australia (Australian Government)
- Changes to the Temporary Graduate (subclass 485) visa — Study Australia (Australian Government)
- Student visa (subclass 500) — Study Australia (Australian Government)
- Designated regional areas — Department of Home Affairs (Australian Government)
- Post-study work options — University of Wollongong
- ملخّص شروط وضوابط معادلة الشهادات الجامعية — وزارة التعليم – الإدارة العامة لمعادلة الشهادات الجامعية
- نظام معادلة الشهادات الجامعية — وزارة التعليم
- معادلة المؤهلات الصادرة من خارج المملكة العربية السعودية — منصّة الخدمات الحكومية my.gov.sa
- تصديق الشهادات — الملحقية الثقافية السعودية في أستراليا – وزارة التعليم
- بوابة سفير — وزارة التعليم
- برنامج خادم الحرمين الشريفين للابتعاث – المسارات — وزارة التعليم
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Last updated: 14 September 2026. Fees and requirements change; always confirm with the official source before deciding.
