If you want to remain in Australia after graduation, on top of passing your course, equally important is that you meet the English level requirements. With the recent announcement regarding stricter requirements around English proficiency, we’d like to remind you of the English score requirements for students and graduates.
Unless you have a clear idea of your plan and eligibility, or an Australian partner willing to sponsor you, we recommend you achieve at least 6.0 overall with a minimum of 5 in each band BEFORE you graduate. Test results cannot be older than 3 years.
Why? The 485 Temporary Graduate visa requires it, and unless you know you can score enough points for skilled migration or have an eligible sponsor to sponsor you, it’s the visa you need to buy yourself some more time in Australia while you build up points/find a sponsor.
Here’s a summary of the English requirements for the 4 main pathways for graduates to remain in Australia after graduating.
485 Temporary Graduate Visa (Length: 1.5 – 4 years)
- IELTS: At least 6.0 overall with a minimum of 5 in each band
- OET: At least B in each component
- TOEFL iBT: At least 64 with 4 for listening, 4 for reading, 14 for writing and 14 for speaking
- PTE: At least 50 overall with a minimum of 36 in each band
- Cambridge: At least 169 overall with a minimum of 154 in each component
457 Temporary Work (Length: 2 – 4 years)
- IELTS: At least 5.0 overall with a minimum of 4.5 in each band
- OET: At least B in each component
- TOEFL iBT: At least 36 with 3 for listening and reading, 12 for writing and speaking
- PTE: At least 36 overall with a minimum of 30 in each band
- Cambridge: At least 154 overall with a minimum of 147 in each component
189, 190, 489 General Skilled Migration (Length: 4 years – Permanent)
- IELTS: Minimum of 6 in each band
- OET: At least B in each component
- TOEFL iBT: Minimum 12 for listening, 13 for reading, 21 for writing and 18 for speaking
- PTE: Minimum of 50 in each band
- Cambridge: Minimum of 169 in each component
If you have any concerns about your post-graduation plan, please feel free give us a call and we can help you plan your pathway from NOW to PR together!