Recognized universities graduates visa — Australia

Professional temporary visa for graduates of engineering universities recognized by Australia (subclass 476)

Skilled—Recognised Graduate visa is for engineering specialties of foreign universities recognized by Australian government. You must have completed a degree or higher qualification from a specified institution within the past 2 years. It is not necessary to pass the scoring system to apply for the visa. However, if you are going to request permanent residency, you need to pass a GMS score system.

A recognized university by the Australian Government is any engineering institution accredited by the Washington Accord.

The Washington Accord is an international agreement concluded by countries for the accreditation of engineering educational programs. The Agreement recognizes the equivalence of engineering training programs, and their graduates meet all the requirements for conducting professional engineering activities.

The list of recognized universities was formed by the leading engineering and mining companies in Australia, who recognized that these institutions produce highly qualified specialists who are needed in Australia. The list is reviewed twice a year based on the industry requires, so during the update, institutions may be added or removed from the list.

Here you can see the List of Universities and Specialties accredited by the Australian Government.

This temporary graduate visa (subclass 476) allows to live, work or study in Australia for up to 18 months.

There are certain requirements for applying for a visa. If you do not meet these requirements:

• You will not be considered to have submitted the application, and your documents and funds paid by you will be refunded, or

• your application will be rejected.

The age for the obtaining the graduates visa and documents

You must be under 31 years of age.

You must attach to the visa application a notarized copy of your birth certificate and each secondary applicant specified.

If there are difficulties in obtaining a birth certificate in the country of birth, you can provide the following documents that contain information about the birth:

- diploma,

- passport,

- baptismal certificate (if available),

- family book with information about the birth (depends on the country),

an identity document issued in your country,

- copies of records from a military ID card or a document confirming exemption from military service

Documents confirming your birth must be included in the list of documents provided for applying for a visa.

English level for the graduate visa

You must prove that you have a “Threshold Level” of English level where the minimum score for the International English Language Testing System (IELTS) is 6.

The scores for this testing system or any other system of testing the level of foreign language are approved by the Ministry. After receiving such a score and if you meet other requirements, you can apply for a visa.
Applicants for the graduate visa must pass a test before submitting an application and have documents confirming information about passing the test (testing must be completed within the past 3 years).

English level test systems

OET (Occupational English Test) testing results can be a confirmation of the English level (note: to date, candidates specializing in medicine are tested using the OET system).

IELTS (International English Language Testing System) is a system allowing to assess the English level. The system includes a theory and general knowledge tests. If the level of knowledge meets the requirements set by the examination commission, the candidate only needs to pass general knowledge tests.

Documents to be attached to the application

At the time of applying for a visa, the candidate must confirm that his level of English language proficiency meets the “Threshold Level”. You must provide the following documents:

- a valid passport,

- information about passing the IELTS test.

Two years before applying for the application, you must obtain a degree in technical specialties “Engineer”. The required academic degrees are as follows:

- bachelor’s degree,

- master’s degree,

- doctorate degree,

- diploma of postgraduate education.

The academic degree should be only in the following specialties: technical disciplines. Technical specialties are presented below (include but not limited to):

- civil engineering,

- design of buildings and structures,

- engineering methods of environmental protection,

- electrics and electrical engineering,

- mechanic engineering, production technology, production planning,

- mining and materials science.