Recognised Graduate 476

The Skilled — Recognised Graduate visa (subclass 476) allows recent engineering graduates of eligible universities to gain up to 18 months of skilled work experience in occupations. It is a temporary visa.

You may be inside or outside Australia when you apply for this visa however you must be outside of Australia when the visa is decided, unless you are a New Zealand citizen who holds a Special Category visa (subclass 444). A New Zealand citizen who holds a Special Category visa (subclass 444) can be in or outside Australia when the visa is decided.

You might be able to get a Skilled — 476 Recognised Graduate visa if:

• you are younger than 31 years of age
• you have completed an eligible engineering qualification from a recognised institution in the past two years
• you have not held a Skilled — Recognised Graduate visa (subclass 476) or a Temporary Graduate (subclass 485) before (unless you were a member of the family unit)
• you can demonstrate your English language ability
• you meet health and character requirements.

Your engineering qualifications

In the two years before you apply, you must have completed one of the following qualifications in engineering:

• bachelors degree
• masters degree
• doctoral degree
• postgraduate diploma.

Your qualification must contain a major sequence of study or specialisation in engineering, such as:

• civil engineering
• structural engineering
• chemical engineering
• environmental engineering
• electrical and electronics engineering
• mechanical, production and plant engineering
• mining and material engineering.

Recognised institutions

You must have completed your engineering qualification at a recognised educational institution. Study at an institution or college that is affiliated with a recognised institution does not satisfy this requirement.

English language ability

If you are a citizen of the United Kingdom, Canada, New Zealand, the United States of America or the Republic of Ireland or you hold a valid passport from one of those countries, you are considered to meet the English language requirement for this visa.

Otherwise, you must provide evidence of having achieved the following scores from one of the specified English language tests:

• An overall score of at least 6 with a minimum score of 5 in each of the four components (listening, reading, writing and speaking)  in an International English Language Testing System (IELTS) test that has been undertaken in the three years immediately prior to lodging the visa application.
• A score of at least ‘B’ in each of the four test components of an Occupational English Test (OET) test that has been undertaken in the three years immediately prior to lodging the visa application.
• A total score of at least 64 with the following minimum test scores in each of the four test components:  4 for listening, 4 for reading, 14  for writing and  14 for speaking, in a Test of English as a Foreign Language internet-based test (TOEFL iBT) test that has been undertaken in the three years immediately prior to lodging the visa application.
• An overall score of at least 50 with a minimum score of 36 in each of the four components (listening, reading, writing and speaking)  in a  Pearson Test of English Academic (PTE Academic) test that has been undertaken in the three years immediately prior to lodging the visa application.
• An overall score of at least 169 with a minimum score of 154  in each of the four test components listening, reading, writing and speaking  in a Cambridge English: Advanced (CAE) test that was undertaken on or after 1 January 2015.

You must complete your English language test before you apply. The score of an IELTS, OET, TOEFL iBT or PTE Academic test must be from a test that you sat no more than three years before you apply.  The Cambridge English: Advanced (CAE) test must have been undertaken on or after 1 January 2015 and before you apply.

The IELTS has an academic test and a general training test. You need only take the general training test.

Health requirements

You and all family members must meet certain health requirements. The health examinations you need will depend on your personal circumstances, including your country of citizenship, time spent in another country during the last five years and your intended activities in Australia. The results of your health examinations are generally valid for 12 months.

Character requirements

This applies to you and any member of your family unit listed in the application.

You must meet certain character requirements. You must be prepared to provide a police certificate from each country you have lived in for 12 months or more during the past 10 years after you turned 16 years of age.