The COVID-19 replacement stream is a replacement for the initial Temporary Graduate visa. It is only available for Temporary Graduate visa holders impacted by the Australian travel restrictions. This means, people who could not stay in Australia for the full period allowed by their previous Temporary Graduate visa.

The replacement Temporary Graduate (subclass 485) visa will recognise the commitment made by international students to Australia. It will acknowledge the disruption to plans that COVID-19 and the associated travel restrictions caused.

Eligibility

To be eligible, applicants must:

• currently hold, or have held a Temporary Graduate visa that expired on or after 1 February 2020; and
• have been outside Australia at any time between 1 February 2020 and 15​ December 2021.

In normal circumstances, applicants can only be granted one Temporary Graduate visa, and a further visa is only available on the basis of regional work and study.

We are still determining details on the application requirements. It is likely that applicants will need to supply some supporting documents to apply for this visa stream.

Staying in Australia

Applicants will receive the full validity of their initial Temporary Graduate visa. This is determined by the level of their qualification.

Cost

The visa costs AUD1,680 for the primary visa applicant. There is also a charge for each family member who applies for the visa with them.

As successful applicants will be granted the full validity, the full visa application charge will apply.

Whilst holding this visa

​Applicants can live, study and work in Australia temporarily. They must find their own employment if we grant this visa. We are not responsible for arranging employment.

Applicants can include members of the family unit in their application when they apply. This includes family members that weren’t included in their original Temporary Graduate visa.

The Australian Agriculture visa is being designed for primary industry sectors including horticulture, meat processing, dairy, wool, grains, fisheries (including aquaculture) and forestry.

The program will be operated by the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, leveraging their experience managing the successful Pacific Labour Scheme.

The Seasonal Worker Programme and Pacific Labour Scheme will remain the priority source of temporary migrant workers for Australia’s agriculture sector. The Australian Agriculture visa will address any labour gaps that cannot be filled by Australian and Pacific labour.

Availability of the Australian Agriculture visa

Building on the successful Pacific labour programs, the Government is working closely with industry to design the program.

The Australian Agriculture visa will be open to applicants from a range of countries, negotiated through bilateral agreements. The first workers will arrive once negotiations with sending countries and quarantine arrangements are agreed and finalised.

The legislative framework for the Australian Agriculture visa commenced on 30 Sept 2021.​​​

Country eligibility for the Australian Agriculture visa

The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade will start bilateral negotiations with selected countries to participate in the Australian Agriculture Worker program.

Additional countries will be added over time.

Recruiting workers under the new visa

The Government will make further announcements on program details including the application process for employers, following formal consultation with industry. This began immediately after the Government’s announcement. 

Applying for the new visa

Details on how to apply, and eligibility requirements, will be determined through the program design process in consultation with industry.

Information on how to apply for the visa will be published on the Department of Home Affairs website when the process has been finalised.

Access to a permanent residence pathway

The Government has committed to exploring permanent residence pathways for participants in the program, including regional settlement. However, this will involve significant further consultation and design work.

Recruiting workers for upcoming harvests

The Pacific labour programs will remain the priority source of temporary migrant workers for Australia’s agriculture sector.

The Government’s commitment to double the number of Pacific workers to 25,000 in Australia by March 2022 means that there will be more workers available to fill critical workforce shortages for the upcoming harvest seasons.​

For more information and updates refer to The Australian Agriculture Visa

For Australian citizenship by descent and adoption, certificates​ will be issued to approved applicants.

Changes to citizenship application fees from 1 July 2021

Fee changes​

Citizenship application fee changes take effect from 1 July 2021. Fees are increasing to more accurately reflect the cost of application processing.

Applicants will be charged the relevant fee based on when the Department receives their application.

The new fees apply if the Department receives the application and payment on or after 1 July 2021.

The new fees applicable from 1 July 2021 are set out in the table below.

The circumstances in which a fee concession applies from 1 July 2021 have been simplified. There are no changes to fee exemptions.

For further information, see Fees: More Information​.

​Citizenship application fees (effective 1 July 2021)

_{* Fee concessions for forms 1300t and 1290​}

_{A fee concession is payable by:}

• _{holders of a Pensioner Concession Card issued by the Australian Government (Services Australia or the Department of Veterans’ Affairs)}
• _{persons aged 17 years or younger listed as a dep​endant on a Pensioner Concession Card issued by the Australian Government (Services Australia or the Department of Veterans’ Affairs) applying independently.}

_{No fee is payable for children aged 15 years or younger applying on the same form as a parent.}

_{NOTE: To be eligible for the fee concession, applicants must provide a certified copy of both sides of their Pensioner Concession Card with the citizenship application.}

_{^Fee exemptions}

_{No fee is payable for applicants who:}

• _{are a British or Maltese former child migrant who came to Australia without parents between 22 September 1947 and 31 December 1967 under the Commonwealth Child Migration Scheme. A letter from the Child Migrants Trust confirming details of arrival and sponsorship will need to be submitted with the citizenship application.}
• _{served for at least 90 days in the permanent forces of the Commonwealth of Australia. A letter or discharge papers from the Australian Defence Force specifying service dates will need to be submitted with the citizenship application.}
• _{are applying under the Statelessness provision (section 21(8) of the Australian Citizenship Act 2007). ​}

​​​Fees: more information​​​​​

Why citizenship fees are changing

T​his is the first fee increase in more than five years. The revised fees were determined by citizenship application processes and costs.

The changes to citizenship fees apply from 12.00am, 1 July 2021 (Australian Eastern Standard Time). New fees apply for any application submitted on or after this time.

Citizenship fee changes and your application

If you submit your application online on or after 1 July 2021, the new fee will apply. This is regardless of when you started the application. If you apply online, your application is considered submitted when the Department receives it, along with the applicable fee.

If you apply online and pay by credit or debit card, PayPal, or UnionPay, your application and fee is generally received on the same day. If you pay by BPAY there may be a delay in receipt of your application and payment.

Before submitting your application, please ensure it includes all the required documents. If you submit an incomplete application, you may be required to make a new application, and pay the relevant fee. If we receive your application on or after 1 July 2021, the new application fee applies.

Paper applications

If you lodge a paper application by mail, the date you submit your application is the date the Department receives it, not the day you post the application form. If we receive your application on or after 1 July 2021, the new fee applies.

Please consider postage times. To avoid the risk of postal delays, we recommend applying online where possible.

If we receive your paper application without the full fee that applies on the date we receive your application, we cannot consider your application until the correct application fee has been paid.

If you previously paid a lower fee, but there has been a delay in submitting your application, you are able to make a ‘top-up’ payment via ImmiAccount. Go to ImmiAccount:

My payments > Manage payments > Pre-pay Paper Service and select Top-up payment.

If you do not pay the ‘top-up’ amount, you will need to submit a new application with the correct fee.

Fee Concessions

From 1 July 2021, if you are applying for Australian citizenship by conferral you can pay a concession fee if you:

• hold a Pensioner Concession Card (PCC) issued by the Australian Government (Services Australia or the Department of Veterans’ Affairs)

or

• you are:
  • aged 17 years or younger,
  • applying independently, and
  • listed as a dependant on a PCC issued by the Australian Government (Services Australia or the Department of Veterans’ Affairs).

If you are paying a concession fee, you must provide a certified copy of both sides of your concession card with your application.

For more information on applying for Australian citizenship, see Becoming an Australian citizen.

Changes to citizenship certificates from 1 July 2021

From 1 July 2021, applicants approved for Australian citizenship by descent and Australian citizenship by adoption will receive an Australian citizenship certificate. This is instead of an Australian citizenship extract.

An Australian citizenship extract is an informal document that can be used to access limited government services. An Australian citizenship certificate is an official document that provides formal evidence of Australian citizenship.

Applicants for Australian citizenship by descent and adoption who:

• applied prior to 1 July 2021, and
• have their application approved on or after 1 July 2021

are also eligible to receive an Australian citizenship certificate instead of an extract. The Department will contact these applicants directly with more information.

The Government will not issue citizenship extracts for applications approved on or after 1 July 2021.

You can still use a citizenship extract (issued prior to 1 July 2021), to apply for an Australian Passport.

For further information, see below Certificates for descent and adoption applications: More Information.

Certificates for descent and adoption applications: More Information

Receiving your Australian citizenship certificate

The way in which your citizenship certificate will be sent to you depends on your location.

We encourage all applicants to provide an Australian postal address with their application. This will help to ensure your certificate is delivered securely and as quickly as possible. It may take around two weeks for a citizenship certificate to arrive at an address in Australia.

If you are unable to provide an Australian postal address, generally we will send the certificate to you by international express mail from Australia. It may take around six weeks for a citizenship certificate to arrive.

If your country of residence does not have a functional mail system, we will send your certificate to the closest Australian Embassy or High Commission. We will notify you on how you can collect the certificate.

Applying for an urgent Australian passport

If you are outside of Australia, you do not need to wait until you receive your certificate to apply for an Australian passport. Information on how to apply will be included in your approval letter.

Evidence of Australian citizenship

Only descent and adoption applications approved on or after 1 July 2021 will receive a citizenship certificate. If you have an extract and would like to obtain an Australian citizenship certificate, you can apply for formal evidence of citizenship.

For further information on applying for Australian citizenship, see Becoming an Australian citizen.​​