Australia Student Visa (Subclass 500): 2026 Requirements and Application

The Student Visa (subclass 500) is Australia's main visa for international students undertaking full-time study in a course registered on the Commonwealth Register of Institutions and Courses for Overseas Students (CRICOS). It can cover higher education, vocational education and training, schools, postgraduate research, independent English-language study, and other eligible sectors.

The visa can let you:

• Study the CRICOS course shown on your Confirmation of Enrolment (CoE)
• Stay for the period granted, generally aligned with your course
• Bring eligible family members in the same application or, if properly declared, through a later application
• Work within the conditions attached to the visa
• Travel to and from Australia while the visa remains valid

Approval is not based on admission alone. Home Affairs must be satisfied that you meet the Genuine Student (GS) requirement and the applicable enrolment, English, financial-capacity, health-cover, health, character, and welfare criteria.

Core eligibility checklist

Most applicants need to:

1. Be at least six years old.

2. Hold a valid CoE for each intended CRICOS course, unless a specific exemption applies.

3. Show that study is the primary reason for the application under the GS requirement.

4. Provide English-language evidence if the application checklist requires it.

5. Show sufficient funds if financial evidence is required.

6. Hold Overseas Student Health Cover (OSHC) for the required period, unless exempt.

7. Meet health and character requirements.

8. Arrange approved welfare if under 18.

A student visa is temporary and does not itself guarantee a Temporary Graduate Visa (subclass 485) or permanent residence after study.

The Genuine Student requirement applies to student-visa applications lodged on or after 23 March 2024. It replaced the Genuine Temporary Entrant (GTE) test. Home Affairs assesses whether studying in Australia is genuinely the primary reason for the visa, while recognising that a genuine student may later develop lawful career or migration plans.

The online application asks you to explain, in English and within the stated response limits:

• Your current family, community, employment, and economic circumstances
• Why you chose this course and this education provider in Australia
• Your understanding of the course and of living and studying in Australia
• How the course will benefit your future
• Any other information relevant to your application

Applicants who previously held a student visa, or who apply in Australia from a non-student visa, may receive an additional question.

Evidence that supports a coherent GS case

Your answers should match the documents and the facts of your history. Useful evidence can include:

• Academic records and qualifications
• Employment history and evidence of current circumstances
• Research into the provider, course content, costs, and location
• A clear explanation of how the course fits your past study and future work
• Evidence of realistic funding and living arrangements
• Explanations for study gaps, course changes, previous refusals, or an unrelated new field

Generic statements, copied templates, or claims contradicted by your financial and academic records can weaken credibility. The strongest response explains a specific educational decision using verifiable facts rather than promising a particular visa outcome.

For most primary applicants lodging on or after 1 July 2026, the base Student Visa application charge is A$2,500. Additional charges are A$1,530 for an applicant aged 18 or over and A$500 for an applicant under 18.

A base charge of A$2,050 applies to eligible ASEAN passport holders and to eligible independent ELICOS or non-award applicants. Separate lower arrangements can apply to eligible Pacific and Timor-Leste applicants. Use the official Visa Pricing Estimator before payment because the correct amount depends on the lodgement date, passport, study sector, accompanying family, and any applicable subsequent temporary application charge.

How much money must you show?

Where financial-capacity evidence is required, the current 12-month living-cost benchmarks include:

These figures are not the complete budget. You may also need to show funds for travel and up to 12 months of course fees, reduced by eligible amounts already paid. An alternative annual-income method may be available where a parent, spouse, or de facto partner meets the current official threshold.

Home Affairs looks for genuine access to the money, not only a balance on one day. Depending on the case, evidence may include bank history, term deposits, education loans, scholarships, tax records, or documents connecting a financial sponsor to you. Explain large recent deposits and make sure names, amounts, and sources are consistent across the application.

The exact document list is generated from your answers, passport country, education provider, and course sector. Use Home Affairs' Document Checklist Tool and the checklist shown in ImmiAccount rather than treating a generic list as complete.

A decision-ready application commonly includes:

• Passport identity pages and any requested identity records
• A valid CoE for every intended course
• Genuine Student answers and supporting evidence
• Academic transcripts, completion certificates, and employment evidence
• English-language test evidence if required
• Financial-capacity evidence if required
• OSHC evidence for the student and accompanying family
• Health examinations or biometrics if requested
• Character records and explanations where applicable
• Relationship evidence for accompanying family
• Welfare and parental-consent evidence for applicants under 18

Form 80 is not a standard required form for every Student Visa applicant.

Home Affairs may request it for additional personal or character information. Applicants under 18 may need Form 1229 and evidence of approved welfare arrangements.

English requirement

The standard visa threshold is generally IELTS 6.0 or an accepted equivalent. Lower scores can apply with qualifying packaged English study: generally IELTS 5.5 with at least 10 weeks of eligible ELICOS, or IELTS 5.0 with at least 20 weeks. Exemptions and different evidence settings apply in specified cases. Your education provider can impose a higher admission score than the visa minimum.

Health cover

OSHC must normally cover the required period for you and accompanying family members. Arrange the correct dates before travel and avoid gaps in cover. Private travel insurance is not automatically a substitute for compliant OSHC.

Student Visa applications are lodged online through ImmiAccount. There is no routine paper application form for subclass 500.

1. Choose a CRICOS course and receive an offer.

Check the provider, course code, location, duration, tuition, and entry requirements. 2.

Accept the offer and obtain the CoE.

An offer letter normally does not replace the CoE at lodgement. 3.

Check whether you can apply from your location.

Not every temporary visa holder can lodge a Student Visa in Australia. For example, Visitor and Temporary Graduate visa holders are generally barred from applying onshore for subclass 500. 4.

Use the Document Checklist Tool.

Identify required English and financial evidence before starting the application. 5.

Arrange OSHC and prepare evidence.

Align the policy, CoE, finances, GS answers, and family details. 6.

Complete the online application.

Declare all family members, including those who are not travelling, and answer every question accurately. 7.

Pay the correct application charge and lodge.

Save the receipt and a complete copy of the submission. 8.

Monitor ImmiAccount.

Complete biometrics, health examinations, or requests for more information by the deadline. 9.

Wait for the written decision before relying on travel plans.

A CoE or application receipt is not a visa grant.

Applicants from India

Indian passport holders generally pay the standard A$2,500 primary charge because India is not covered by the ASEAN concession. The required evidence still depends on the provider and Home Affairs assessment settings. Provide clear English translations where needed, document the genuine source and availability of funds, and complete biometrics or health steps if instructed. No education agent can guarantee approval or replace evidence required by Home Affairs.

Most Student Visa holders can work up to 48 hours per fortnight while their course is in session and unlimited hours during scheduled course breaks. Work generally cannot begin before the course starts. Always read the conditions on the grant notice and confirm them in VEVO.

Students undertaking a master's degree by research or a doctoral degree generally have unrestricted work hours after their course starts. Work that is a registered mandatory component of the course can be treated differently from ordinary employment.

Work income should not be used to replace the financial capacity needed for the application. Study must remain the primary purpose, and students must maintain enrolment, course progress, attendance where required, OSHC, and all other visa conditions.

Bringing family

A spouse or de facto partner and eligible dependent children can be included where the family relationship and other requirements are met. Declare family members in the initial application even if they intend to join later; failure to declare them can prevent a later subsequent-entrant application.

Family members need their own identity, relationship, health, character, insurance, and financial evidence. School-age children can add schooling costs to the financial requirement. Work rights for a partner depend on the student's course and the conditions granted, so check VEVO rather than assuming the same limits as the primary student.

A parent or eligible guardian supporting a student under 18 may need a separate Student Guardian Visa (subclass 590).

There is no reliable fixed processing time for every Student Visa. Home Affairs' live processing-time guide reports recently decided applications and separates education sectors. Offshore applications are also handled under published processing priorities. Provider priority, education sector, application completeness, health and character checks, and requests for more information can all affect timing.

Apply early enough to resolve evidence issues, but do not lodge with an invalid CoE or incomplete information merely to enter a queue. Monitor ImmiAccount and tell the education provider if a decision may affect the course start date.

The granted visa period usually reflects the course length and the applicable post-course period, up to the limits for the sector. School students in primary years 1 to 4 are generally granted no more than three years at a time.

If more time is needed to finish the course, Australia does not simply extend the existing visa. You generally need a new visa before the current one expires and must meet the requirements then in force. Course or provider changes can also affect visa obligations.

Completing a course does not automatically grant work rights or permanent residence. An eligible graduate may separately consider the Temporary Graduate Visa (subclass 485). Skilled migration pathways have their own age, occupation, English, skills-assessment, points, nomination, and invitation rules. Choose a course for a credible education outcome, not on an assumption that study guarantees PR.

Student Visa decisions are evidence-based. The application should tell one consistent story across the CoE, GS responses, finances, education history, employment records, family details, and previous immigration applications.

Common problems include:

• Generic or copied Genuine Student answers
• A course choice that is not explained by prior study or career plans
• Missing, expired, or inconsistent CoE details
• Funds that appear temporarily borrowed or cannot be accessed
• Unexplained large deposits or inconsistent sponsor documents
• Relying on part-time work to meet the financial requirement
• Missing English evidence where the checklist requires it
• OSHC dates that do not cover the required period
• Undeclared family members, refusals, cancellations, or criminal history
• Applying in Australia while holding a visa that does not permit an onshore Student Visa application
• False or misleading documents from an agent or other third party
• Missing welfare or parental-consent evidence for a minor

Before lodging, compare every upload against the ImmiAccount checklist and verify that dates, names, course details, and amounts match. If circumstances change after lodgement, update Home Affairs promptly. Applicants with previous refusals, status problems, complex funding, or significant course changes should consider advice from a registered migration agent or Australian immigration lawyer.