This visa allows you to stay in Australia to study full-time in a recognised education institution.
You must:
Up to five years
Last updated 16 February 2018 (for month ending 31 January 2018)
Processing times vary.
For more information read Global visa and citizenship processing times
Check the Document Checklist tool (disclaimer) to find out which documents need to be attached to the application.
Enter your country of passport and education provider to get an accurate document checklist.
If you have not yet decided on an education provider, you can choose the option 'I have not decided on a provider yet' on the tool and receive guidance about the documents you will need to provide with your visa application.
The Document Checklist Tool is updated twice a year on 31 March and 30 September. Applicants are encouraged to re-check the document checklist (based on the country of passport and education provider) after these dates and prior to submitting their application as the requirements may have changed.
With limited exceptions, you must be enrolled in a course of study that is registered on the Commonwealth Register of Institutions and courses for Overseas for Overseas Students (CRICOS).
If you are applying from outside Australia, you must include a Confirmation of Enrolment (CoE) for each intended course of study with your visa application. A letter of offer from your education provider will not be accepted.
If you are applying for more than one course in your student visa application, you must include all Confirmation of Enrolment (CoE) codes in the application form or the visa may only be granted for the CoE provided.
If you are in Australia, you can apply with one or more letters of offer but you must provide the CoE/s to be granted the visa.
If you are under 18 years of age, you need to have welfare arrangements in place while you are in Australia. More information is available about Welfare arrangements for students under 18.
The GTE requirement applies to all student visa applicants. The officer assessing the visa will and consider whether the individual circumstances of the student indicates that their intention is for a temporary stay in Australia. You must satisfy us that you have a genuine intention to stay in Australia temporarily.
You might need to provide evidence of your English language skills with your visa application.
Check the Document Checklist tool (disclaimer) to find out the evidence you need to provide. You might also be exempt from providing evidence.
If you are required to provide evidence of your English language skills with your application and you do not do so, your visa could be refused.
If you need to provide evidence of your English language proficiency, there is a minimum English language test score we will accept.
You need to have enough money that is genuinely available to you, to pay for your course fees, and travel and living costs for you and your accompanying family members while you are in Australia.
You might need to provide evidence of your financial capacity with your visa application. Check the Document Checklist tool (disclaimer) to find out the evidence you need to provide.
If the Document Checklist lists evidence of financial capacity as a requirement, it must be attached to the visa application form or your visa could be refused without requests for further information.
If you do not need to provide this evidence with your application, we have discretion to ask you for this during the application process.
If you are a secondary exchange student, provide a completed Acceptance Advice of Secondary Exchange Student (AASES) form as evidence of meeting the financial capacity requirement.
If you are sponsored by the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade or the Department of Defence, provide a letter of support as evidence of meeting the financial capacity requirement. You will need to provide evidence of financial capacity for accompanying family members.
Subsequent entrants – family members who apply after the primary applicant has been granted their visa must also provide documentary evidence of financial capacity. This must be one of the options above.
Twelve months' funds option
Annual income option
Genuine access to funds
You must meet the health requirements.
You might need to undergo health examinations as part of the visa application process.
The health assessment process can take several weeks to complete. To help avoid delays, you can choose to undertake your health examination prior to lodging your visa application.
More information is available about My health declarations.
You must have adequate health insurance while in Australia. Students can show this by obtaining Overseas Student Health Cover (OSHC) which provides medical and hospital insurance.
Everyone who wants to enter Australia must be of good character and will be assessed against the character requirements.
You must answer a number of character related questions on your visa application form and the information you provide will be used to assess your character.
You might be asked for more information.
More information is available about Character and police certificate requirements.
If you are applying in Australia, you must hold a current temporary substantive visa, but not any one of these visas.
You and your family members can make a combined application or they can apply to join you later provided you declared them in your student visa application or they became a family member after the grant of your student visa (such as a newborn baby).
You must have funds to support yourself and all accompanying family members already in Australia as well as those included in the current application.
More information is available about How to apply for family members to join you.
Student visa applicants can apply to study in ELICOS in Australia. If you are intending to study standalone ELICOS for more than 12 months, you should provide lots of information with your application showing how you meet the Genuine Temporary Entrant (GTE) requirement.
There is flexibility to extend the length of ELICOS where it is needed. This will be determined on a case by case basis.
Students can apply for a student visa to study at primary or secondary school in Australia, regardless of their country of citizenship.
This visa is for students who want to come to Australia to study at a registered education institution.
This visa allows you to stay in Australia for the duration of your studies, generally up to five years. The student visa grant period will depend on the length and type of course.
From AUD 560
Use the Visa pricing estimator to estimate the cost of your application.
Visa pricing estimator
You might have to pay other costs, such as the costs of health assessments, police certificates, or any other certificates or tests. You are responsible for making the necessary arrangements.
You can apply when you are in or outside Australia.
You can apply to undertake two or more courses on your Student visa (subclass 500) where there is clear progression from one course to another. This is known as course packaging.
You will need to provide a confirmation of enrolment (CoE) or prove that a CoE is not required for each intended course with your visa application.
The final course that you will undertake as part of your package of courses is your main (or principal) course of study. Your main course of study will be used to determine your financial and English language evidentiary requirements.
You must abide by your visa conditions or your visa could be cancelled. Different visa conditions apply to you and your family members.
You can check your visa conditions in Visa Entitlement Verification Online (VEVO).
You must comply with the state and territory laws of Australia.
Students must comply with the work conditions for student visa holders.
You need to either leave Australia before your visa expires, or lodge a new visa application.
If your visa expires, contact us immediately. If your visa has expired for more than 28 days, you might not be able to return to Australia for three years.
You can only extend your stay in Australia if you do not have a 'No Further Stay' condition (8534 or 8535) on your current student visa or this restriction has been waived. You can find out if you have this condition by looking in your visa grant information or through Visa Entitlement Verification Online (VEVO).
In general, you can only hold one visa at a time. A new visa (other than a bridging visa) will generally replace any other visa that you hold and come into effect as soon as it is granted. You should contact us before lodging a visa application if you have questions about how a new visa would affect your existing visa.
Use the Document Checklist (disclaimer) to find out the evidence you need to provide with your application.
You will need to provide documents with your online application.
You must pay the application fee when you apply or your application will not be valid.
The following student visa applicants are not required to pay a visa application fee:
More information is available about how to pay.
You must apply for this visa online.
After you have gathered and scanned the documents that support your application, create an account and apply for your student visa with our online application system – ImmiAccount.
If you do not provide the documents requested, your visa application could be refused.
After you have applied, any additional documentation you need to submit should be uploaded into ImmiAccount. If you provide your documents through any other channel, it will result in processing delays.
You can be in or outside Australia when a decision is made on your application.
If you apply for this visa from outside Australia, do not make arrangements to travel to Australia or leave your job until you have received notification from us, in writing, that you have been granted a visa.
You will need to login to your ImmiAccount. You can use your account to:
Documents must be attached to your student visa application in ImmiAccount. If your visa has already been granted, see the Visa Holders tab for further instructions.
If your student visa will expire before your graduation, you might be able to apply for another visa that meets your circumstances such as a visitor visa. You will need a letter from your education provider which states the date of your graduation.
You can withdraw your application at any time before a decision is made. You can do this by logging into your ImmiAccount.
If your child is born in Australia, they are automatically granted the same visa you and your partner hold at the time of the child's birth. If either parent is an Australian citizen or Australian permanent resident at the time of the child's birth, the child might be an Australian citizen by birth.
You will need to notify us soon after your child is born.
Check your own visa details
Including family members
Select information relevant to you. Leave fields blank if you are not sure.
