Student Visa

Student Visa allow international students to travel to and from Australia and live in Australia while they undertake a full-time course of study. There are many different courses an international student may enrol in, and it is possible to apply for permission to work part-time while studying.

 

Course Requirements

Students must enrol in a registered CRICOS - registered course or high school program.

Genuine Temporary Entrant (GTE) :

Students must prove to the immigration, who is a genuine student who will complete their Australian studies, comply with visa conditions, and in general return home after their studies. This would generally involve demonstrating how the studies are relevant to the students background, and how they will improve your employment prospects in your home country.

Country and Provider Risk Model
Risk ratings apply to different education providers and to different passport countries. Depending on the combination of student’s country of passport holders and the education provider, you will either need to meet:
  • Minimum English Language ability (if required).
  • Financial capability to pay the course fees, living expenses, insurance, traveling expenses and other related expenses (if required).

English Language Score:

If you are subject to “Regular Evidentiary Requirements”, you will need to provide evidence of your English language ability. This would generally require you to undertake an English language test and achieve a minimum score to get an admission if required.

  • IELTS: 5.5 Average
  • TOEFL (Paper): 527
  • TOEFL iBT: 46
  • CAE (Cambridge): 162
  • PTE (Pearson): 42
  • OET (Occupational English Test): B Pass
If you are completing ELICOS (English language) studies as part of a packaged course, the english scores are somewhat lower. student may be exempt from english language testing if:
  • You hold a passport from certain countries.
  • You have previously studied in English medium or in Australia.
  • You are enrolled in certain types of courses.
Financial requirement :
If required, students must provide evidence of sufficient funds to undertake studies in Australia. This could be either of the following:
  • Evidence of funds to cover your studies for the first 12 months of your stay in Australia.
  • Evidence of taxable income of your parents or spouse for the last 12 months.

Visa Application

Student can be either in Australia or overseas when applying for subclass 500 visa. If in Australia, you would generally need to hold a substantive visa which is not subject to a “no further stay” condition. The application is generally lodged online, though paper applications are possible in some circumstances.

Visa Conditions

A student visa is generally approved for the duration of studies plus 2 months or so. Ph.D. and master’s by Research students will generally receive an additional 6 months to handle marking of their theses. Students get permission to work in Australia on a student visa once commence their studies. In general, students can work for up to 40 hours a fortnight while running the course and full-time on vacation. Students must maintain enrolment in an approved course whilst in Australia and normally not allowed to swap to a lower course but can swap to a higher-level course whilst in Australia. To obtain a student visa, you must provide evidence of adequate health insurance arrangements, and this is also an ongoing condition of your visa.