A visa is not granted simply because the paperwork is complete. What the case officer is really assessing is why this course, where the money comes from, and what you intend to do afterwards. If those three do not hang together, no amount of documentation saves it.
Current settings as at July 2026. Visa policy changes often, so we re-check the official position before lodging.
| Item | Current position |
|---|---|
| Visa | Student visa (Subclass 500) |
| Application charge | AUD $2,500 (from 1 July 2026; previously $2,000). Some applicants from ASEAN and Pacific nations and Timor-Leste, plus standalone ELICOS and non-award applicants, remain on the earlier charge with CPI adjustment only. |
| Length of stay | Up to 5 years, aligned to the course duration on your CoE |
| Core test | Genuine Student (GS) — replaced the former GTE requirement on 23 March 2024 |
| Financial capacity | 12 months of living costs at AUD $29,710 (set May 2024) + first-year tuition + return airfares; about $10,394 more for a partner and $4,449 per child |
| English | Generally IELTS 6.0 overall; 5.0 where packaged with an ELICOS course; 5.5 for foundation or pathway programs (or equivalent scores in other accepted tests) |
| Health cover | Overseas Student Health Cover (OSHC) must be held for the entire visa period |
| Work rights | Up to 48 hours per fortnight while the course is in session; unlimited during scheduled breaks |
| How to lodge | Online through ImmiAccount; a CoE must be held first |
Since 1 July 2024, holders of a visitor visa (Subclass 600) or ETA, and holders of a Temporary Graduate visa (Subclass 485), cannot lodge a student visa application inside Australia. The old route of arriving as a tourist and converting to a student visa is closed — you must lodge from offshore. Factor this into any plan from the start.
Most refusals are not about missing documents. They are about documents that were provided but did not add up.
On 23 March 2024 the Genuine Student requirement replaced the former Genuine Temporary Entrant test. This is more than a change of name: GTE centred on whether you would leave, while GS centres on whether you are genuinely coming to study, and whether this course makes sense for you. The application form asks about each of the following and each needs a considered answer:
No templates. A consultant runs a 40–60 minute interview first, then builds your history, motivation and career plan into a line of reasoning that holds together, deciding which details help and which actually hurt. This matters most in the difficult cases: stepping down a level (a graduate enrolling in a diploma, for example), older applicants, and anyone with a refusal history. There, how the statement is written decides the outcome.
The most common failures: a course with no connection to your background and no explanation for the jump; vague career plans ("I want to be an international professional"); a statement that contradicts your other documents; and copying an online template so the tone does not match your own life.
Since 10 May 2024 the living cost figure has been AUD $29,710 for 12 months. The full requirement is:
| Item | Amount (AUD) | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Your living costs | $29,710 | Calculated over 12 months |
| Partner or de facto partner | about $10,394 | Added where they accompany you |
| Each child | about $4,449 | Added where they accompany you |
| Tuition | Per your CoE | First year of tuition, less anything already paid |
| Return airfares | about $2,000–$3,000 | For you and any accompanying family |
| School costs for children | about $13,502 each | Where accompanying children attend school in Australia |
Acceptable evidence commonly includes bank deposits, education loans, scholarship letters, or evidence of annual income (you, your partner or your parents meeting the specified income threshold).
We run a financial evidence pre-check to find the points likely to be questioned, then close them with statements, income evidence or a source-of-funds letter — rather than scrambling once a request for information arrives.
You need to satisfy both, and they may differ — provider requirements are often higher than the visa requirement.
| Situation | Minimum for visa purposes (IELTS or equivalent) |
|---|---|
| Straight into the main course | 6.0 overall |
| Main course packaged with an ELICOS program | 5.0 overall |
| Foundation or pathway program | 5.5 overall |
Besides IELTS, equivalent scores in PTE Academic, TOEFL iBT, Cambridge C1 Advanced and OET are accepted. Exemptions apply in some cases — passport holders from certain English-speaking countries, applicants who have completed specified study in Australia, and particular course types.
You do not have to keep re-sitting. A direct-entry ELICOS program packaged with your main course lets you study English first and progress on an internal assessment — many providers accept this without a further IELTS attempt. Whether it works, and how many weeks you need, depends on your current score and target course. See English programs.
If anyone offers to manufacture bank statements, employment letters or transcripts for you, stop working with them immediately. The consequences of that being discovered fall on the student, and they far outweigh whatever inconvenience was avoided. AU Educate will not help prepare or lodge false documents under any circumstances.
Overall this usually takes six weeks to four months, depending on course type, nationality and processing volumes at the time. Peak season — November to January — is noticeably slower.
Lodge four to six months before your course begins. The point of the buffer is that if a request for information or an additional medical arrives, there is time to deal with it rather than missing your start date and deferring.
Sign the written agreement and pay the initial tuition and health cover as required.
The provider issues a Confirmation of Enrolment through PRISMS. Nothing can be lodged without it.
Passport, qualifications and transcripts, English results, financial evidence, employment evidence, family documents, and written answers to the GS questions.
Create the account, complete the form, upload documents, pay the charge. You receive confirmation and an application ID.
Complete your health examination at the nominated clinic; some applicants also provide fingerprints and a photograph.
You may receive a request for further documents with a stated deadline. Missing it can mean a decision is made on what is already on file.
When the grant notice arrives, check the validity dates, condition numbers and any accompanying family members before booking flights.
Indicative amounts as at July 2026. Actual costs depend on your course, city and circumstances.
| Item | Indicative amount (AUD) | Paid to |
|---|---|---|
| Visa application charge | $2,500 (from 1 July 2026) | Department of Home Affairs |
| Accompanying partner | about $1,865 | Department of Home Affairs |
| Accompanying child (under 18) | about $620 | Department of Home Affairs |
| Medical examination | $300–$600 | Panel clinic |
| OSHC | $600–$1,200 / year | Insurer |
| IELTS / PTE | $400–$460 per sitting | Test provider |
| Certification and translation | $100–$400 | Notary / translator |
| Tuition (bachelor) | $33,000–$55,000 / year | Institution |
| Tuition (coursework masters) | $35,000–$60,000 / year | Institution |
| Tuition (TAFE / VET) | $8,000–$22,000 / year | Institution |
| Living costs (Sydney / Melbourne) | $25,000–$35,000 / year | — |
The application charge and financial capacity figures are adjusted periodically by the Department, usually taking effect on 1 July. The table above reflects the position current at July 2026, and we re-check each item before lodging.
Students lose visas every year because they did not know these applied. They are printed on your grant notice — read them properly once.
Up to 48 hours per fortnight while the course is in session; unlimited during scheduled breaks.
You must stay enrolled full time in a CRICOS-registered course and meet attendance and course progress requirements.
OSHC must be held continuously for the whole visa period, with no gaps.
Tell your provider your address within 7 days of arriving, and within 7 days of every move after that.
You must continue to satisfy the requirements that applied when the visa was granted, including financial capacity and enrolment.
Approved accommodation and welfare arrangements are required — a CAAW letter — or a parent or legal guardian must accompany you.
For course extensions or progression, lodge well before your current visa expires.
Lodging onshore while your visa is still valid usually gives you a Bridging visa A, so you can remain lawfully while it is decided.
Academic performance matters on renewal. Multiple failures or frequent course changes need explaining.
Common reasons: your course was extended, you are moving up to a higher qualification, a change of course altered the duration, or the original visa was simply shorter than the course.
Once a visa expires you become an unlawful non-citizen. That is a completely different level of difficulty, and it can affect future applications.
This is not a formality. Moving to a lower qualification, or changing course repeatedly, requires an explanation that stands up.
A Bridging visa A only takes effect once the original visa expires, and its conditions do not always match your previous student visa. Confirm work rights separately.
Both run on strict time limits, and those limits start from the date the notice was given — not the day you happened to read it. The first thing to do with any letter is find the deadline on it.
The refusal letter sets out the provisions relied on and the reasons. Those reasons are the starting point for everything that follows — re-lodging without reading them properly usually produces a second refusal.
Two options:
Note: student visa applications refused offshore generally carry no review rights, so the question becomes whether re-lodging is viable.
Where the Department considers you have breached your conditions, it first issues a Notice of Intention to Consider Cancellation, giving you a window to respond in writing — commonly 14 days.
Frequent triggers:
That response window is decisive. A written statement that explains the cause, the evidence and what you have done about it is the most realistic chance of keeping the visa. Not responding means giving up the chance to argue.
You are unlawfully in Australia and this needs dealing with immediately. Generally you should apply for a Bridging visa E (Subclass 050) within 28 days of the visa ceasing and explain the circumstances. Acting inside that window is very different from acting after it — the latter can trigger a three-year re-entry bar. Do not wait, and do not leave the country and try to sort it out from there. Contact us or a registered migration agent directly.
For a parent or legal guardian of a student under 18 to live in Australia with them.
A partner or de facto partner and dependent children can be included as family members on a Subclass 500, either with your application or later.
It varies a lot. Higher education applications commonly sit between four weeks and three months; VET and ELICOS generally take longer. Course type, nationality, completeness of documents and current volumes all matter. The Department publishes indicative processing times, but those are statistics rather than commitments. Getting the documents right first time is the most effective way to speed things up — once a request for information is triggered, the wait usually lengthens considerably.
Yes, but only once the earlier reasons are properly understood. A refusal is not a permanent barrier. What does real damage is repeating the same mistake, or concealing the refusal history in a new application — the form asks directly, and concealment can engage PIC 4020.
Our approach is to obtain the complete refusal letter, work through each of the officer's concerns, and judge whether better evidence solves it or the course plan itself needs to change. Sometimes a course that fits your background is far more effective than arguing repeatedly for the same one.
Eligible graduates can apply for a Temporary Graduate visa (Subclass 485) to work in Australia for a period. Eligibility criteria, age limits and length of stay have all been adjusted repeatedly in recent years, and depend on your course, qualification level and whether it sits in an area of need. If staying on after graduation is your goal, it has to be part of the course decision — discovering after graduation that your course does not qualify is too late. Speak with our registered migration agent for specific planning.
You can absolutely lodge it yourself. Plenty of applicants with a clean history, clear documents and a course that follows on from their studies succeed on their own, and we will not push you into paying for something you do not need.
Where a licensed agent genuinely helps: a refusal history, complex sources of funds, a substantial change of field, stepping down a qualification level, previous compliance issues, or a refusal or cancellation notice already in hand. In those cases how the statement is written and the evidence organised materially changes the outcome.
Providing immigration assistance in Australia requires registration as a migration agent (or admission as a legal practitioner). Every agent holds a unique registration number that can be checked on the public register. Ask for it and verify it yourself — a legitimate agent will not be evasive about this. You should also have a written agreement setting out the services and fees before work begins.
Send the documents over. A registered migration agent will give you a view on feasibility before any discussion of engagement.