Australia Study Visa – Subclass 500

Australia offers a huge variety of study options for international students, with over 22,000 courses offered by 1200 educational institutions. You can study at all levels of education right from primary and secondary school to higher education including universities. This visa allows you to stay in Australia to study full-time in recognized education in a recognized educational institution.

Eligibility Criteria for the Applicants:

For the grant of a Student visa (Subclass 500) –

• Satisfying the Genuine Temporary Entrant(GTE) requirement:

GTE requirements provide a useful way to help identify those applicants who are using the student visa program for motives other than gaining a quality education. While assessing your application the Australian immigration authority assesses your circumstances, your immigration history, if you are less than 18 years old, the intention of your parent, legal guardian, or partner, and any other relevant matter.

• Enrollment in a registered course of study:

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 Enrollment (CoE) for each course of study with your visa application.

• Financial capacity and English language proficiency:

If you apply for a study visa, you must have genuinely enough money available to pay for your course fees, travel, and living costs for you and your accompanying family members. You would need to support your application with documentary evidence of the sufficiency of balance.

• Health and character:

You are required to undergo a health assessment which might take several months to complete. You can choose to undertake the examinations before lodging your visa applications to avoid delays. It is also required to submit a police certificate to meet the character requirements of the Australian government. The immigration department wants to ensure that people immigrating to Australia have a good character.

• Health insurance:

If you are applying for a study visa in Australia, you must have adequate health insurance while in Australia. Students can obtain health insurance from Overseas Student Health Cover (OSHC).

• Age requirements for school students:

If you are a minor (under 18 years of age), you need to have welfare arrangements in place while you are in Australia. To demonstrate welfare arrangements, students can be accompanied by parents or legal custodians, a suitable relative or student’s education provider can provide accommodation, support, and general welfare.

Benefits of applying for Study Visa – Subclass 500:

If you get a Student visa under subclass 500:

• You can study in Australia
• Your dependent family members may accompany you to Australia under limited circumstances
• You and your family will be allowed limited or unlimited work rights depending on your course type and unlimited work rights during scheduled course breaks
• Your partner (if eligible to accompany you to Australia) can study in Australia for up to three months

Checklist of documents for Study visa – Subclass 500:

To apply for a student visa, you must ensure the below guidelines are fulfilled:

• You must lodge your visa application at least eight weeks prior to your course commencement date. The electronic application should be completed and all relevant supporting documentation should be uploaded.
• All non-English documents must be uploaded with your application and must be translated by a certified English translation company.

The complete list of documents depends on your type of course, course duration, and university. Below is the list of general documents required for applying for a student visa in Australia:

• Valid electronic Certificate of Enrollment (COE) for courses undertaken:
  • COE for all intended courses must be provided at the time of application or your student visa application will be considered invalid.

• Medical Certificates and Health examination reports:
  • You will need to meet Australia’s health requirements to be granted a student visa. You can create an ImmiAccount and generate your own Health Assessment Portal ID and medical request letter.

• Personal Identification:
  • Birth Certificate: In case you don’t have a birth certificate, you can alternatively submit any other identity document provided by the government.
  • Passport identity page and each page has a visa label and entry/exit stamps for any country that you have been granted a visa.

• Address proof:
  • A household registration book is required particularly for Vietnamese national

• Educational qualification documents:
  • Evidence of educational qualifications and associated transcripts of any course completed or attempted to complete or attempted and currently studying.

• Evidence of any scholarships:
  • If you have been provided any scholarships, you need to attach documents supporting the same.

• Valid Health Insurance documents:
  • If you are applying for an Australian study visa, you must be insured during your stay in Australia. You can apply for Overseas Student Health coverage for you and your dependent family members included in the application for the proposed duration of the student visa.

• Evidence of Employment history:
  • If you have employment experience, you need to support relevant employment experience documents.

• Student visa applicants under 18 years of age must submit documents for welfare arrangements as provided by your education provider:
  • If you are under 18 years of age, you are required to submit a Confirmation of Appropriate Accommodation and Welfare Arrangements (CAAW) letter must be linked with your CoE.

• Please note that the students undertaking package courses with different providers must submit separate CAAW letters from each provider and must ensure that there are continuous welfare arrangements.

• In case you intend to live with any relative in Australia, including your parents, you must provide evidence of nominated guardians who have the right to remain in Australia for the period of your stay, until 18 years of age.

• Student visa for under 18 years who don’t intend to travel along with parents or legal guardian:
  • Parental consent: If you intend to apply for the student visa, under an original letter signed by any non-accompanying parents or legal guardians consenting to the grant of the visa. You are also required to submit a national identity card for both parents.

• Family members included in your visa application:
  • Birth certificate of accompanying family members
  • Evidence of Relationship to the Applicants:
    • In case you are taking your partner along with you, you must provide a marriage certificate along with the application. If your parents or kids are accompanying you it is important to submit the certificate showing your relationship with them.

• In case you have a dependent child under the age of 18 years you would be required to submit the below documents:
  • An original letter signed by any non-accompanying parents or legal guardians consenting to the grant of visa.
  • Evidence of National Identity Cards of both parents.

• Financial Evidence Requirements (If applicable):
  • A signed financial undertaking from the individuals providing the funds, outlining the relationship between you and your financial sponsor.
  • Evidence of identity of financial sponsors:
    • Identity card
    • Passport
    • Driver license
  • You are required to submit additional financial documents to support that you have enough funds to cover travel to Australia and 12 months of living, course, and schooling costs.
  • Evidence of annual income: If you are providing evidence of meeting the annual income requirement you would need to provide evidence of income stream from Australia for at least two previous years ‘Notice of Assessment by the Australian Taxation Office’.

• Submitting Biometrics sample:
  • You may be required to provide a Biometrics sample to apply for student visa.

• English Language Requirements (If Applicable):
  • For the English language, you need to provide evidence that your language requirements for Australia are met. The language scores that are acceptable with the following education providers are listed below:

Processing time for visa – Subclass 500:

According to the Australian Immigration Department website, the average processing time for student applications filed depends on how quickly and accurately the related documents are submitted in order to help in visa processing. Generally, the average processing time for a student visa is around 2-3 months; but it also depends on the type of education you want to pursue and the duration of the course.

But, every case file is unique and requires a fair amount of time for its evaluation. You can track your application online on the department website using ImmiAccount to know the exact application status. You would require a unique Transaction Reference number in order to track your application.

Obligations for visa – Subclass 500:

The duration for which your visa is granted depends on the duration of the course:

Conditions that apply to all student Visa holders:

• Working hours:
  • You cannot work for more than 40 hours per fortnight when your course is in session. You can work for more than 40 hours per fortnight during the recognized vacation period.
• Remain registered in the course and maintain attendance:
  • While holding a student visa, you must be enrolled in the registered course for which you were granted the visa. It is also important to maintain satisfactory attendance in your course and course program for each study period as required by the education provider.
• Maintain Health Insurance:
  • You must maintain adequate arrangements for health insurance during your stay in Australia.
• Maintain the requirements of a Student visa:
  • When applying for a student visa you must ensure that you meet all the requirements of a student visa such as having sufficient funds to support your study and stay in Australia, maintaining good attendance, and maintaining a good academic track record in order to meet the minimum grade requirements of the course.

• Maintain adequate schooling arrangements:
  • If you are a school student, you must maintain adequate schooling arrangements. If you are accompanied by a dependent that has school-age, he/she must meet school arrangement requirements.

• Students under 18 years of age must maintain welfare arrangements:
  • If you are younger than 18 years of age, you must ensure that you maintain appropriate welfare arrangements of accommodation and support while you are in Australia. You must not change your arrangements without the written approval of your education provider.
  • You must keep your education provider informed about the following things such as:
    • Address where you live in Australia within 7 days of arriving in Australia
    • If you can change the address where you live within 7 days of the change
    • If you change education provider within 7 days of receiving the electronic confirmation of enrollment certificate or evidence of enrollment

• Not involved in any Violent or Disruptive activities:
  • As a student in Australia, you must maintain character and ensure that you must not be involved in violent or disruptive activities to or in violence threaten harm to, the Australian community.

• While you remain in Australia you are not entitled to be granted a further substantive visa under the following categories:
  • A protection visa
  • A temporary Graduate visa (subclass 485)
  • A Student Guardian visa (subclass 590)