Student Visa Program

Purpose
Allows people who are not Australian citizens or Australian permanent residents to study in Australia.

Overview
You must obtain a student visa before you can commence a course of study in Australia. A student visa will only be granted if you are undertaking a registered course, or part of a registered course on a full-time basis.

Which visa is appropriate?
The Australian education system is divided into four levels of schooling:

1. Primary education;
2. Secondary education;
3. Vocational education; and
4. Higher education.

The type of visa appropriate for you will depend on the type of course you intend to undertake, and what stage of study you are at. They include:

• Student (Subclass 500) visa – Allows you to stay in Australia to study full-time in a recognised education institution.
• Temporary Graduate (Subclass 407) visa – Allows you to take part in workplace-based training or participate in a professional development training program in Australia.
• Temporary Graduate (Subclass 485) visa – Allows you to live, study and work in Australia temporarily after you have finished your studies. 

How your application will be assessed
To study in Australia, you'll need to apply for both admission to an institution and also for a student visa from the Australian Government. In particular, 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).

There is a range of entry requirements that you will need to meet both for you institution application and your visa application. This includes:

• Meeting the Genuine Temporary Entrant (GTE) requirement (ie. proving you intend to stay in Australia only temporarily); 
• Academic requirements;
• English language requirements;
• Evidence of funds to support your study;
• Health requirements and overseas student health cover; and
• Character requirements.

If you have a spouse or dependent children, you must also show that you can support them. This applies even if your dependants will not be accompanying you to Australia.

Changing courses
If you already hold a student visa and are thinking about changing your course of study, you must ensure that you continue to meet all the conditions that apply to your student visa. Generally, students who want to change to a lower level course or non-award course must apply for, and be granted, a new student visa before they change their course. Find out more about changing courses here.