Student Visas in Australia

Studying there, and whether study leads to residency

The Student visa (subclass 500) covers full-time study with a registered provider and is assessed against a genuine student requirement, which replaced the older genuine temporary entrant test in 2024. Applicants must show enrolment, English at the level the provider and the department require, health cover for the whole stay, and funds for tuition, travel and living costs at a threshold that has been raised more than once in recent years.

What the application has to establish

• A confirmation of enrolment from a provider registered on the national register of courses for overseas students.
• English language ability at the level set for the course and the visa, evidenced by an accepted test unless an exemption applies.
• Overseas Student Health Cover arranged for the whole intended stay, which is a condition of the visa rather than an optional extra.
• Evidence of funds covering tuition, travel and living costs, at a published annual figure that has been increased several times and now sits well above the level quoted in older guides.
• A response to the genuine student requirement, which asks about the applicant's circumstances, the value of the course to them, and their intentions in and after Australia.

The genuine student requirement in practice

The former genuine temporary entrant test asked applicants to demonstrate an intention to stay only temporarily, which sat awkwardly with the fact that study is an established stepping stone to skilled migration. The genuine student requirement reframed the question around whether the applicant genuinely intends to study, while still allowing the department to weigh a stated intention to apply for further visas later.

The practical effect is that a coherent explanation of why this course, at this provider, given the applicant's prior education and work, matters more than any single document. Enrolments that do not follow logically from an applicant's background attract scrutiny, particularly where a course represents a step down in level from a qualification already held.

Working during study

Student visa holders hold limited work rights, capped at a set number of hours per fortnight while the course is in session and generally unrestricted during scheduled course breaks. The cap has moved in recent policy changes, so the current figure should be confirmed against the department's own page rather than a secondary source.

Breaching the work condition is a visa condition breach in its own right and can affect later applications, which is a more serious consequence than the immediate loss of the job.

The post-study visa has narrowed

The Temporary Graduate visa (subclass 485) grants open work rights after an eligible Australian qualification and has historically been the bridge between study and skilled migration. Recent changes lowered the general upper age limit and shortened some of the longer post-study work periods that had been available to higher degree graduates, while retaining longer periods for certain qualifications and for graduates of regional institutions.

Because eligibility depends on the qualification, the provider, the length of study in Australia and the applicant's age at the time of application, the position should be checked against the department's page for the specific course before enrolment rather than after.

Official sources

• Student visa (subclass 500)
• Study Australia

Checked against these pages in September 2026. Fees and processing times change without notice — confirm before you act.

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