Student visa

The Student visa length of stay is tied to the Overseas Student Health Cover (OSHC) period, which at minimum must cover the course length, and the visa end date cannot be changed once granted.

The work-hours limit applies to any fortnight in which the holder's course is in session, and a fortnight is the 14-day period beginning on a Monday.

For 2026 a student counts as a New Overseas Student Commencement when onshore and starting their first non-exempt course at their first provider, and again each time they change into a non-exempt course at a different provider.

For 2027, students studying VET courses at public universities are exempt from the National Planning Level, so dual-sector public universities receive no VET allocation; the minimum allocation for any active higher education provider stays at 50.

Direction 115 says that prioritising offshore Student visa applications by provider allocation is not a limit or cap on visas granted to any provider's students, and that the indicative allocation is used solely to determine how many applications are processed under Priority 1, Priority 2 and Priority 3.

Condition 8202 also requires a student to stay enrolled in a course that leads to an AQF qualification at the same level as, or a higher level than, the course for which the visa was granted.

A student enrolled at AQF level 10 (doctorate) who moves down to a level 9 (masters) course is still treated as meeting the 8202 same-or-higher-level requirement.

A student visa can be cancelled if the Minister is satisfied its holder is not, or is likely not to be, a genuine student.

A student visa can also be cancelled where the holder has engaged, is engaging or is likely to engage in conduct, including omissions, not contemplated by the visa while in Australia.

The Minister can revoke an automatic student-visa cancellation only if the student shows they did not breach the condition, that the breach was due to exceptional circumstances beyond their control, or another matter prescribed in the regulations; being unaware of the notice does not count (this matters only for cancellations already made under section 137J, because ESOS Act section 20 notices can no longer be sent).

The student visa English test requirement does not apply to citizens of the five English-speaking passport countries, ELICOS-only, school-only or postgraduate-research-only students, Foreign Affairs or Defence students, or people with 5 years of English-medium study in Australia, Canada, New Zealand, South Africa, Ireland, the UK or the US.

Every Student 500 visa is granted with condition 8501, which requires the holder to keep adequate health insurance while in Australia, and the same condition is imposed on family members.

The Student visa length of stay is tied to how long the student buys Overseas Student Health Cover (OSHC): it has to cover at least the length of the course and the extra time granted after the course.

Student visa (subclass 500) applicants satisfy public interest criterion 4005, except Foreign Affairs and Defence students, who satisfy 4007 instead.

Under the new rules most temporary visa holders must be outside Australia both when they lodge a Student or Student Guardian visa application and when the visa is granted.

A current Student visa holder who wants another Student visa must now lodge from outside Australia unless a limited exemption applies, for example needing up to 12 more months to finish the same main course with the same provider.

A course-progression exemption lets a Student visa holder lodge another Student visa application in Australia when progressing to a higher AQF level, from school studies to a non-AQF course, or from a non-AQF course to an AQF course; it needs a single future course and a minimal gap, normally no more than two calendar months in the teaching year or four between academic years.

Student visa applicants, including those applying for a further Student visa, can no longer include a partner or dependent children in the application unless an exemption applies.

Family members can no longer be added to a Student visa after it has been granted, and there are no exemptions to this rule.

A primary applicant for the Student visa (subclass 500) must, as a general rule, be enrolled in a course of study at the time the visa is decided; narrow alternatives exist for thesis marking and for Foreign Affairs and Defence students.

Every primary applicant must be a genuine applicant for entry and stay as a student, judged on their circumstances, immigration history, intention to comply with visa conditions and any other relevant matter.

The Minister may require a Student visa applicant to give evidence of English proficiency that meets the requirements set in a legislative instrument, unless the applicant falls into an exempt class.

A Student visa applicant must give evidence of adequate arrangements for health insurance covering the whole intended stay in Australia, and condition 8501 (health insurance) must be imposed on a primary Student visa.

Since 2 October 2026 a person who holds a Student visa and wants a new primary Student visa must apply from outside Australia, unless they hold the current visa as a primary holder in an exempt class such as Defence, Foreign Affairs or school students or a class set by instrument.

A secondary (family) Student visa application may now be made only where the primary applicant is a Defence or Foreign Affairs student or holds a Pacific-regional or ASEAN-listed passport, in grandfathered cases (family already in Australia on a student visa, or a child born in Australia to a primary holder), or in classes the Minister specifies by instrument.

The limit does not apply to work that is a requirement of the course as recorded on CRICOS, nor to masters-by-research or doctoral students once they have started that degree.

A primary Student visa holder must not work before their course starts, unless when applying they held a visa that allowed work and were permitted to work.

Condition 8202 requires most holders to stay enrolled in a full-time registered course that leads to a qualification at the same or a higher AQF level, and not to be certified as failing course progress or attendance.

Condition 8208 stops a holder from undertaking critical-technology-related study (a postgraduate research course or thesis topic relating to critical technology, or its prerequisite bridging course) unless the Minister is satisfied there is no unreasonable risk of unwanted technology transfer and has approved it in writing; it does not apply to the study evidenced in the visa application.

When the primary holder's course is a masters or doctoral degree, a family-member Student visa holder (condition 8104) may work more than the fortnightly hours cap while in Australia (clause 8104(3)).

A family-member Student visa holder (condition 8104) is not made to wait for the primary holder to start a course if the holder, or the primary holder, was permitted to work on a previous visa held when applying, and may then work beyond the hours cap before the course begins (clauses 8104(2A)-(2C)).

A person can apply as a secondary applicant for a Student visa only if the primary applicant is a Defence student, a Foreign Affairs student or holds a passport from a Pacific-regional country or a country the item specifies, or in listed transitional cases (already in Australia on a secondary Student visa, a child born in Australia to a primary holder), or the person is in a class the Minister specifies by instrument.

The National Planning Level for new overseas student commencements in 2026 is 295,000.

The National Planning Level for 2027 stays at 295,000 new overseas student commencements, with 161,725 places for public universities and 38,500 for other higher education providers.

For a Student visa with no accompanying English course, the minimum IELTS Academic or General Training average band score is 6.0; it falls to 5.5 with at least 10 weeks of ELICOS (or a foundation or eligible pathway program) and 5.0 with at least 20 weeks of ELICOS.

For a Student visa with no accompanying English course, the minimum PTE Academic overall score is 47; it is 39 with at least 10 weeks of ELICOS (or foundation or eligible pathway program) and 31 with at least 20 weeks of ELICOS.

For a Student visa with no accompanying English course, the minimum TOEFL iBT total score is 67; it is 51 with at least 10 weeks of ELICOS (or foundation or eligible pathway program) and 37 with at least 20 weeks of ELICOS.

A primary Student visa applicant staying 12 months or more must show funds for annual living costs of AUD29,710 plus travel costs and the course fees for the first 12 months (less amounts already paid).

For each accompanying family member, the funds test adds AUD10,394 a year for a spouse or de facto partner and AUD4,449 a year for a dependent child.

For a school-age dependant staying more than 12 months the funds test adds annual school costs of AUD13,502.

As an alternative to showing funds, the applicant can show official government income documents (issued in the last 12 months) proving a parent or spouse earns at least AUD87,856 a year, or AUD102,500 if a family member applies too.

Home Affairs guidance on visa condition 8501 says private health cover used to meet the minimum level must pay a per-person annual benefit of at least AUD1,000,000; it notes that OSHC and OVHC products commonly provide the recommended minimum level.

Home Affairs guidance lists the maximum waiting periods it suggests for cover, which follow the OSHC settings: 12 months for pregnancy and birth, 12 months for pre-existing conditions and 2 months for most other treatments.

A school student applying for a Student visa (other than a student on a secondary school exchange program) must be at least 6 years old when applying, and must start year 9, 10, 11 or 12 before turning 17, 18, 19 or 20 respectively.

While a course is in session, a Student visa holder may work up to 48 hours per fortnight: condition 8105 sets a 40-hour limit and then reads it as 48 hours for Subclass 500 holders and their related bridging visas.

A Student visa holder who is a family member of the primary holder (condition 8104) may work at most 48 hours a fortnight while in Australia (the 40-hour figure is read as 48 for Subclass 500) and, unless an exception applies, may not work until the primary holder has started a course.

The 2026 National Planning Level is 295,000 international student places, announced on 4 August 2025 as 25,000 more places than in 2025.

The National Planning Level for 2026 is 295,000 New Overseas Student Commencements (NOSCs), and providers delivering higher education and VET to international students receive 2026 allocations in line with it.

The 2027 National Planning Level is set at 295,000 new overseas student commencements, with 161,725 places for public universities and 38,500 for other higher education providers; VET allocations are published by the employment department.

The upper threshold at which a provider's applications fall to Priority 3 is 115 per cent of its indicative allocation.

Postgraduate research students usually receive 6 months more than the standard period so they can stay while their thesis is marked.

The maximum Student visa period for primary school-aged students is generally 3 years, and they can apply for another student visa to continue.

Tertiary students generally get no more than 5 years of Student visa stay, though a package of courses showing clear progression can be granted up to 6 years.

High school students enrolled in years 7 to 12 may be granted a Student visa for a maximum of 6 years.

Direction 115 prioritisation runs on a 12-month cycle beginning each 15 November, so applications lodged from 15 November 2025 to 14 November 2026 count against the 2026 allocation.

Home Affairs aims to begin processing Priority 1 offshore applications within 1-4 weeks of lodgement, Priority 2 within 5-8 weeks and Priority 3 within 9-12 weeks, based on 2025 lodgements, and the priority level does not affect whether a visa is granted.

A subsequent temporary application charge of AUD700 is added when a visa listed by the Minister is applied for from inside Australia by someone who held a previous listed visa and was also in Australia when they applied for it.

Home Affairs says a lower Student visa charge applies to eligible Pacific Island and Timor-Leste citizens, eligible ASEAN citizens, and ELICOS and non-award sector applicants.

A primary Student visa application must include a valid (not cancelled or revoked) confirmation of enrolment number for each intended course, unless a special letter applies for Foreign Affairs, Defence, exchange or thesis-marking cases.

An applicant who will be under 18 at any time in Australia must lodge evidence of intended accommodation, support and general welfare arrangements with the application.

Study Australia advises that work conditions vary by visa, so holders should confirm their work rights in VEVO or the grant letter, and that international students have the same workplace rights as other workers.

When courses are packaged together on a single Student visa, the gap between them must generally be under two calendar months, or up to four months if the first course ends in November and the next begins in February.

For 2027, where applicable, allocations of higher education providers other than public universities were revised upwards using 90 per cent of a provider’s 2025 activity, counting offshore commencements at weight 1.0 and onshore commencements at 0.5.

Visa processing priority for offshore Student visa applications is set by the main provider's progress against its indicative allocation, with a prioritisation threshold at 80 per cent of the allocation.

Accepted English tests for the Student visa are C1 Advanced, CELPIP General, IELTS Academic, IELTS General Training, LANGUAGECERT Academic, MET, OET, PTE Academic and TOEFL iBT.

A Student visa applicant does not need to prove English with a test if they hold and are a citizen of a passport from Canada, New Zealand, Ireland, the United Kingdom or the United States.

The English test requirement is also waived for people whose only course is ELICOS, a registered school course, a postgraduate research course, or a course registered to be taught in a language other than English.

Accepted forms of funds evidence are a money deposit with a financial institution, a loan with a financial institution, government loans, and a scholarship or financial support.

The reduced ASEAN-rate countries for the Student visa charge are Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.

The exemption classes in item 1222(3A) that let a current Student visa holder lodge a further primary application in Australia include Defence students, Foreign Affairs students and school students.

Holders of substantive visas such as Temporary Graduate (485), Skills in Demand (482), Working Holiday (417), Work and Holiday (462) and Visitor (600) fall within the class set by the 2026 instrument, so since 2 October 2026 they cannot apply for a Student visa from inside Australia while holding those visas (item 1222(4)(a)(ii)).

Study Australia lists situations where the 48-hour cap does not apply, including scheduled course breaks, after the course on the CoE is completed while the visa is valid, and after the course starts for masters by research or doctoral students.

A primary Student visa must carry conditions 8105 (work), 8202 (enrolment), 8501 (health insurance), 8516, 8517, 8532, 8533 and 8208 (critical technology study); further conditions apply to Iranian citizens and sponsored students.

For 2026, categories exempt from the National Planning Level include schools, standalone ELICOS, higher degree by research, non-award students, certain scholarship holders, certain transnational education students, Pacific and Timor-Leste students and pilot training.

Under Direction 115, Priority 1 includes provider applications below the 80 per cent threshold plus exempt groups such as school, non-award, standalone ELICOS, TAFE, pilot training, postgraduate research, sponsored, scholarship, Pacific and Timor-Leste and transnational education students.

The Ministerial instrument IMMI 18/055 names the Student visa (excluding Foreign Affairs, Defence and masters-by-research or doctoral students) and the Student Guardian visa as visas that can attract the subsequent temporary application charge; the Temporary Graduate visa is on neither schedule list.

The Genuine Student requirement applies to Student visa applications lodged on or after 23 March 2024; applications lodged before that date are assessed under the older Genuine Temporary Entrant test.

The government linked its July 2026 decision to hold the 2027 National Planning Level steady with student and temporary graduate visa charges rising by 25 per cent, while lower rates were introduced for ASEAN students, standalone ELICOS and non-award courses.

From 2 October 2026 new rules limit who can apply for and be granted a Student (500) or Student Guardian (590) visa while in Australia, and whether family members can be included.

Home Affairs states that offshore Student visa applications lodged before 14 November 2025 are processed under Ministerial Direction 111 and those lodged on or after that date under Ministerial Direction 115.

On 3 July 2026 the Department of Education announced a 2027 National Planning Level of 295,000, the same as 2026, and said no active international education provider will get a lower allocation in 2027 than in 2026.

From 2027 the Australian Tertiary Education Commission will oversee international student allocations for higher education providers, while the Government keeps setting the overall planning level.

From 2026 these groups are also exempt from the planning level: students moving from Australian secondary school to tertiary study, students moving from embedded pathway providers or TAFE to affiliated publicly funded universities, and students displaced by a provider closing.

Direction 115 took over from Direction 111 on 14 November 2025 for offshore Student visa applications made on or after that date.