Student Visa Subclass 500

Student Visa

Subclass 500

What is a Student Visa Subclass 500?

A student visa (subclass 500) allows any visa holder to come live in Australia temporarily to participate in a course of study. With this visa, visa holders can participate in an eligible course of study in Australia and travel in and out of Australia during the period of visa grant.

Those course of study may include:

  • Higher education course;

  • Secondary school;

  • Postgraduate research course;

  • Any other course of study or training in relation to defense student, foreign affairs student or any other full-time registered course, etc.


What is the Student Visa Application Process?

A subclass 500 visa application can only be granted if the visa applicant satisfies all the following requirements at the time of decision:

+ What is evidence of enrolment?

  • The applicant is enrolled in a course of study;

  • If the application is made in Australia—the applicant is seeking to remain in Australia because the relevant educational institution requires the applicant to do so during the marking of the applicant’s postgraduate thesis;

  • If the applicant is a Foreign Affairs student—the applicant has the support of the Foreign Minister for the grant of the visa;

  • If the applicant is a Defence Student—the applicant has the support of the Defence Minister for the grant of the visa.

+ What is a genuine student?

  • Intends to genuinely stay in Australia temporarily

  • Intends to comply with visa conditions

  • The case officer is also required to consider any other relevant matters that may determine whether the visa applicant is a genuine student

+ What is the English requirement?

Unless the applicant is a passport holder of the United Kingdom, Canada, New Zealand, the United States of America or the Republic of Ireland, the visa applicant must provide evidence of sufficient English at the time of decision

+ What is genuine access to sufficient funds?

The visa applicant has genuine access to sufficient funds to meet his or her expenses during their stay in Australia Additional evidence of financial capacity may also be required at the Minister’s discretion.

+ What is adequate health insurance?

The visa applicant has arranged adequate health insurance during their intended stay in Australia.

+ What are age requirements for school students?

If the student visa applicant is a school student, he or she must meet the following age requirements:

  • At least 6 years old at the time of application; and

  • If proposing to undertake year 9 studies—less than 17 years old when commencing year 9; and

  • If proposing to undertake year 10 studies—less than 18 years old when commencing year 10; and

  • If proposing to undertake year 11 studies—less than 19 years old when commencing year 11; and

  • If proposing to undertake year 12 studies—less than 20 years old when commencing year 12.

+ What are public interest criteria?

All public interest criteria are met, particularly the health and character requirement

  1. Health requirements:

    • All persons included in the application will be required to undertake a medical examination prior to their visa being issued.

    • When applying, all persons included in the application must:

    • declare whether they have a medical condition that is likely to require ongoing support from community or government services

    • declare whether they have been diagnosed with Tuberculosis or any other serious diseases that might be a threat to the Australian Community

  2. Character requirements:

    • All persons included in the application will be required to obtain a police clearance certificate for all countries they have lived in for greater than twelve months in the last ten years.

    • When applying, all persons included in the application must provide all requested information, declare all criminal offences, and truthfully answer all questions

  3. Particularly, the applicant must show that he or she had applied for an Australian Federal Police (AFP) National Police Check during the 12 months immediately before the day the application was made (along with any other secondary applicant who is at least 16 years old)


What do We like About Student Visa Subclass 500?

  • The student visa allows overseas persons to study in Australia and bring their families along as well

  • Work up to 40 hours per fortnight and no limitation during school/semester holidays

Common Mistakes to avoid when applying for a Student Visa Subclass 500

The department is particularly stringent when it comes to assessing whether a visa applicant is a genuine student or he or she is simply using the student visa to achieve a migration outcome or circumvent the intentions of the migration program.

We have seen many poorly prepared applications for Student Visa fail because they are unable to demonstrate that the visa applicant is a Genuine Student, this particularly happen when the visa applicant has a complex migration history.


Client Testimonial

As navigating through the immigration law process may be difficult, our former clients have agreed to share their experiences and some of these can be seen below.

You can also read more on our client testimonials page.