Student Visa (Subclass 500)
Student Visa for Australia
The student visa (subclass 500) allows international students to live, study, and work in Australia for the duration of an enrolled course at a CRICOS-registered institution. Visa conditions, work hour limits, and enrolment obligations apply for the full duration of the visa.
Student visa: who it covers
The subclass 500 covers all levels of study in Australia, from school through to postgraduate research. The institution must be registered on the Commonwealth Register of Institutions and Courses for Overseas Students (CRICOS). The visa is granted for the duration of the enrolled course, plus a period beyond the course end date.
As at April 2026, the minimum financial requirement for a student visa is AUD 29,710 per year for living costs, with additional amounts required for a partner and each dependent child. The visa application fee is AUD 2,000. Evidence of these funds must be provided at the time of application.
From 2 October 2026, most people who are already in Australia, including most current student visa holders, must be outside Australia to apply for a student visa. The rules are set out in where a student visa application can be made below.
Key visa conditions
Enrolment obligation
The holder must remain enrolled in a registered full-time course at a CRICOS provider. Cancellation of enrolment triggers a visa compliance issue.
Work hour limits
Student visa holders may work in Australia. Work conditions are attached to the visa and must be verified via VEVO. Exceeding permitted work hours is a condition breach.
Genuine Student requirement
Applicants must satisfy the Genuine Student requirement, which replaced the genuine temporary entrant criterion on 23 March 2024. The applicant must show a genuine intention to undertake the proposed course and to comply with the visa conditions.
Post-study pathway
Graduates of eligible courses may apply for the temporary graduate visa (subclass 485) within six months of completing their qualification, subject to meeting the eligibility requirements as at the date of application.
500
Visa subclass
AUD 2,000
Application fee (2026)
AUD 29,710
Min. annual living cost evidence
485
Post-study pathway
Where a student visa application can be made from 2 October 2026
The Migration Amendment (Student Visa Reform) Regulations 2026 changed who may apply for a student visa while in Australia. The changes apply to every application made on or after 2 October 2026. An application made in Australia by a person who is required to apply from outside Australia is invalid and is not considered.
Current student visa holders
A person who holds a student visa and applies for a further student visa as the student must be outside Australia when the application is made. A student who holds the visa in their own right may still apply in Australia if they are one of the following:
- a Defence student, a Foreign Affairs student or a school student;
- a doctoral student: enrolled, when applying, in a course leading to a doctoral degree;
- a student affected by provider default: enrolled on the day the provider defaulted, needing a further visa to complete an alternative registered course, applying within 12 months of that day, and with no earlier application made because of the same default;
- a student completing their studies: the principal course has been started but not finished, and will be finished within 12 months of the end date on the confirmation of enrolment;
- a student progressing to a higher course: the principal course is complete and the student is enrolled in no more than one further course, at a higher Australian Qualifications Framework level. Where the completed course was a higher education course, the further course must be a higher education course delivered by a higher education provider.
These exceptions do not extend to a person who holds a student visa as a family member and now wishes to study in their own right. That person must apply from outside Australia.
Holders of other visas
A person in Australia who holds one of the following visas must apply for a student visa, or a student guardian visa, from outside Australia. The first eight were added on 2 October 2026; the rest were already listed.
- 400 Temporary Work (Short Stay Specialist)
- 407 Training
- 408 Temporary Activity
- 417 Working Holiday
- 457 Temporary Work (Skilled)
- 462 Work and Holiday
- 482 Skills in Demand
- 482 Temporary Skill Shortage
- 403 Temporary Work (International Relations), Domestic Worker stream
- 485 Temporary Graduate
- 600 Visitor
- 601 Electronic Travel Authority
- 602 Medical Treatment
- 651 eVisitor
- 771 Transit
- 988 Maritime Crew
- 995 Diplomatic (Temporary), primary visa holders
Outside Australia at grant
An applicant who had to apply from outside Australia must also be outside Australia when the visa is granted. Leaving briefly to lodge and then returning to wait for the decision does not meet the requirement.
After a student visa ends
A person whose student visa ended within the last 28 days can no longer apply in Australia on that basis. One narrow exception remains, where the Administrative Review Tribunal has set aside the cancellation of a student visa after the visa had already ceased.
Family members
A partner or child can no longer be added after the student visa is granted. Family members must apply with the student, at the same time and place, and only in limited circumstances.
Family members of student visa holdersSources: Migration Amendment (Student Visa Reform) Regulations 2026; Migration (Student Visa Applications to Be Made from outside Australia) Instrument 2026 (LIN 26/102); LIN 26/087, amending LIN 20/158. Each exception has further conditions, and the other requirements for a valid application still apply.
Why instruct Visa Plan?
Genuine Student assessment
The Genuine Student requirement is the most scrutinised element of a student visa application. We assess the application against it before it is lodged.
Condition compliance advice
Student visa conditions are technical and breaches have serious consequences. We advise on work hour limits, course change rules, and what to do if enrolment is at risk.
Post-study pathway planning
The subclass 485 application must be lodged within six months of course completion. We advise on eligibility, timing, and the correct stream well before the deadline.
Student visa information is sourced from the Department of Home Affairs and is current as at 11 October 2026. Fees, financial requirements, and eligibility criteria are subject to change. This page provides general information only and does not constitute legal advice.