In Australia, international students have the option to pursue a wide range of educational programs, including primary and secondary schooling, trade certificates, Vocational Education and Training (VET), diplomas, as well as undergraduate, postgraduate, and doctoral degrees at universities. However, if you plan to study full-time in Australia for a duration of four months or more, you will need to obtain a Student Visa.
For students under 18 years of age, parental consent and general welfare arrangements must be established before applying for a Student Visa. Additionally, if a student’s parent or guardian, who is over the age of 21, wishes to accompany them to Australia, they must apply for a Student Guardian Visa. The student visa falls under subclass 500, while the student guardian visa falls under subclass 590. To pursue an education in Australia, you need to apply for an Australia student visa from India in advance from the start of the course day in the university you are enrolled in.
What is subclass 500 or a student visa?
If you’re planning to study full-time at an educational institution in Australia, the Student visa (subclass 500) grants you permission to stay for up to 5 years, depending on your enrollment. The visa enables you to enrol in an eligible course and add your partner or your partner’s dependent child to your application. You can apply for this visa online, from inside or outside Australia. After commencing your course, you are permitted to work up to 48 hours per fortnight.
In addition to the benefits of gaining a competitive edge through an Australian education, pursuing this student visa pathway may also offer the opportunity to obtain permanent residency in Australia. Pursuing a Master’s, Bachelor’s, PhD, or Professional Year program can help you acquire additional points and skills that you can leverage to apply for permanent residency, especially if you do not meet the skill assessment requirements.
The application process for this visa may seem complicated at times. Here are a few details about the visa for your better understanding.
Eligibility
To be eligible for certain programs, you need to fulfil some criteria.
These criteria include:
- Being at least six years of age since the minimum age to apply for school is six years or above
- Having a Confirmation of Enrolment (CoE) for a full-time course registered on the CRICOS (Commonwealth Register of Institutions and Courses for Overseas Students)
- Providing evidence of your English language proficiency
- Obtaining Overseas Student Health Cover (OSHC) from an approved Australian health insurance provider for you and your family members for the duration of your stay in Australia
- Having appropriate welfare arrangements in place if you are under 18 years of age
- Meeting the health and character requirements
- Having enough monetary background to support your stay
Australian student visa requirement
The Australian student visa application requires a list of documents to be produced to be eligible. Here is a list of documents to keep handy during the time of application for easy processing.
- Proof of English language proficiency
- Offer letter
- Health cover- overseas
- Good health requirements
- Enrollment confirmation
- Fund proof
- GTE requirement
- Clean character requirement
Visa application process - How to apply
To apply for a visa, if you’re not in Australia, it’s advisable to apply at least six weeks before your course starts. However, if you’re already in Australia, make sure you allow ample time before your current visa expires as unexpected issues may arise, and you may need extra time to sort them out.
You can use the Document Checklist Tool to ensure you have all the necessary documents. The checklist tool is updated twice a year to keep it updated according to the current requisites.
You can apply for the visa online whether you’re in or outside of Australia. To do so, create an Immi Account or log in to an existing one, upload the required documents, and pay the visa application fee.
For the Student Visa 500, the primary applicant is charged a fee starting from AUD 710. Additionally, there is a fee for each family member who also applies for the visa.
At any point during the processing of your application, you may be asked to present proof of your proficiency in the English language.
To satisfy the English language proficiency requirement, you must demonstrate one of the following:
- Achieve a specific score on an English language test approved by the Department, taken within two years before applying for a student visa.
- Have completed eligible studies in English.
- Qualify for an exemption category.
Processing time
To avoid any issues with your visa application, make sure you meet all the eligibility criteria before submitting it. Typically, the visa processing time takes five weeks.
You can apply for a Subclass 500 visa up to 8 weeks prior to your course commencement date, and you must enter Australia before the date specified in your grant letter.
If you have dependents, they can also apply for the same Subclass 500 visa. Even if they don’t intend to accompany you right away, you must include them in your visa application. Otherwise, they may not qualify for a dependent visa in the future.
If you’re interested in studying in Australia, please get in touch with us for more information on the relevant assessment criteria and entry requirements that pertain to your situation. Our team of education advisors will provide you with guidance on various visa details including the student visa fees for Australia from India, tuition fees, course specifications, a cost breakdown of your living expenses, your entitlements as an international student in Australia, Overseas Student Health Cover insurance (OSHC), and more. Reach out to Expert Education for detailed assistance with the entire process.
FAQs
Australia encourages international students to pursue various courses in their country. The student visa process in Australia is therefore comparatively easy, provided you also seek professional assistance like Expert Education. This way you can make sure you don’t miss out on any visa-related requirements and submissions.
The student visa for Australia from India costs around AUD 710. However, this is the basic charge. There may be additional fees related to the visa type, the applicant’s age above or below 18, etc. Please reach out to us for further queries or you can visit the Australian official website for understanding the visa fees and other requirements.
This depends as some as the processing time can vary based on different factors. Some of the factors included are the time taken to submit all the right and valid documents, student visa stream type like higher education or research, etc. For instance, an Australian student visa subclass 500 for the higher education sector would get processed in under 35 days for 90% of the applicants. You can visit the Australian official site to know more about the standard processing time based on your visa type.
For an Australia student visa subclass 500, you must be age 6 or older if you are a student but not in a student exchange program. Similarly, you must be less than 17 years old when you begin Year 9, less than 18 years old when you begin Year 10, less than 19 years old when you begin Year 11, and less than 20 years old when you begin Year 12.
To be eligible to apply for an Australian student visa, the student should possess the required academic qualification. For instance, for an undergraduate course, the qualifying course is high school 12th standard. Similarly, for a postgraduate course, the qualifying course is a bachelor’s degree.
Yes, if you are in Australia, you must hold a substantive visa. If you lack an eligible substantive visa, you need to submit your application within 28 days under the following circumstances:
- After acquiring a Student visa, a Special Purpose visa, or a dependent Diplomatic (temporary) visa.
- Upon receiving notification from the Tribunal that your visa cancellation has been overturned.
Please note that this option is available only once. If you have ever held a substantive visa that you applied for in Australia while being unlawfully present, you are not eligible to apply for a student visa.
If you possess any of the following visas, you are ineligible to apply for a student visa while you are in Australia:
- Domestic Worker (Temporary) Diplomatic and Consular visa (subclass 426)
- Temporary Work (International Relations) visa (subclass 403) under the Domestic Worker (Diplomatic or consular) stream
- Diplomatic (Temporary) visa (subclass 995) – only applicable to primary visa holders. However, family members of a Diplomatic (Temporary) visa (subclass 995) holder can apply for a Student visa in Australia.
- Transit visa (subclass 771)
- Visitor visa (subclass 600) in the Sponsored Family stream or Approved Destination Status stream.
If you’re currently in Australia on a Working Holiday or Visitor visa, you can conveniently apply online without needing to leave the country. As long as your existing visa doesn’t have any ‘No Further Stay’ conditions, your Student visa application won’t be affected by your Working Holiday or Visitor visa since they are completely independent. However, once your Student visa is approved and you transition to it, your existing Working Holiday or Visitor visa will be automatically invalidated.
If you wish to stay longer in Australia, you will need to find other visa options. You cannot extend your student visa unless you enrol in a new course.
On your initial student visa application, you have the option to include your family members and bring them to Australia. You can also apply for their arrival after your course has commenced. However, you must declare your immediate family members on your visa application, even if you do not intend to travel with them to Australia.