Student Visa- Subclass 500

Australia is a popular study destination for international students worldwide. It is known to offer diverse cultural experiences and world-class education. With the welcoming communities, high standard of living and the natural sceneries, studying in Australia can be a unique and rewarding study experience for the students worldwide. Further, access to some of the top-ranked universities, along with a wide range of the academic programs and huge opportunities for the post-graduation employment, is a perfect add-on.

Students with student visas can enter the country and begin their studies. The application for the visa remains dependent upon the course and study level which one wishes to pursue and the program duration too. Being an international student, the applicant will be required to get a Subclass 500 Visa concerning the field of study, tuition fees and the university to which the application has been made.

Now, choosing to study in Australia comes with certain requirements that one needs to fulfil to get a student visa. The applicant can either do it on their own or take help from the visa consultants who are well-equipped with the knowledge to help. However, before reaching out to them, check out the below-mentioned information regarding student visa Subclass 500.

Subclass 500- Student Visa

The visa allows the students to stay in Australia for their study program duration, which is mostly five years (in line with their enrolment date). To ensure a smoother stay, the applicants are required to ensure that the visa remains valid and to do that, they must abide by the student visa conditions that have been mentioned by the Government of Australia.

Holding Subclass 500 visa allows applicants to,

• Enroll within their desired study program and the university.
• Bring their family members to Australia.
• The dependent can make an application for the dependent visa to seek the permission to travel to Australia with the main Applicant.
• Travel in and out of the country.
• As part of the temporary measure, work for unlimited hours in any of the sectors.

The complete visa requirement for the students is simple and streamlined. Students can make the visa application through the online portal while they are in or outside the country. However, before applying,

• The students must be enrolled within that desired program for study in Australia.
• The applicant must be either 6 years or more than 6 years of age.
• The applicant must hold the Overseas Student Health Cover or health cover that can cover the study program duration.
• An evidence for the welfare arrangement that is done in Australia if the applicant is less than 18 years of age.

Evidence through Health and character certificate.

Subclass 500- Visa Requirements

Letter of offer
If the application is successful, the applicant will receive a letter of offer from the chosen education provider. It provides the course details, fee details and enrollment conditions in consideration for acceptance of the offer.

Keep a copy of the letter of offer as it will be needed for being aware of ones’ rights and to make any claim against the institution, if needed.

Confirmation of Enrollment (CoE)
Confirmation of Enrollment document gets issued by the education provider. It verifies the enrollment of the student in the specific course and gets sent after the applicant accepts the offer and makes the payment for the deposit.

A copy of the document will be required with the visa application to prove to the Australian government that the applicant has been registered within the declared course.

Certain Ages for school students
If the applicant is a school student, but they are not participating in a secondary school student exchange program, they must be aged 6 years or more to make an application for the visa. The applicant must also be,

• Below the age of 17 when they begin year 9.
• Below the age of 18 when they begin year 10.
• Below the age of 19 when they begin year 11.
• Below the age of 20 when they begin year 12.

English proficiency proof
If the applicant is not a native English speaker, they will be required to provide the certificate of results of the approved English language test.

IELTS

• Minimum score requirement is 5.5.
• Minimum score requirement will be 5 with at least 10 weeks of English Language Intensive Courses for Overseas
• Students or ELICOS.

Minimum school requirement will be 4.5, along with 20 weeks of ELICOS.

TOEFL

• Minimum score requirement is 46.
• Minimum score requirement will be 35 with at least 10 weeks of English Language Intensive Courses for Overseas
• Students or ELICOS.
• Minimum school requirement will be 32, along with 20 weeks of ELICOS.

Cambridge English: Advanced (Certificate in Advanced English)

• Minimum score requirement is 162.
• Minimum score requirement will be 154 with at least 10 weeks of English Language Intensive Courses for Overseas
• Students or ELICOS.
• Minimum school requirement will be 147, along with 20 weeks of ELICOS.

PTE

• Minimum score requirement is 42.
• Minimum score requirement will be 36 with at least 10 weeks of English Language Intensive Courses for Overseas
• Students or ELICOS.
• Minimum school requirement will be 30, along with 20 weeks of ELICOS.

Occupational English Test

Minimum score requirement is B for every component.

Ensure to check the minimum requirements for each of the education levels and the institutions that sometimes set their own requirements that are higher for some courses.

Genuine Temporary Entrant (GTE) Requirement
To meet this requirement, the applicant is required to write a statement that can address two Criteria, including,

• Applicant will be residing temporarily in Australia, and they will not overstay the visa duration.
• Applicant is coming to Australia genuinely for studies and not for any other reasons.

Proof for sufficient funds
To receive an Australian Subclass 500 student visa, the applicant must prove that they have enough money to support themselves throughout their stay. To do so, two options exist,

• Provide the bank statements along with the evidence of scholarship and grants.
• Provide proof of the partner’s annual income or parents’ annual income. The income shown must be AUD 62,222 in the previous year before the application. If the family members are being brought, the annual income must be at least AUD 72,592.

Overseas Student Health Cover (OSHC)
Being the international student in Australia, the students must have OSHC for the duration of their stay. If proof of the applicant purchasing OSHC isn’t provided, the application for a student visa will get denied.
OSHC will be helpful for students in,

• Making payment for hospital and medical care while the applicant is in Australia.
• Provide ambulance cover in cases of emergency.
• Make payment for prescription medicines.

When organising health coverage, ensure to order an OSHC card for its use during doctor appointments while living in Australia.

To get OSHC, the applicant must find the approved provider and make the payment for the policy. The education provider or the agent might even be able to arrange for OSHC.

Signing Australian values statement
If the applicant is 18 years or above the age of 18, they must have,

• Read and understood the life in Australia booklet and
• Signed the Australian values statement confirming that they will respect the Australian way of life and also obey Australian laws.

Repayment of Debt
In case the applicant or any of the family members of the applicant, including those who are not applying for the visa with the main applicant, owe any money to the Australian government, they must either make the payment for it or arrange the amount for paying back the debt.

Refused/Cancelled Visa
The applicant would not receive the visa in case if their visa was previously refused or cancelled when they were in Australia.

Student Visa – Subclass 500- Stay Duration

Subclass 500 is a temporary visa allowing the students to study in Australia after five years. The length of the course and the type of the course helps in determining the length of the stay. The primary school children who are enrolled in years 1 to 4 generally get the student visa for three years as its maximum period.

Staying Longer

To continue the study in Australia, the applicant will be required to make an application for a new student visa. If the student visa is about to expire before graduation, the applicant remains eligible for a visitor visa Subclass 600. However, the student will be required to have a letter from the education provider with a graduation date in it.

Including family

Family members can be included when lodging the visa application. Concerning student visas, the family members are,

• Partner
• Applicant or partner’s dependent child who remains unmarried and is not 18 years of age.

A student visa cannot be granted to the child if they are of 18 years when the visa results are finalised. In that case, they will be required to make an application for their own personal visa.
The applicant will be required to declare the family members within the student visa application. Further, the family members of the applicant can even apply as a subsequent entrant at a later date and time in a completely separate application through ImmiAccount.

Student Visa (subclass 500)- cost

The cost of a visa for the main applicant is AUD 650 unless otherwise, they are exempt. There are charges for a visa for every single family member who will be making an application for the visa.

The applicants will be required to provide evidence that they are exempted from making the payment of the visa application charge. In general, the below-mentioned applicants are not required to make the payment for VAC by providing the documents for it.

The applicant will also be required to pay for some other costs, including the cost of health checks, biometrics and police certificate.

Student Visa (subclass 500)- Application

Step 1
If the applicant is outside Australia, they must make the application for the visa at least eight weeks before the start of the course.

If the applicant is in Australia, they can take plenty of time to make the application for the next visa. However, it is advised to avoid waiting for the last day of the current substantive visa expiry because unless otherwise there’s unexpected complications, the visa officers will not be able to help.

Next, organise the health examination. Complete it before making the application.

Step 2
In this step, gather the documents. In general, the applicants are required to provide the below-mentioned as part of the documents,

• The proof of enrollment or electronic configuration of enrollment.
• GTE statement
• Academic and work experience documents
• Any parental responsibility documents, if needed
• Details of health insurance policy
• Passport size photograph
• Evidence of financial stability concerning tuition fees, expenses for the dependents, living expenses, and return airfare.
• National identity card, if there is one
• Proof of change of the name if applicable
• Evidence of English proficiency skills.
• If married, a marriage certificate is to be provided, or any other evidence is to be provided that the marriage remains valid in Australia. In case the applicant is in a de facto partner, then proof of a de facto relationship is to be provided.
• Valid passport and
• Visa application fee.

If the applicant is below the age of 18, they will be required to provide additional documents, including parental consent. If needed there will be required, change of name documents like divorce or marriage certificate, etc., de facto relationship documents and the documents related to confirmation of enrollment, acceptance form and letters of support, along with all the other documents, as discussed in the above-mentioned visa requirement section, are also to be provided.

Make sure to upload the needed documents and the forms through ImmiAccount.

Keep all the documents necessary for making the visa application prepared, and keep a copy of the completed application.

Step 3
This step includes an application for a visa. The applicant can make the application for the visa online, and while making the application, they can either be in or outside the country. Remember that a complete application is submitted with the required documents as asked because the applicants that get lodged without any relevant documentation might either get delayed or refused.

In case the applicant is in Australia while making the application, they must hold an eligible substantive visa or make an application for,

• Special purpose visa or the Dependent Diplomatic (temporary) visa within 28 days of holding the student Visa or
• Right within 28 days of getting notified by the tribunal that visa cancellation got set aside.

The applicant will not be able to make an application for the student visa if they are holding the below-mentioned visa,

• Domestic Worker (Temporary) Diplomatic and Consular Visa- Subclass 426

Temporary Work (International Relations) visa in Domestic Worker (Diplomatic or consular) Stream- Subclass 403

• Diplomatic (Temporary) visa subclass 995- it is applicable to the primary visa holder only. The family member of this visa holder can make an application for a student visa in Australia.
• Transit Visa- Subclass 771

Visitor Visa- Subclass 600- in sponsored family stream or approved destination status stream.

Make sure any information provided is not misleading or false.

In order to make an online application,

• Either create or log in to the ImmiAccount.
• Attach the required documents.
• Make the visa application charges payment.

Remember that a valid application is required to be made within the eligible time frame, as acceptance of late applications is not possible.

Step 4
After the application has been made, the applicant must ensure to respond to any of the requests for the information in a prompt manner. It isn’t necessary to wait till the deadline for responding to the departmental request for any further information. Regularly log in to the ImmiAccount to keep track of messages.
The applicant might be asked to take the biometrics and health examination.

In case the current visa expires before the application is decided, the bridging visa would start (a bridging visa isn’t a substantive visa). One can stay on this visa in Australia while the application gets processed. However, one is not allowed to travel on this visa.

Step 5
This is the visa outcome step wherein the department lets the applicant know in writing about their visa application acceptance or rejection. In case if the visa is granted, the applicant will receive information about,

• Visa grant number
• Date of expiry of the visa
• Visa conditions

No refund for the application charge is made if the application gets refused.

Student Visa Subclass 500- Processing Time

The visa processing time is dependent upon different factors. In general, the below-mentioned remains applicable.

Type of Applicants	25% of Application	50% of Application	75% of Application	90% of Application
Foreign Affairs/Defense Sector	9 days	18 days	39 days	5 months
Postgraduate Research Sector	26 days	4 months	7 months	12 months
Non-Award Sector	1 day	1 day	6 days	14 days
School Sector	15 days	27 days	3 months	9 months
Independent ELICOS sector	7 days	21 days	46 days	4 monts
Vocational Education and Training Sector	30 days	3 months	7 months	14 months
Higher Education Sector	9 days	23 days	4 months	10 months

Changing Course after Visa Decision

If the applicant thinks about changing the course or completing the course early, or there are certain circumstances where the applicant is required to defer the course, consult or inform that department beforehand about the new institution or course. Remember that one’s visa might be subject to certain visa conditions that might require one to seek permission before making any kind of changes to the study plan. To check for the visa conditions, applicant can use VEVO.

Post Study work option

• The post-study work stream of the temporary graduate subclass 485 visa is available for the applicants or the international students who have already completed their bachelor’s, master’s, or doctoral degree in Australia. The visa allows the applicant to work within the country for at least 2 to 4 years to gain International work experience.
• Students also have the option to work under an undergraduate work stream. Eligible for the given stream if they graduated with skills and occupations related to an occupation that features within the Medium and Long-Term Strategic Skills List or MLTSSL. This given visa remains valid for 18 months.

Application for permanent residency

The applicant may be eligible for permanent residency in Australia after they have completed their studies based on individual circumstances. There exist different pathways for permanent residency, and that includes skilled independent visas and employee nomination scheme visas.

Ensure Australian Student Visa remains Valid

• After getting the visa, there are certain things that the applicant must ensure to maintain the validity of their visa. The list includes,
• Remaining enrolled and maintaining satisfactory progress within the course and attendance.
• Providing the Australian address to the college or university so that they can connect with the student. Do not forget to let the University or the college know if the plan has been made to move.
• Continued financial stability for supporting oneself while studying in Australia.
• Not breaching any of the working conditions which remain applicable to the visa.

If willing to change the qualification level, the applicant will be required to make an application for a new student visa.

It is understandable the hectic schedule that comes with the entire process. So, as an applicant, If you feel the same, it is better to seek help. To do that, contact for a free counselling session and then make a decision to hire a professional who can guide and help through the entire visa application process. Do not wait until the last moment and take the decision as soon as you feel satisfied with the free counselling session you received. As for the rest, the professionals are capable enough to handle every requirement starting from documentation to the application process.