Student Visa (subclass 500): All You Need to Know

Students who want to pursue any course in a registered education institution of Australia can apply for a student visa 500. This visa allows you to stay and study in Australia for up to 5 years or as long as the time course takes.

Benefits of student visa (subclass 500): The visa 500 holders have some of the following benefits -

• Pursue full-time course at an accredited educational institution in Australia.
• Take your family members to Australia (mentioned in the application) under the same visa
• Can work up to 40 hours in 2 weeks in line with your studies
• Visa 500 holders can travel in and out of Australia until the visa gets expired

Eligibility criteria for the Student visa 500 -

To pursue any course in CRICOS on a student visa 500, foreign students must meet the following eligibility criteria:

• Age restriction - Applicants minimum age must be 6 years or more if they apply as a school student under visa 500.
• Enrollment proof - Proof of enrollment for the application of a visa 500 is mandatory. The candidate must have a Confirmation of Enrolment (CoE) at a full-time course registered on the Commonwealth Register of Institutions and Courses for Overseas Students, CRICOS. If they fail to provide it, the visa will be declared invalid and could not be processed further in any case.
• Enrollment in multiple courses simultaneously - If the students have enrolled themselves in more than one course at the same time, they must provide the Confirmation of Enrolment (CoE) for each course. They also have to mention each of the courses in the visa application otherwise the visa will be granted only for the mentioned course.
• Welfare arrangements - For the students below the age of 18 years, evidence must be provided to show that accommodation, support and welfare have been arranged for by the guardian.
• Fulfil the requirement of English language - Applicants must be competent in the English language and provide the evidence for the same such as any certificate or test scores of some department-approved exams.
• Health insurance - Applicants and their family members (mentioned in the application) must be covered by Overseas Student Health Cover (OSHC) from an approved Australian health insurance provider for the period of staying in Australia.
• Health and character requirements - Applicants and their family members whose age is more than 18 years, must fulfil the health and character requirements.
• Meet the financial requirement - Applicants will have to show that they meet the financial requirement and can fund their transit, fee, stay and other expenses.

Some points that need to be considered while processing your application for a visa 500 -

• You can apply for a visa 500 while staying inside Australia or from outside.
• If you are currently staying in Australia, lodge your application before your current visa expires.
• If you are applying outside of Australia, you must begin the application process at least 6 weeks before the enrolment date.
• The very first thing to begin the application process is Confirmation of Enrollment from an accredited educational institution in Australia.
• Be ready with the payment
• Before starting the application process, keep the following documents ready:

1. A copy of your passport
2. Character certificate
3. Papers of health insurance
4. Certificate of English proficiency test
5. Recent passport size photo

Step by step application process for visa 500 -

You can apply for the student visa 500 maximum of 124 days before joining the course. You can also travel to Australia 3 months before the beginning of your course. The application process is completely online. You can easily apply for visa 500 by following these steps:

• The very first step is to create and log in to your ImmiAccount.
• Fill the visa application form and choose the subclass under which you are applying to.
• Upload all the required documents there.
• To track your application status, you need to log in to your account. You can also edit some of the information there such as change email or address details.
• Online applicants are assigned a unique Transaction Reference Number (TRN). These TRN numbers are used to track the application status or visa entitlements.
• Wait for the outcome, in case your application is declared invalid, you will be notified of the reason for refusal.

Processing time of visa 500 application - The processing time of students visa 500 varies and depend upon many factors such as number of application received, opted course etc.,

Let's see the various programmes and courses that fall under student visa 500 and the estimated processing time taken under the opted courses are as follows:

• Independent ELICOS Sector - ELICOS stands for English Language Intensive Course for Overseas Students. Students can travel to Australia for this short term English language course. 75% of the applications associated with ELICOS are processed within 3 months and 90% of the applications are processed within 5 months.
• Postgraduate research Region - This sector includes:

1. Master’s degree by research
2. Doctoral degree

Students who are sponsored by Foreign Affairs or Defence Sector also falls under this category. For this stream, 75% of the applications are processed within 5 months and 90% of the applications are processed within 8 months.

• Schools sector - 75% of the applications are processed within 5 months and 90% of the applications are processed within 6 months.
• Vocational Education and training sector - students enrolled in a registered Vocational Education and Training Course (VET) by a TAFE institute or a private institute are offered the following courses:

1. Certificate I, II, III and IV (excluding ELICOS)

2. VET Diploma

3. VET Advanced Diploma

4. Vocational Graduate Certificate

5. Vocational Graduate Diploma

75% of the applications which falls under the VET course are processed within 4 months and 90% of the applications are processed within 6 months.

• Higher education segment - The courses that are covered under this category are:

1. Undergraduate level courses at an accredited university such as Bachelor degree or equivalent degree Postgraduate level courses (master’s degree e)at an accredited university such as MBA, MS, etc. Postgraduate courses that offer advanced diplomas such as PGDBM, etc.

75% of the applications that fall under this programme are processed within 83 days and 90% of the applications are processed within 4 months.

The application process may take a longer time in case:

• If you have not filled up the form correctly
• If you have not submitted all the required documents or some other additional information have been asked to prove your claim

Application fees - The main applicant has to pay AUD630 for visa 500 at the time of submitting the application form. Family members who are giving their name under the same visa have to pay their fees separately. Applicants might also pay for the health checks, police certificates and biometrics.

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