Student Visa Subclass 500 - Requirement, Fees and Application Process

If you are willing to study in Australia, you need to get an Australian student visa. To get this visa, you have to meet certain student visa requirements as specified by the Department of Home Affairs of the Australian government. These requirements include Genuine Temporary Entrant Requirement, Financial requirements, English proficiency requirements and Health and Character requirements. To fulfil the Genuine Temporary Entrant Requirement of the student visa for Australia, you need to prove to the authorities that you genuinely intend to reside in Australia temporarily for studies or for accompanying a student as a guardian/dependent. You can apply for a student visa (subclass 500) through an online process.

With the Student visa Australia, you can enrol yourself for an eligible course in Australia, travel to and from Australia numerous times, work for a maximum of 40 hours every two weeks when your course begins, and apply for the various temporary and permanent visas if you are eligible for them. This is a temporary visa and the period to stay in Australia with this visa depends upon the type and length of your course. However, the primary school students enrolled in Years 1-4 will be granted the student visa for up to 2 years only. If you want to stay longer, you need to apply for a new student visa.

Visa2Immigration has immense experience in providing immigration solutions for Australia. Our visa and immigration experts can make the Australia study visa process smoother for you with their recommendations. They answer all your queries patiently and help you get a student visa for Australia easily.

As mentioned earlier, this visa is for the students who want to study in Australia or the ones who want to accompany them as their guardians or dependents. You can include a family member at the time of lodging the application. You have to declare about your family members even if they are not travelling to Australia with you; else you cannot apply for their visa in your application. Your family members may also apply for a visa as a subsequent entrant but they will have to meet all the requirements including that of health and character.

The age limit for applying for the visa subclass 500 is a minimum of 6 years. So, if you are a school student but not participating in the exchange program for secondary students, you are eligible to apply for visa 500. The upper age limit for the visa varies depending upon the age at which you begin your studies.

Processing Time

The processing time for this visa varies depending upon the sector in which you are going to study. It is given as follows:

• Foreign affairs or defence sector- Between 16 to 90 days
• Postgraduate Research sector- Between 51 to 86 days
• Non-award sector- 7 to 22 days
• Schools sector- 35 to 64 days
• Independent ELICOS sector- 23 to 46 days
• Vocational Education and Training sector- 45 to 56 days
• Higher Education sector- 42 to 48 days.

There can be a delay in Australia’s Student visa process if you don’t fill the application correctly or don’t attach all the required documents or fail to furnish the information needed. The verification process also takes time which might further stretch the processing time for the student visa.

Our visa and immigration consultants can help you to reduce the processing time by filing the application properly and making sure that you have attached all the supporting documents duly.

Fee & Cost

The student visa of Australia costs AUD 630 for the main applicant (unless you are exempt) as well as for each family member included in your application. For dependents above 18, you have to pay an additional fee of AUD 470 per person; and for dependents under 18, you have to pay an additional fee of AUD 155 per person. Apart from this, you will also have to pay the cost for various assessments like health check-up, police verification and biometrics.

Rules and Conditions

With student visa subclass 500, you can stay in Australia as a student or accompany a student as a guardian or a dependent. The duration of your stay with this visa depends upon the type and duration of your course. According to the rules, you can travel in and out of Australia during this period multiple times. The student visa allows you to work for 40 hours every two weeks’ time.

If you want to stay longer, you will have to apply for a new student visa. If you are eligible, you may also apply for other temporary and permanent visas later on.

To apply for the 500 visa, you need to fulfil financial requirements and present the health and character certificates. The annual income of your family needs to be AUD 62,222 and more in the 12 months just before you apply. If your family members are coming to Australia with you, you need to show that the combined family income is at least AUD 72,592. You will also have to fulfil the English language requirements set by the concerned authorities. For this, you will have to take the English proficiency test and get the mandatory score.

As a future student of Australia, you will also have to acknowledge the Student Value Statement. You must repay all the debts of the Australian government (if any), and must not have any record of a cancelled visa or being refused a visa in the past. You and your family members also need to have proper health insurance to be allowed into Australia.

Requirements and checklist

Student visa Australia requirements and checklist is as follows:

• Duly completed application for student visa of Australia
• Fees for the visa application
• A copy of the passport biodata page
• Enrollment certificate or offer letter
• Proof that you have sufficient money to stay
• Proof of health insurance cover
• Character certificate issued by Police
• Results of English proficiency test
• Health certificate
• 4 passport-size photographs

Visa and immigration consultants and visa2immigration can help you to understand all the rules and conditions and file the application accordingly.