Student Visa (500) and Study Pathways to PR

The Student visa (subclass 500) is the single visa almost every international student in Australia holds. It lets you live in Australia and study full-time in a course registered on CRICOS (the official register of courses for overseas students), from English-language and vocational courses up to a university degree or PhD.

Your visa length is tied to your course. The maximum stay is generally up to 6 years, and for most tertiary students it will not exceed five years. One visa can cover your whole study plan, and you can include family members (a partner and dependent children) in the same application.

• One visa, your whole course: you don't need a new visa for each year, just for a genuinely new course or extension.

• You apply online through an ImmiAccount on the Department of Home Affairs website before you travel (if applying from outside Australia).

• A note on figures: immigration rules, fees and thresholds change often. Treat every number in this guide as a starting point and confirm the current detail on homeaffairs.gov.au before you lodge.

Since 23 March 2024, every student visa applicant must satisfy the Genuine Student (GS) requirement. This replaced the older Genuine Temporary Entrant (GTE) test. The shift matters: GTE focused on whether you intended to leave Australia, whereas GS focuses on whether you genuinely intend to study. The criteria sit under Ministerial Direction No. 106.

Instead of one long personal statement, you answer a set of targeted questions in the online application, with a limit of around 150 words per answer. You'll be asked about your current circumstances (family, employment, finances), why you chose this course and provider, how it benefits your future, and any other relevant information.

The Department gives more weight to claims backed by evidence. Helpful documents include academic transcripts and completion letters, employer letters and payslips, evidence of ties to your home country, and bank or business records showing your financial situation.

• Be honest and specific. Generic answers, or a course that makes no sense given your background, are common reasons for refusal.

• This is also where unregistered "agents" cause harm: never let anyone submit invented work history or fake documents on your behalf. It can lead to refusal and a re-entry ban.

Financial capacity. You must show you can cover living costs, tuition and travel. The living-cost benchmark, set on 10 May 2024, is AUD 29,710 for the primary student for 12 months, plus AUD 10,394 for a partner, AUD 4,449 per dependent child, and around AUD 13,502 per child for school costs where relevant. These figures are reviewed periodically, so verify the current amount before applying. This is in addition to your first-year tuition and travel money.

English language. For the main course you generally need IELTS 6.0 overall (or an accepted equivalent such as PTE or TOEFL). It drops to 5.5 if you're entering through an approved university foundation or pathway program, and 5.0 if you take an ELICOS English course before your main course. Tests are usually valid for one year before you apply.

Health cover (OSHC). Overseas Student Health Cover is compulsory for your entire stay under visa condition 8501. It must start on or before your arrival date and run until your visa ends. Basic OSHC covers GP visits and some hospital and pharmacy costs but not dental, optical or physiotherapy; you can buy extras separately.

• Acceptable proof of funds includes your own bank statements, a financial guarantee from a parent or partner, or an official sponsorship or scholarship letter.

• Buy OSHC from a registered provider for the full visa length up front; a gap in cover can breach your visa.

You can work on a student visa, but there's a cap. Under visa condition 8105 you can work a maximum of 48 hours per fortnight while your course is in session, where a fortnight is any rolling 14-day period. During scheduled course breaks you can work unlimited hours. Postgraduate research students (Masters by Research or Doctorate) can work unlimited hours once their research program has officially started.

The 48 hours counts all paid work across every job combined, including casual shifts and any work under an ABN. Breaching the limit is serious: it can lead to visa cancellation under the Migration Act, which can make you unlawful and damage future visa applications.

Your work rights are strong and protected. International students have the same workplace rights as everyone else under the Fair Work Act. The national minimum wage (from 1 July 2025) is AUD 24.95 per hour, casuals get at least a 25% loading on top, and employers must pay 12% superannuation into a retirement fund for eligible workers.

• Scam warning: be wary of cash-only "jobs" that underpay you, anyone who asks to hold your passport, or pressure to work beyond your visa limit. No employer can legally do these things.

• If you're exploited, the Fair Work Ombudsman helps for free. Under the Assurance Protocol, your visa generally won't be cancelled for reporting exploitation, even if you accidentally worked too many hours.

When you finish an eligible course, the Temporary Graduate visa (subclass 485) lets you stay and work in Australia with no hour limits. For a bachelor or masters degree you apply through the Post-Higher Education Work stream. Stay length is usually between 2 and 3 years depending on your qualification, and Hong Kong and British National (Overseas) passport holders may stay 5 years.

Key eligibility: you must have recently held a student visa, completed a CRICOS-registered qualification of at least 2 academic years, and meet English (commonly IELTS 6.5 overall, no band under 5.5) and health-insurance requirements. There's an age limit, generally 35, with exceptions up to 49 for PhD and Masters-by-research graduates and certain Hong Kong/BN(O) applicants.

Costs have risen sharply. The main-applicant charge increased to AUD 4,600 from 1 March 2026 (eligible Pacific Island and Timor-Leste citizens pay a lower fee). Confirm the current charge before applying, as it has changed more than once recently.

• If you studied and lived in a designated regional area, you may be able to apply for a Second Post-Higher Education Work stream for an extra 1-2 years. This is a separate new application, not an automatic extension.

• The 485 is a bridge, not the destination: use those years to gain skilled work experience and a positive skills assessment that build toward permanent residency.

Study and a 485 visa can lead to permanent residency through Australia's skilled (points-tested) program. The main options are the Skilled Independent visa (subclass 189, no sponsor needed), the Skilled Nominated visa (subclass 190, nominated by a state or territory) and the Skilled Work Regional (Provisional) visa (subclass 491, a stepping-stone to PR via the subclass 191).

These visas use a points test. You generally need a minimum of 65 points just to submit an Expression of Interest through SkillSelect. But meeting the minimum is not an invitation: in 2025-26 invitation rounds, competitive scores have commonly sat around 85 to 95+ points. Points come from your age (up to 30 points, peaking between 25 and 32), English level, skilled work experience, qualifications and other factors.

To qualify you also need your occupation on the relevant skilled occupation list and a positive skills assessment from the assessing body for your profession. Time on a 485 visa is valuable here because Australian study and Australian skilled work experience both earn points.

• This pathway is competitive and the rules change frequently. Choose a course and occupation with genuine demand, not just one that's easy to get into.

• A complex PR strategy is exactly the situation where professional advice pays off. Only an OMARA-registered migration agent or an Australian immigration lawyer can lawfully give you visa advice for a fee.

New arrivals are targeted by scams, so know the safe, free, official channels. Your Tax File Number (TFN), which you need to work and be taxed correctly, is free to apply for directly through the ATO at ato.gov.au. Never pay a third-party website that promises to "fast-track" your TFN; those are scams, and the ATO has issued alerts about fake TFN application sites.

For visa advice, the law is strict. Only a migration agent registered with the Office of the Migration Agents Registration Authority (OMARA), an Australian legal practitioner, or an exempt person can lawfully give immigration assistance for a fee. Charging for unregistered immigration advice is a criminal offence carrying severe penalties. Always check an agent on the OMARA register before paying anyone.

• Free, trusted info: homeaffairs.gov.au and immi.homeaffairs.gov.au (visas), study.gov.au / studyaustralia.gov.au (studying and working), ato.gov.au (TFN, tax, super), servicesaustralia.gov.au (Medicare), and fairwork.gov.au (work rights).

• Red flags: anyone guaranteeing a visa, asking for cash with no receipt, holding your documents, or pressuring you to lie on an application. Walk away.

• A genuine, complex case (a refusal, a visa cancellation, a borderline points score, family included) is worth professional help. Spending money on a registered agent or lawyer is far cheaper than a refusal and re-entry ban.