Subclass 500 · 485 Graduate · Genuine Student
Study at a world-class Australian institution and build a pathway to permanent residency. CMG helps international students navigate enrolment, visa applications and post-study work rights.
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Overview
The Student visa (subclass 500) allows international students to study full-time in a Temporary Entrant Education (TES) or registered course in Australia. The Genuine Student (GS) requirement replaced the Genuine Temporary Entrant (GTE) requirement in November 2023. Students must demonstrate genuine intent to study and comply with visa conditions. Upon graduation, eligible students can apply for the Temporary Graduate visa (subclass 485) to work in Australia for 2–4 years, building valuable Australian work experience that may count toward a skilled visa.
Key Facts
Student visa guidance
A student visa Australia application is assessed as a complete picture. The course, provider, previous study, finances, English evidence and future plans should be coherent and supported by documents that can be verified.
Subclass 500 applicants should understand the course and provider requirements, Confirmation of Enrolment, Overseas Student Health Cover and the Genuine Student assessment before lodging. A study plan that explains why the course is relevant to the applicant's background and future goals is more useful than a collection of generic statements.
Financial evidence should be planned early and should make the source, availability and duration of funds understandable. Applicants may also need identity records, English evidence, health or character documents and evidence relating to dependants. Visa conditions can affect work, study progress and travel after grant, so the plan should continue beyond the application date.
CMG supports students and families with course-to-profile review, Genuine Student preparation, document sequencing and application quality control. Education providers and the Department publish the final requirements, and current fees, evidence thresholds and visa conditions should be confirmed before action.
The main requirements can include a valid Confirmation of Enrolment, Genuine Student evidence, financial capacity, Overseas Student Health Cover, identity documents and any required English, health or character evidence. The Department assesses the whole profile, so course choice and supporting documents should be consistent.
Practical preparation
Explain how the proposed course fits the applicant's education, experience and realistic career plans.
Show where funds come from, that they are available and how the proposed budget supports the stay.
Use specific, personal answers supported by documents rather than copied statements or broad promises.
Plan for enrolment, attendance, work limits, OSHC, travel and future study decisions under the current visa conditions.
Related search themes
This page answers the following closely related searches naturally within the guidance above:
Eligibility
Enrolment in CRICOS Course
RequiredYou must be enrolled in (or accepted for) a full-time course at a registered CRICOS provider. Vocational (TAFE), undergraduate, postgraduate, and English language programs are all eligible.
Genuine Student Requirement
RequiredYou must demonstrate genuine intent to study, comply with visa conditions, and maintain ties to your home country. A personal statement addressing your study choices and future plans is required.
English Proficiency
RequiredMinimum IELTS Academic 5.5 (overall) with no band below 5.0, or equivalent. Higher English scores may be required for specific institutions or courses.
Financial Capacity
RequiredYou must demonstrate sufficient funds: AUD $29,710+ for the first year (tuition + living expenses + return airfare). Evidence through bank statements or scholarship letters.
485 — Australian Study Requirement
For the 485 Graduate Work stream, you must have completed at least 2 years of study in Australia in a packaged program in an eligible occupation. Post-Graduate Work stream requires a bachelor degree or higher from an Australian institution.
Overseas Student Health Cover (OSHC)
RequiredYou must purchase OSHC for the duration of your student visa before lodging your application. OSHC is mandatory and covers hospital and medical expenses during your stay.
Visa Subclasses
Study full-time at any CRICOS-registered institution in Australia. Includes work rights during semester and unlimited hours during official breaks.
Post-study work visa for graduates of Australian institutions. Two streams: Graduate Work (2 years) and Post-Study Work (2–4 years depending on qualification level).
For parents or relatives who need to accompany a student aged under 18 who is studying in Australia on a subclass 500 visa.
Process
Research CRICOS-registered courses aligned with your career goals and, ideally, your intended skilled migration occupation. CMG can advise on course choices that maximise your PR pathway options.
Once you accept an offer from your institution and pay the required deposit, the institution issues a Confirmation of Enrolment (CoE). The key document for your student visa application.
Purchase Overseas Student Health Cover for the duration of your course. OSHC is mandatory and must be purchased before lodging your visa application.
Write a personal statement demonstrating your genuine intent to study in Australia: why this course, why this institution, how it fits your career goals, and your ties to your home country.
Submit your visa application online through ImmiAccount with CoE, financial evidence, English test results, OSHC policy, health and character documents.
Depending on your country of origin and length of stay, you may be required to complete a health examination at an approved panel physician.
After graduating, apply for the 485 visa within 6 months of your course end date. Ensure your 500 visa is still valid or you hold a bridging visa when you apply.
Fees
| Government Fees 2025–26 | Fee (AUD) |
|---|---|
| Student visa (500): primary applicant | AUD $1,680 |
| Secondary applicant (18+) | AUD $840 |
| Temporary Graduate visa (485) | AUD $1,895 |
| OSHC (Overseas Student Health Cover) | AUD $600–$1,000/year |
| English test (IELTS Academic) | AUD $385 |
| Health examination | AUD $300–$450 |
| CMG professional service fee | POA |
| Estimated Total | AUD $3,000–$5,000 (student + 485) |
Tuition fees vary widely by institution and course (AUD $20,000–$45,000/year). The figures above cover immigration costs only.
Documents
Search-led guidance
The student and post-study pathways for international students, from enrolment and Genuine Student evidence through to graduate work rights and skilled migration options.
Quick answer
The Australian student visa (subclass 500) allows enrolment in a registered course, while the post-study graduate visa provides eligible graduates with time to work in Australia after completing their qualification.
Direct answer
The Australian student visa (subclass 500) allows enrolment in a registered course, while the post-study graduate visa provides eligible graduates with time to work in Australia after completing their qualification.
Before comparing subclasses, it's worth being clear about what this visa is for. It suits international students enrolling in a registered Australian course, and eligible graduates seeking post-study work rights after completing their studies.
What the visa is built to do shapes everything that follows: the evidence you'll need, the conditions attached to the grant, where you can live and work, and whether you'll have to apply again later.
The practical result of a grant is this: a temporary visa allowing study for the duration of the enrolled course, with limited work rights and, for eligible graduates, a possible post-study work visa afterwards.
Key points
Direct answer
You'll need to be enrolled in a registered course and hold a valid Confirmation of Enrolment, meet the Genuine Student requirement with evidence of your study intentions and circumstances and show financial capacity for tuition, living costs and travel for yourself and any accompanying family.
Every one of these has to be met on its own. There's no averaging out, and a strong result elsewhere won't cover a gate you've missed.
It requires you to demonstrate that your study intentions are genuine and consistent with your background, circumstances and future plans. A generic statement that does not explain your course choice is a common reason for refusal.
The order matters more than most people expect. A skills assessment and an English result both take months, and neither can be arranged after an invitation arrives - so start with whichever constraint is tightest, because that's the one setting your timeline.
Key points
Direct answer
A complete application typically requires confirmation of Enrolment from an Australian registered provider, a written Genuine Student statement explaining your course choice, background and plans and financial evidence covering tuition, living costs and travel in an acceptable form.
Documentation decides most outcomes, because the case officer can only weigh what's in front of them. The evidence set for this pathway usually includes:
Financial capacity, English ability, health cover and a clear study rationale must all be documented in the form the Department expects.
Read your file the way a stranger would. If a case officer has to reconcile two spellings of a name, an unexplained gap in employment or a reference that doesn't match the payslip, you'll be asked for more evidence - and that resets part of the assessment clock. Consistency is worth more than sheer quantity.
Key points
Direct answer
The student visa application charge is substantial and has increased significantly in recent years, so confirm the current amount before budgeting.
The student visa application charge is substantial and has increased significantly in recent years, so confirm the current amount before budgeting. The larger costs sit around the visa itself: tuition fees, Overseas Student Health Cover for the full stay, English testing, medical examinations and biometrics where applicable, plus the living-cost funds that must be evidenced as available. Provider and course choice affect the tuition component dramatically, and many providers require a deposit before issuing a Confirmation of Enrolment. Building a realistic total budget rather than planning around the visa fee alone is the most important financial step.
Two kinds of cost behave quite differently, and mixing them up is what wrecks most budgets. The government charge is fixed, published and unavoidable, and it moves on the Department's schedule rather than yours. Everything else - assessment, testing, medicals, clearances, translations, professional fees - depends on your circumstances and your choices.
You must evidence funds for tuition, living costs and travel for yourself and any accompanying family, held in an acceptable form. Confirm the current required amount rather than relying on older figures.
Build the budget line by line rather than from a single headline figure, then add a buffer. A repeated English test, an extra police clearance or a second instalment falling due later are all common. Where a pathway runs in two stages, compare the total across both - a cheaper first step can end up costing more overall.
Charges are indexed and revised, so treat every figure here as a planning guide and confirm the current schedule with the Department of Home Affairs before you pay anything.
Key points
Direct answer
The enrolment calendar, not the visa process, sets the practical timeline.
The enrolment calendar, not the visa process, sets the practical timeline. Course intakes fall on fixed dates, so you should work backwards from the intake: provider application, deposit payment, Confirmation of Enrolment issuance, visa lodgement, health examinations, and biometrics where required. Assessment level, nationality and provider all influence how long the visa takes, and applications lodged close to the intake date carry real risk of a delayed commencement. Evidence quality matters as much as timing, because an unclear Genuine Student narrative or funds that do not meet the required form are the most common causes of extended processing or refusal.
It's worth separating two things that often get confused. Preparation is largely yours to control - gathering evidence, finishing a skills assessment or English test, obtaining clearances, assembling a decision-ready file. Assessment is not: it depends on how many applications sit ahead of yours and what checks your case triggers.
The encouraging part is that effort spent on preparation pays off during assessment. A complete application with consistent evidence avoids the requests for further information that reset part of that timeline, and time-sensitive documents like medicals and clearances can be sequenced so they're still valid when a decision is made. If the pathway is capped or queued, remember the wait reflects the number of places available, not the quality of your file.
Published times are historical medians rather than promises, so check the Department's current estimate for your subclass before you plan around a date.
Key points
Direct answer
Applying takes 7 stages, and it starts here: choose a registered course and provider that fits your academic background and career plan.
The sequence carries as much weight as the content, because some steps have to be complete before the next is even possible. A workable order looks like this:
Watch for these 5 recurring mistakes:
This is an evidence-led process, not a form-filling exercise. Each claim needs support a case officer can check, and the cheapest way to get there is to decide what the evidence will be before you start writing anything.
Key points
FAQ
How the engagement works
For most applicants a student visa is the first step in a longer plan, which makes the course, the provider and the location strategic choices. We assess the whole sequence - study, then post-study work, then whichever skilled pathway the qualification can support - before anyone pays a tuition deposit.
Subclass 500
Main visa
Student visa, with work rights
Genuine student
Key test
Your reasons for study must be consistent and credible
Study plus after
Planning horizon
Post-study work feeds the skilled pathways
Fixed scope
Fee basis
Agreed in writing before work starts
Side by side
The right course is the one that leads somewhere. This is how the stages connect.
| Criterion | Student visa 500 | Post-study work | Skilled pathway |
|---|---|---|---|
| Purpose | Full-time study in Australia | Work in Australia after qualifying | Permanent residence on skills |
| Decided by | Provider, course and genuine student criteria | The qualification level and field | Occupation lists, points and nomination |
| Planning mistake | Choosing a course before checking where it leads | Assuming any qualification gives work rights | Discovering the occupation is not on a list |
| When to plan | Before paying a deposit | During the final year of study | Before the qualification is completed |
| Costs the most | Tuition, across the whole course | Lost time if the qualification does not qualify | Assessment, English and state nomination charges |
| Fails when | The study plan does not hold up | The qualification does not support work rights | The occupation is not on a relevant list |
Post-study arrangements and skilled eligibility depend on the qualification, the field and the rules current at the time.
Sequence
The stages are separate applications. Treating them as one plan is what makes the sequence work.
Chosen against where it leads, not just cost or location.
Offer accepted and enrolment confirmed so the visa can be lodged.
Genuine student statements, financial capacity and English evidence prepared and lodged.
Conditions, work limits and attendance obligations explained and tracked.
The next visa is planned while there is still time to act on it.
Assessment, English, EOI and nomination, sequenced from the qualification you now hold.
Timing is indicative. Course length and subsequent visa rules vary by qualification and field.
Budget
Tuition is the headline. These are the costs that sit around it and that applicants most often under-budget.
| Cost item | Amount | When it applies | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tuition fees | Varies by course | Per term | Paid to the provider. Confirm the total across the whole course, not per semester. |
| Student visa application charge | Confirm current charge | On lodgement | Indexed annually and additional for family members included. |
| Overseas student health cover | Varies by duration | Before lodgement | Must cover the whole period of stay. |
| Living costs | Substantial | Throughout | Financial capacity must be evidenced, and the real figure is usually higher than the minimum. |
| Our professional fee | Quoted per matter | Agreed in writing | Fixed scope covering the stage you engage us for. |
Indicative only, and exclusive of travel. We give a written estimate of third-party charges before you commit.
Fit test
Study is an excellent route for some applicants and an expensive detour for others.
Failure modes
These are the failure modes specific to this pathway. Each is manageable if it is identified before lodgement rather than after a request from the department.
A qualification that leads to no eligible occupation is an expensive dead end.
Fix: We check the occupation lists and assessing authority before you enrol.
Generic statements that could apply to any applicant are a common refusal ground.
Fix: We write to your actual circumstances, course logic and career sequence.
Funds must be shown in the required form and for the required period.
Fix: We plan the evidence well before lodgement, not in the final week.
Work limits, enrolment and attendance conditions are enforced.
Fix: We explain conditions at grant and check them with you.
The next visa needs lead time, and student visas end on a fixed date.
Fix: We plan the transition during your final year.
Some skilled pathways and post-study arrangements turn on the qualification level, not just the field.
Fix: We map the qualification level to the occupation's assessing authority first.
Unexplained periods read as a break in the genuine study narrative.
Fix: Every gap gets a sentence of honest context in the statement.
Cover must run for the whole stay, and a lapse is a condition problem.
Fix: We diarise renewal against your course end date.
Evidence
Two things decide student applications: that the study plan makes sense, and that it can be funded.
| Document | What it has to establish | What strips it of weight |
|---|---|---|
| Confirmation of enrolment | That you are enrolled in a registered course | Enrolment in a course unrelated to your history |
| Genuine student statement | Why this course, why Australia, and why now | A generic statement with no personal logic |
| Financial capacity evidence | That fees and living costs are covered | Funds that appeared recently with no source explained |
| English test results | That you meet the provider and visa English requirements | A result below the required level or an expired one |
| Academic history | That the course is a logical next step | A large unexplained gap with no context |
| Overseas student health cover | Health cover for the period of stay | Cover that ends before the course does |
| Employment and leave records | What you were doing before study, and why now | A work history that contradicts the stated study plan |
| Scholarship or sponsor letters | Who is funding the study and on what terms | A sponsor whose relationship to you is not explained |
| Schooling records for accompanying children | That family arrangements are settled | No plan for schooling where children are included |
Straight answers
Direct answers to the questions that come up before enrolment.
Enough for fees and living costs for the relevant period, evidenced in the required form. The real figure is usually above the published minimum, and we plan the evidence early.
Student visas include work rights subject to conditions and limits that have changed over time. We confirm the position for your visa before you rely on it.
Family members can often be included, with their own requirements and costs, including schooling considerations for children.
It can, but only if the qualification leads to an occupation on a relevant list and you meet the points and other requirements. Choose the course with that in mind.
You must show that your primary intention is to study, with a course and career logic that makes sense for you personally.
Processing varies by provider and applicant profile. Apply well before your course start date, because late grants delay enrolment.
Changing provider or course level has rules attached, and some changes require a new visa. Ask before you change.
You will need another visa to remain. The realistic options depend on your qualification, your field and the rules at the time, which is why we plan it in your final year.
Financial capacity must be evidenced in a form the department accepts, and funds that arrive shortly before lodgement need their source explained. We plan this months ahead rather than at the last minute.
Partners can often be included and their work rights depend on the visa conditions and, in some cases, on the level of your course. We confirm before you rely on a second income.
The one that leads to an occupation on a relevant skilled list and to an assessing authority you can satisfy. We check both before you pay a deposit, not after you graduate.
Some decisions carry review rights with strict deadlines. We read the refusal carefully and tell you whether review is worthwhile or whether a fresh, stronger application is the better use of your time.
Regional study and regional residence can support later state or regional nomination. We weigh the points gain against the course quality and the employment market.
Yes. Provider-level settings affect how an application is risk-assessed and processed. We discuss provider choice as part of the strategy, not only as an education decision.
After grant
The visa conditions matter, and the next stage should be planned before this one ends.
Work limits, enrolment and attendance obligations, explained in plain language.
Enrolment, results and employment records retained for the next application.
Started in your final year, not in your final month.
Results expire, and you will need them again for the skilled pathway.
Australian work experience adds points and evidence for later.
Course or provider changes can affect the visa. Check first.
Where regional study supports later nomination, we keep the evidence organised.
What to gather in the final semester so the next application starts immediately.
Current settings
Student migration has been reformed repeatedly. These are the areas to watch.
Student settings change often. Confirm the current position before enrolling or lodging.
Reference figures
Anyone can fill in a form. The value in using a registered agent is judgement about what to lodge, and when.
Registration you can verify
Our agents are registered with the Office of the Migration Agents Registration Authority. Registration is public - check it.
A written scope, every time
Fees and deliverables are agreed in writing before work begins. No ambiguity about what is covered.
Refusal risk named early
We tell you the weakest part of your case at the start, not when the department asks about it.
One evidence pack, used everywhere
The same verified chronology supports your assessment, your EOI and your visa application.
Figures move with policy and indexation. A registered agent will confirm each one against the current Department schedule before you commit to a pathway or a payment.
Coverage
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