Subclass 500 – Student Visa
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Subclass 500 – Student Visa
This visa allows students to come to Australia and study their respective enrolled courses. Once this visa is granted, students can stay in Australia until the completion of their respective enrolled courses.
Student Visa 500 allows international students to participate in a study program. If you want to study in Australia, you can apply for a visa 500. You can stay in Australia on a student visa until the completion of your course.
Student Visa Processing Time
The Department of Home Affairs processes all visa applications for Australia. The processing time for a Student visa 500 varies according to different sectors. These sectors include;
Foreign Affairs or Defence Sector
- 75% of applications take 36 days to be processed.
- 90% of applications take 76 days to be processed.
Postgraduate Research Sector
- 75% of visa applications in 3 months
- 90% of visa applications in 7 months
Non-Award Sector
- 75% of visa applications in 5 months
- 90% of visa applications in 14 months
Schools Sector
- 75% of visa applications in 8 months
- 90% of visa applications in 12 months
Independent ELICOS Sector
- 75% of visa applications in 7 months
- 90% of visa applications in 17 months
Vocational Education and Training Sector
- 75% of visa applications in 9 months
- 90% of visa applications in 17 months
Higher Education Sector
- 75% of visa applications in 52 days
- 90% of visa applications in 7 months
Make sure you provide complete documents with your visa application. As The Department of Home Affairs (DOHA) refuses visa applications with incomplete documents. Your applications must contain authentic details. You must pay your application charges to complete the application process quickly.
Visa Offerings
Study visa offers the following programs to study in Australia by overseas students:
ELICOS (English Language Intensive Courses for Overseas Students):
English language prerequisite course to improve the English language proficiency to get enrolled in another higher-level course.
Primary and Secondary Schools:
Overseas students can come to study in primary and secondary schools of Australia
Vocational Education and Training (VET):
This allows overseas students to study:
- Certificate I, II, III, IV
- VET diploma
- VET advanced diploma
- VET graduate certificate/diploma
- Registered Training Organizations (RTO’s) allows overseas students to develop both educational and work-oriented skills. As a result, these skills provide a pathway to get into different professional industries or higher education programs.
Higher Education Sector:
Higher Education offered by universities of Australia includes:
- Bachelor’s degree
- Associate degree
- Higher education diploma and advanced diploma
Post-graduate Research:
This allows overseas students to study:
- Master’s degree
- Doctoral degree
- Research work
Non-award Courses:
This allows the overseas students to study the foundation studies courses that do not lead to any Australian award but might help in higher education.
Foreign Affairs or Defence Sector:
This allows the overseas students who are sponsored by the Department of Foreign Affairs or Department of Defence to study the related courses in Australia.
Eligibility Criteria
To obtain Student Visa 500, you must;
- Be enrolled in a course study in Australia
- Have Overseas Student Health Cover (OSHC), or you must fall into one of the exemption categories
- A minimum age of 6 years is required
- Provide a Confirmation of Enrolment (CoE)
- Enrolled in a course registered on the Commonwealth Register of Institutions and Courses for Overseas Students (CRICOS).
- Have welfare arrangements if you’re under 18 years of age
- Provide evidence of your English language skills
- Have adequate health insurance for your stay period in Australia
- Have enough money to bear your expenses while living in Australia
- Be a genuine temporary entrant and intent to leave Australia after completing your studies.
- Meet health and character requirements
- Sign the Australian Values Statement to prove that you’ll respect Australian laws and policies.
Cost
Student Visa 500 costs nearly AUD 630 if you’re exempt. Separate charges will be applicable for each family member applying with you. There’ll be some other charges for health checks, police certificates and biometrics.
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Process
Applicant must follow the following steps to apply for the student visa:
- Choose the preferred course of study and the Australian institution
- Apply either online from the education provider’s website, or through the certified Australian education agent.
- Receive the letter of offer from the institution
- Receive electronic Confirmation of enrollment (eCoE) by email that will include all the necessary information such as course fee, starting date etc.
- Apply for the student visa and student guardian visa.
Watch “Australian Student Visa in 4 minutes” on our Youtube channel.
Stay Period
A Student visa (subclass 500) allows you to stay for 5 years in Australia. However, your stay period also depends on the type of course period you choose to study in Australia.
Assessment
Every overseas student who wants to study in Australia is assessed on a scale of 1 to 3. Moreover, this assessment depends upon the country to which the applicant belongs. Each country and its educational institutions are assigned different assessment levels. However, the assessment level of each applicant is determined by the combination of the risk assessment index and the university level. Thus, the higher the level of assessment, the more evidence of financial stability and the English language is needed to be provided by the applicant.
Benefits
Student Visa Subclass 500 holders can get different benefits in Australia. They can;
- Participate in an eligible course study
- Travel in and outside Australia as many times as you want until your visa is valid.
- When your course begins, you can work for 40 hours per fortnight
- Work for more hours in specific sectors
Student Visa Requirements for Australia:
Applicant must meet the following requirements to get the student visa:
CRICOS and AQF:
Applicant must choose the course of study and the Australian institution that must be registered on the Commonwealth Register of Institutions and Courses for Overseas Students (CRICOS). And the degree that must be accredited by the Australian Qualification Framework (AQF).
Statement of Purpose:
Statement of purpose is a personal statement written by the overseas students that normally comprises:
- Academic history
- Relevant work experiences
- Personal interests
- Achievements
- Reason for choosing Australia
- Reason for selecting the particular course and educational institution
Statement of purpose is an important deciding factor by the universities as it differentiates the applicant from all others.
Confirmation of Enrollment (CoE):
Applicant must receive the confirmation of enrollment from the education provider and provide it at the time of applying for the visa. To get the CoE, the selected course must be registered under CRICOS.
Genuine Temporary Entrant (GTE):
Overseas students must provide GTE as a statement that the sole purpose of coming to Australia is to study only and will leave after the completion of the degree. This statement shows that overseas students are coming to Australia temporarily to study only. GTE statement is normally comprised of:
- Academic record or the explanation of gap if taken only
- Information about the current employment (if any)
- Evidence of financial stability
- Home country economic situations
Financial Evidence:
Before applying for the student visa, the applicant must show the evidence of bank statement that shows the availability of sufficient funds to pay the tuition fee, travel expenses and living costs for the period of stay. Applicant must also submit the evidence of financial supporter’s income and employment.
English Language Proficiency:
Applicant must submit the evidence of the English language proficiency as per the requirement of the student visa. Applicant must give one of the following tests as per required by the selected course of study to achieve the required score to meet the English language requirement of student visa:
- IELTS
- TOEFL
- Cambridge Advanced English
- PTE Academic
- Occupational English Test
Overseas Student Health Cover (OSHC):
The overseas student must hold the OSHC from an approved Australian health insurance provider to stay in Australia unless an exemption applies.
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