500 Visa: Student Visa
Who Is Eligible?
Before you apply for this 500 visa, you must have:
- been accepted to study full-time at an educational institution in Australia; and
- organised appropriate welfare arrangements for the duration of your intended stay in Australia if you are under 18 years of age.
What Are The Other Requirements of The 500 Visa?
If the applicant is studying the English language as a pre-requisite for another course, they must apply for the visa appropriate for their main course of study.
Before an application can be made for this visa, the applicant must have been accepted to study full time at a registered ELICOS institution in Australia.
If the applicant is in Australia, they must be the current holder of a qualifying visa. The list of qualifying student visas is here.
The applicant must be able to demonstrate that they genuinely intend to only stay in Australia temporarily. Personal circumstances, immigration history, and many other details are considered.
The applicant must be able to demonstrate that they have enough money to pay for travel, tuition and living expenses for themselves and anyone else included on their application.
If an employer or company in the applicant’s home country is sponsoring the applicant, they must conduct commercial activities outside the country in which it is based. They must also employ them in a role that that is directly relevant to the course the applicant is going to do in Australia.
The applicant and everyone on the application must have health insurance while in Australia and proof of this must be supplied upon application. This can be obtained from Overseas Student Health Cover (OSHC). There is more information regarding this on the Department of Health’s website.
The applicant must also reach certain English language, academic record, welfare, health and character requirements.
There are additional requirements if the applicant is under the age of 18.
What Are The Benefits Of The 500 Visa?
This visa allows the applicant the following:
- Study in Australia
- Have eligible family members accompany the applicant to Australia
- Work up to 40 hours a fortnight while studying
- Family members can also work up to 40 hours per fortnight
- Their eligible family members can study in Australia for up to three months
What can Arc Visa & Migration do for you
If you are thinking to enrol into a course of study in Australia, we can assist you with your enrolment process and admission as well as your visa application process. If you have completed your study and are looking for a pathway to other Australian visas we can take you through your options and get you on the right path to permanent residency. You can also use our services as one package, designed to get you from selection of a course of study to residency in Australia.
Pathways To Other Visas After Graduation
There are pathways to other visas after you finish studying in Australia provided that you meet certain requirements.
There are two new skilled regional provisional visas Sc491 and SC494. Under these new visas, migrants are required to live and work in a regional area of Australia for at least three years before they are eligible to apply for permanent residence. These new regional visas provide greater incentives for regional employers to nominate skilled workers, including priority processing of applications and access to additional skilled occupations. There are also benefits for students who study in regional Australia and are willing to live and work in regional Australia. Contact us to discuss your study and visa options.