Student Visa — Subclass 500
The Student visa lets you study full-time at a CRICOS-registered provider in Australia — a university, TAFE, school, or other registered institution. It covers most English language courses, vocational training, and higher education.
To qualify you need:
- A valid Confirmation of Enrolment (CoE) from a registered institution
- Genuine Student (GS) assessment — the Department looks at why you're studying in Australia, your study history, and your ties to your home country
- Sufficient funds to cover tuition and living costs
- Overseas Student Health Cover (OSHC) for the full duration of your stay
- Health and character clearances
Work Rights on a Student Visa
Student visa holders can work up to 48 hours per fortnight while the course is in session, and unlimited hours during scheduled course breaks. Dependants who accompany you may also have work rights depending on your course level — generally allowed for postgraduate students without restriction.
Temporary Graduate Visa — Subclass 485
After completing a qualification at an Australian institution, you may be eligible for the 485 visa, which lets you live and work in Australia for a set period. It operates in two streams:
| Stream | Who it's for | Visa length |
|---|---|---|
| Graduate Work | Completed a qualification in a nominated skilled occupation | 18 months – 5 years |
| Post-Study Work | Completed a bachelor, masters, or doctoral degree | 2–6 years depending on qualification and study location |
Regional study gets an extension. If you studied for at least two years in a regional area of Australia, you're eligible for an additional two years on a Post-Study Work stream 485.
Using the 485 as a Pathway to Permanent Residence
Most people use the 485 to gain Australian work experience while building points for a Skilled Migration Visa. The timing matters — skills assessments, English tests, and work experience need to line up with the end of your 485.
We advise students on this pathway before they enrol, so the course selection and work strategy are planned from the start rather than scrambled at graduation.
What We Handle
- Initial student visa applications (subclass 500)
- Changes of course or provider
- Visa extensions and bridging arrangements
- Temporary Graduate visa applications (subclass 485)
- Skills assessment coordination for post-study migration
- Student visa issues — attendance, academic progress concerns
Frequently Asked Questions
No. Under the Migration Regulations, you must meet the English requirement and provide evidence of it at the time you lodge your subclass 485 application — you cannot apply first and provide English later. The same rule generally applies to other key “time of application” requirements, including evidence that you have applied for an AFP check and that you hold appropriate health insurance (OVHC).
In our practice, before lodging a 485 application we always double-check the Four key items are ready and can be uploaded at lodgment: (1) course completion letter, (2) valid English result, (3) OVHC insurance, and (4) AFP check receipt, .
If these documents are not provided at the time of application, the Department must refuse the visa due to the legal requirement is about meeting the criteria at the time you apply, not whether you might meet it later. There is generally no waiver for this.
You can still meet the Australian Study Requirement even if your course included some study overseas, as long as you complete at least 2 academic years of study in Australia (CRICOS-registered) and the study is completed over a total period of no less than 16 calendar months in Australia.
Example: You would still meet the 2 academic year requirement in Australia if you completed a 3-year (6-semester) Bachelor program in this pattern:
- Semester 1 — outside Australia
- Semester 2 — in Australia
- Semester 3 — in Australia
- Semester 4 — in Australia
- Semester 5 — outside Australia
- Semester 6 — in Australia
For master degree, same principle applies, you can do 1 semester outside of Australia to meet Australia study requirement
For the student studied in a regional area, there is one key issue to watch out for. Even if you still meet the Australian Study Requirement and are eligible to apply for the subclass 485, you may not be able to claim the 5 points for “study in a designated regional area” under the points test if any part of the relevant study was completed by distance education (for example, online/remote learning). This is because the points-test criteria for regional study specifically require that none of the study undertaken constituted distance education.
It has happened to many students for this situation, basically, you have two options here
Option 1:
You can lodge a Student visa extension around 6 months before your current visa expires. This gives the Department enough time to process the application and helps avoid a situation where your COE expires before a decision is made.
Risk: If the Student visa extension is refused while you are in Australia, you may later become subject to the section 48 (s48) bar. If s48 applies, you can only apply for certain visas onshore — and subclass 485 is not one of them. This can create a serious problem because the 485 must be lodged in Australia. In that scenario, you may need to depart Australia and consider another strategy to return lawfully (for example, a Visitor visa), noting that this also carries risk.
Option 2: you can lodge a new Student visa application shortly before your current Student visa expires, you will generally be granted a Bridging Visa A (BVA) (which becomes active after your current Student visa ends) so you can remain lawfully in Australia while the Student visa is being processed. This can give you enough time to complete the extra month of study and obtain your completion documents, then lodge the subclass 485 while holding the BVA. The 485 requirement is that you have held a Student visa in the last 6 months before lodging the 485, and this can still be satisfied even if you are currently on a bridging visa, provided you held a Student visa within that 6-month period.
After you lodge the 485, you will usually move onto a Bridging Visa C (BVC) to remain lawful while the 485 is being processed. A BVC commonly has no work rights, but you may apply for work rights if you can demonstrate financial hardship.
Once the 485 has been lodged and you have the bridging arrangements in place, you may then withdraw the pending Student visa application, and remain in Australia on the bridging visa linked to the 485 while waiting for a decision.
This is a common question from our clients. Yes — you can apply for the 485 regional extension even if your first 485 still has a long time left, as long as you already meet the eligibility requirements.
However, many people misunderstand the age rule. They think that once they already hold a 485, or if they applied for their first 485 while they were under 35, they can apply for the regional extension later without any age limitation. That is not correct — the regional extension still has an age requirement at the time you lodge the second 485 (with limited exceptions).
Secondly, many people also misunderstand the 2-year regional living requirement. They think they must hold a 485 and live in a regional area for 2 years on the 485 before they can apply. This is also not correct. The rule is about your physical residence in a designated regional area for the required period — it does not specifically require you to be holding a 485 during that time. For example, if you lived in a regional area for 2 years while studying there on a Student visa, that time may count toward the regional living requirement.
Not necessarily. If you already meet the regional residence requirement and you are close to the age limit, applying earlier can be safer. Processing times can vary, but the key point is: when granted, the second 485 is an extra period on top of the first one.
For those people who received their first 485 at age 34 or 35, just apply as soon as possible if you meet the eligibility
Under the Migration Regulations, a 485 applicant must show that the required Australian Federal police check has been arranged at the time of application. This is why an AFP receipt or confirmation of lodgement can often be used to meet the “arranged” requirement.
Providing the wrong type of AFP (for example, wrong name, not including all the name including alias or choosing the wrong option) does not automatically lead to a refusal. In our experience, Home Affairs will usually give applicants an opportunity to provide the correct AFP National Police Check (for example, through a request for further information). The key risk is not responding by the deadline — if you fail to provide the correct document when requested, the application may be refused
If a refusal does occur, and you have a reasonable explanation and can provide the correct document afterward, you may still have review options through the Administrative Review Tribunal (ART). A similar approach can apply to health examinations — some applicants are refused because they did not complete their health check by the deadline, but where the health requirement is later completed and the circumstances are properly explained, review prospects can be stronger
To write the Genuine Student (GS) requirement, keep it one clear paragraph that answers: why this course, why Australia, why this provider, and how it links to your future career. Explain briefly what research you have done (course units, CRICOS details, campus, fees, study support), and confirm you understand the costs and will maintain satisfactory attendance and progress. Your GS response should show your main purpose is genuine study, with a realistic study plan and career outcome after graduation, rather than using the student visa for other reasons.
The case officer will consider your GS response as a critical part of deciding whether you are a genuine student and whether your intention to stay in Australia is temporary. In the past, this assessment was called GTE (Genuine Temporary Entrant), which focused on whether you genuinely planned to come to Australia mainly for study and leave when your studies finished. Although GTE has now been replaced by the GS requirement, the core idea is similar — you must show your course choice makes sense, your study plan is genuine and realistic, and your overall circumstances support that you are coming to Australia for education rather than using the student visa for another purpose.
It depends on how long ago your Student visa expired, so act quickly. If it has been less than 28 days, you may still be able to lodge a valid onshore student visa application (if you meet the requirements), but you must provide a clear and reasonable explanation for the overstay and show you are taking steps to fix the situation immediately. If you apply after your substantive visa has expired, you will usually be granted a Bridging visa C (BVC) (not a Bridging visa A). A BVC generally does not allow travel, and you cannot apply for a Bridging visa B (BVB) to leave and re-enter Australia. A BVC also often comes with no work rights. In general, we do not recommend applying for work rights under this circumstances, because when you applied for the Student visa you declared that you had sufficient funds to support yourself to complete your studies in Australia.
Please also note that this type of “late application after visa expiry” option is generally only available once. If you become unlawful again in the future because you forget your visa expiry date, you may not be able to lodge another valid Student visa application onshore — even if it is within 28 days.