Student Visa (Subclass 500)

Until 30 June 2023, primary and secondary student visa applicants are able to work more than 40 hours a fortnight in any sector of the economy and work before their​ course of study commences.

From 1 July 2023, work restrictions for student visa holders will be re-introduced and capped at the increased rate of 48 hours per fortnight.

Australia student visa subclass 500 is suitable for applicants who would like to study eligible courses in Australia.  Student visas are available for all types of courses in Australia including primary, secondary, vocational studies, and higher education courses.  After completing your studies, eligible students may choose to apply for a subclass 485 temporary graduate visa to work in Australia.  Choosing a suitable course and submitting the visa application can be confusing and any mistakes made with the visa application can cause your visa been refused.  With our experience helping students with the whole process, we can assist you and you will enjoy the whole experience.

• Enrolled in a course of study
• Satisfy the Genuine Temporary Entrant (GTE) requirement
• Access to funds to meet costs and expenses
• Meet the English language requirement

Genuine Temporary Entrant

It is important you clearly explain how you meet the GTE requirement.  Without doing so can lead to your visa application being refused.  One of the main purposes of the student visa is to allow students to gain an education in Australia that can help them with their career when they return to their home country.  The department when reviewing your GTE must be satisfied that you are a genuine student for this purpose.  If you hold a different purpose, say you would like to apply for a student visa and while studying will look for opportunities to remain in Australia to work, then such a purpose may not fit with the GTE requirement.  We have strong experience in providing guidance to our students in writing-up a GTE statement that clearly reflects their intentions and meeting the GTE requirements.  We have also successfully assisted many more mature students who have already gained previous qualifications and have been working in the industry for a number of years, and would like to take further studies in Australia.

English requirement

To meet the visa application requirement, you need meet the English requirement.  There are different ways to meet this, and you can contact us for more detail about this.  However, take IELTS exam for example, you must have IELTS either Academic or General with overall score of 5.5.  You can also meet this requirement if you have IELTS 5.0 overall and package with 10 weeks ELICOS (English course), or even overall score of 4.5 and package with 20 weeks of ELICOS.  Please note that it is not mandatory to submit evidence of meeting the English requirement, although the department may request for it.

In addition to meeting the English requirement for your visa application, you must also meet the English requirement for your chosen course.  Depending on the level of your chosen course and in which field of study, the English requirement can vary quite a bit.  It is common for courses at the Certificate or Diploma level to require English at IELTS Academic 5.5 overall and a minimum of 5.0 in each band, but please check with us to verify this with your chosen course.  Courses at tertiary level (Bachelor or Master) typically will require higher English requirements.  For example, Bachelor of Nursing typically requires IELTS Academic overall 7.0 with a minimum of 7.0 in each band.  Again, check with us with your chosen course so we can explain what is the English requirement and how you may meet it.

For students who completed their courses in Australia and decide to apply for a subclass 485 temporary graduate visa, you will need to show evidence of meeting the English requirement for this visa – this is mandatory.  The requirement for this visa is, again take IELTS as an example, IELTS academic or general 6.0 overall and a minimum of 5.0 in each component.  If you hold certain passports, you may be exempted from this requirement.  Please contact us to learn more about the English requirement for meeting the 485 visa.  You may also need to consider English requirement for other aspects of your migration pathway such as meeting any skill assessment requirement, licensing or registration requirement for your nominated occupation, other types of work visa requirement.  Speak with us to give you a full picture of what English requirement you must meet and when you must show evidence of these depending on your chosen migration pathway.

Work conditions

Holding a student visa in Australia has certain conditions attached to the visa including restrictions to working.  For example, you must not work in Australia for more than 40 hours a fortnight while your study is in session.  Doing so will beach this condition, and your visa may be cancelled as a result.  However, a student who has begun their studies for a masters degree by research or doctoral degree, this condition does not apply.  Please do contact us to learn more about other aspects of work conditions that may apply to your student visa.  It is important to read carefully and understand what visa conditions are attached to your visa so you do not breach them.  Talk to us to learn more.

For students who bring their families with them to Australia on their student visas, their families will also have certain conditions attached to their visas, including work restrictions.  Similar to the 40 hours a fortnight condition mentioned above for the student, their family members also have a similar condition.  However, if the student has begun their studies for a masters or doctoral degree, then their family members can work more than 40 hours a fortnight.  Please note for this case, master by coursework is also valid in addition to master by research.  This would be a very welcome difference for students studying a master by coursework as their spouse or de factor partner can work full time in Australia.

Migration pathway

Although gaining a strong education from Australia by studying eligible courses while holding a student visa is very useful when you return to your home country and develop a strong a career as a result, some students do decide to apply for the subclass 485 temporary graduate visa.  This visa does allow the student to live and work in Australia.  The 485 visa typically allows you to work for between 2 and 4 years in Australia depending on the level of course you studied.  Hong Kong passport holders will be allowed to work for 5 years.

Typical 485 visa holders having gained necessary work experience working in Australia can consider applying for general skill visas (i.e. subclass 189, 190 or 491).  If they can find an eligible employer, then can consider employer sponsored visas (e.g. subclass 482 or 186).  Hong Kong passport holders have an additional pathway with the Hong Kong stream for the subclass 189 or 191 visas.  The visa requirements are considerably different to the other mentioned visas, and so it is very worthwhile considering.  Please do talk to us to find out more about the different migration pathways, and the Hong Kong stream pathway.

What course should you take

If you are completing your high school, you may already know exactly what course you want to study in university.  You can let us know and we can help you with the whole enrolment process and visa application process.  We understand the maybe there are a lot of confusing information out there about course entry requirement and enrolment procedure.  We will help take care of all that for you.

If you are considering applying for a subclass 485 temporary graduate visa in the future, then you must understand what are the eligible courses that can meet the visa requirement.  If you have studied a certificate or diploma, then you will need to apply for the Graduate Work stream.  Your course must lead to a nominated occupation on the MLTSSL occupation list.  It cannot be on the STSOL or ROL occupation list.  So, please be careful in your choice of courses to study.

Popular courses that meet this requirement include the following:

• Commercial Cookery or Patisserie
• Early Childhood Education and Care
• Telecommunications Network Engineering
• Carpentry
• Automotive Electrical Technology
• Refrigeration and Mechanical Fitting

Contact us to learn more about these courses.  We partner with popular education providers in Australia who offer these courses at very competitive tuition fees. 

If you have studied bachelor, master or above, then you can apply for the Post-Study Work stream.  The benefit of this stream is that you are not required to have a nominated occupation, so any eligible courses at bachelor, master or above can meet the requirement.

Australia has the Group of Eight (Go8) universities which are Australia’s leading research-intensive universities:

• University of Melbourne
• Australian National University
• University of Sydney
• University of Queensland
• University of Western Australia
• University of Adelaide
• Monash University
• University of New South Wales

In addition, Australia has many other popular universities with strong offerings of courses that you will find suitable for your study goals.  Please contact us to help find a suitable course for you.

Check out our latest updates

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  Invitations Issued this month Visa SubclassNumberSkilled Independent visa (subclass 189)11,714Skilled Work Regional (Provisional) visa (subclass 491) – Family Sponsored818 Invitation Process and Cut Offs Visa SubclassMinimum Points ScoreLatest Date of EffectSkilled Independent visa (subclass 189)6510/2022Skilled Work Regional (Provisional) visa (subclass 491) – Family Sponsored)6510/2022 Occupations included in this month’s invitation round * Results could indicate … Read more
• SkillSelect Invitation Rounds – 22 August 2022
  Invitations Issued this month Visa Subclass Number Skilled Independent visa (subclass 189) 12,200 Skilled Work Regional (Provisional) visa (subclass 491) – Family Sponsored 466 Invitation Process and Cut Offs Visa Subclass Minimum Points Score Latest Date of Effect Skilled Independent visa (subclass 189) 65 08/2022 Skilled Work Regional (Provisional) visa (subclass 491) – Family Sponsored) … Read more
• SkillSelect Invitation Rounds – 21 April 2022
  Invitations Issued this month Visa Subclass Number Skilled Independent visa (subclass 189) 1000 Skilled Work Regional (Provisional) visa (subclass 491) – Family Sponsored 500 Invitation Process and Cut Offs Visa Subclass Minimum Points Score Latest Date of Effect Skilled Independent visa (subclass 189) 85 05/2020 Skilled Work Regional (Provisional) visa (subclass 491) – Family Sponsored) … Read more