Do you have plans to study at an Australian university? It’s undoubtedly a great decision the result of which you will understand in the future. The only thing you will need to enter Australia as a student is a student visa. With this visa in hand, you can stay and study in Australia for a specific period. Besides living and study, this visa will offer other advantages, too.

The most common student visa that international students apply for studying in Australia is Student Visa Subclass 500. You can apply it online while outside Australia. With this visa, you can stay a maximum of five years, which is in line with the usual course duration to a higher degree. But if you want to make the most out of your study time in Australia, you should aim to meet all the Student Visa 500 requirements.

What Are The Basic Requirements To Obtain An Australian Student Visa?

Although there are some subclass-specific requirements, the general requirements for a Student Visa 500 are as follows.

GTE Or Genuine Temporary Entrant Requirement

While entering Australia, you must primarily show your entry’s genuine cause. The cause must include the reason for choosing Australia as the study destination. Different factors will come important here, like your circumstances in the home country, your immigration records, your potential situations in Australia, and the importance of your chosen course, not only for you but also for Australia. All these factors will be thoroughly examined by the officials at the Department of Home Affairs.

Following are the requirements that you will need to apply for the Subclass 500:

Academic Requirements

Academic needs will vary according to the level of study course you will choose. Conditions may also vary according to the institutions. 

In general, you have to show that you have studied English in your home country and know the language quite well. English language requirements can also vary from one institute to the other and also from course to course.
If you want to study at any school, make sure to check all the requirements because entry requirements for schools may be different in different states or territories. Your academic ability or performance will be examined here.
If you want to enrol yourself in a VET (Vocational Education and Training) institute, you will generally not have to appear for any entrance exam. But, specific courses may need you to study a particular subject or have relevant work experience.
For admission in an undergraduate course, you must have a school-leaving certificate equivalent to the Australian Senior Secondary Certificate of Education of class 12. Some courses may need some specific subjects to be studied.
While for postgraduate studies, you must hold a substantial undergraduate degree. Apart from this academic degree, your research potential or work experience may also be required.

Financial Requirements:

You must show that you have sufficient funds to bear all the necessary expenses like accommodation and food, travel, and tuition fees. From February of 2018, the DHA requires an international individual to have a yearly fund of about AUD 20000 to cover the total living costs. This visa will allow you to bring your family members (spouse/de facto partner and dependent children). Thus, you need to have sufficient funds to support them, too.

In either ways, your partner or spouse or your parents may also financially support you. Whoever the support provider may be must also prove that they have sufficient funds too.

English Language Requirements

English is the working language of Australia. You will have to study in English and converse with people in English. Internationally accepted English language tests like IELTS, TOEFL iBT, Cambridge Advanced are conducted worldwide. You must show the results of these tests. Test score requirements will also vary from course to course or university to university. However, if you come from the UK, USA, Canada, Ireland, or New Zealand, i.e. any English-speaking country, this document will not be required.

Health Requirements

You have to go through some health checking examinations as the Australian government is utterly strict about its public health. A doctor who has the approval of the Immigration Department can perform these tests. You should submit these test res​_ults. You can contact MAP, who can get you a registered migration agent from Perth to help you. The agent can also help purchase the OSHC or the Overseas Student Health Care, the mandatory Australian health care system for international students.

Character Requirements

You must not have any records of past criminal offence or must not have suffered any sentence. You must get a police clearance certificate from the Federal Police Department.

Filling Up The Form: How Can You Do It?

The application form for the Visa Subclass 500 is available online. Before you proceed with the application, first get the COE or the confirmation of enrolment. After completed your education you can continue your study with Temporary Graduate Visa Subclass 485. It is a document that will prove that you have got accepted to the university. While filling up the form, you should enter the online code for COE that you will get from your university. Your chosen course should be CRICOS-registered. You must prepare a Student Visa 500 Checklist before going to submit visa application to immigration authority.

If you think that it will be better to change the direction of the course at any point, you will be allowed to do it under the same visa but make sure that the study level of the course doesn’t change. But, if you wish to change the course where the study level gets demoted on the AQF or the Australian Qualification Framework, or you want to switch from an AQF course to any non-AQF course, you need a visa change.

Final Thoughts

Regarding specific steps of the visa application, you may contact the top migration agent in Perth. They are in touch with the best immigration agents from Perth, who may help you according to your needs.

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