Your passport country and course(s) of study determine your Assessment Level. The Student visa subclass under which you will be assessed is determined by your main course of study, even if you are studying a package of courses.

Student Visa Subclass Options:

English Language Intensive Courses for Overseas Students (ELICOS): Applies to stand-alone English language courses that lead to a certificate I, II, III or IV, or that result in no formal Australian award.

Primary or secondary school course: Applies to primary, junior secondary or senior secondary school courses, and approved secondary school exchange programs.

Vocational education and training: Applies to Certificates I, II, III or IV (except ELICOS), diploma, advanced diploma, vocational graduate certificate or vocational graduate diploma courses.

Higher education: Applies to a Bachelor degree, associate degree, graduate certificate, graduate diploma, or Masters by coursework.

Postgraduate research: Applies to Masters by research or a doctoral degree.

Non-award: Applies to non-award foundation studies, or other full-time courses or components of courses not leading to an Australian award.

AusAID and Defence: Applies to students sponsored by AusAID or the Australian Department of Defence undertaking full-time courses of any type.

Student Guardians: Parents or relatives can apply for a visa to stay in Australia as the guardian of a student who is studying in Australia.

Student Visa English Language Requirements:

The Student Visa Regulations require some students to provide the results of an International English Language Testing System (IELTS) test.

Important: If you intend to lodge a further student visa application in Australia, read the information on the department’s website to check if you need to provide your IELTS results to meet the English Language requirements.

You may submit either an Academic or General IELTS test result as proof of your English language ability, however, check with your education provider if you are required to sit a specific IELTS test for entry into your course.

Living Costs and Evidence of Funds:

International students are required to demonstrate and/or declare that they have genuine access to sufficient funds to be granted a Student visa. This includes funds to cover travel, tuition and living expenses. Applicants may have to demonstrate sufficient funds to cover these expenses for the first one, two or three years in Australia, depending on their Assessment Level (AL).

Working While Studying:

Permission to Work arrangements for Student visa holders have changed.

If you were granted a Student visa on or after 26 April 2008, you and your dependent family members will already have Permission to Work automatically included with your visa.

If you were granted a Student visa before 26 April 2008 and have not yet applied for Permission to Work, you and your dependent family members may only apply for Permission to Work after you have started your course in Australia.

You do not need a visa label to be placed in your passport as evidence of your work rights. Your visa information is held electronically and you can access it at any time using the Visa Entitlement Verification Online (VEVO) system. Employers, banks and government services can also check details about your visa entitlements on VEVO once they have your consent to do so.

Extending Your Stay:

You can only extend your stay in Australia if you do not have a 'No Further Stay' condition on your current student visa.

The following table outlines your visa options to extend your stay in Australia.

Students and General Skilled Migration:

Australia has a well-deserved reputation for high-quality education and training. We continue to welcome overseas students, and appreciate the contribution they make to both academic life and the communities in which they live.

People who want to study in Australia may be granted a Student visa that entitles them to come to Australia on a temporary basis for a specified period to undertake study at an Australian educational institution. While many overseas students make a decision to apply for permanent residence upon completing their studies, this is an entirely separate process and there is no guarantee that, on the basis of having held a student visa, a person will meet the requirements to be granted permanent residence.

It is important to note that student visas are aimed at achieving an educational outcome. General Skilled Migration (GSM) on the other hand is predominantly driven by the labour market needs of Australia.

The criteria for grant of GSM visas can change in response to the changing economic circumstances of Australia. All applicants seeking to be granted a permanent GSM visa must meet the relevant criteria set out in the Migration legislation, regardless of whether or not they have previously been in Australia. It is important for student visa holders to note that any changes to the criteria for the grant of a GSM visa would not affect their Student visa conditions.

Students should not make educational choices solely on the basis of hoping to achieve a particular migration outcome, as the GSM program will continue to change and adapt to Australia’s economic needs.