An Australian Student visa (subclass 500) application from India in 2026 needs a Confirmation of Enrolment (CoE) for each course from a CRICOS-registered provider, Overseas Student Health Cover for the whole stay, evidence of AUD 29,710 for a year's living costs plus tuition and AUD 2,000 for travel, English at the regulated level, a health examination and written answers to the Genuine Student questions. The visa application charge rose to AUD 2,500 on 1 July 2026. Home Affairs decided half of higher-education applications within 16 days and 90 percent within four months at its latest update.
The compact version with the price card, checklist and refusal cases is on the Australia Student visa route page. This article is the long version, written around the February and July intakes.
Who qualifies for an Australian student visa?
You need a CoE for a full-time course registered on CRICOS, issued once the provider has your deposit and OSHC arrangements. Package courses (an English or foundation program followed by a degree) need a CoE for each stage. Applicants under 18 need approved welfare arrangements. You must hold OSHC from arrival to the end of the visa, meet health and character requirements, and satisfy the Genuine Student requirement that replaced the genuine temporary entrant test in March 2024.
The Genuine Student form asks about your current circumstances (ties to family, community, employment and economic circumstances), why you chose this course and this provider, how the course benefits you, your study and employment history, and anything else relevant. Officers weigh the answers against your record and the provider's own assessment. Generic answers, a course that does not follow from your history, or similar courses available in India at lower cost without explanation, are the main reasons higher-education applications from India are refused.
What changed for 2026?
Three things. The visa application charge is AUD 2,500 for the main applicant from 1 July 2026. The living-cost figure for financial capacity is AUD 29,710 for the student, with AUD 10,394 for a partner, AUD 4,449 for each child and AUD 13,502 in school fees per school-age child. Ministerial Direction 115 continues to order processing by each provider's allocation under the national planning level: applications for providers below 80 percent of their allocation are processed first, so timing depends on where your institution sits in the year.
How much money must I show, and how?
| Item | AUD | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Student visa (subclass 500), main applicant | 2,500 | From 1 July 2026 |
| Additional applicants | Per current pricing table | Partner and each child included in the application |
| Living costs, student | 29,710 | 12 months |
| Living costs, partner | 10,394 | 12 months |
| Living costs, each child | 4,449 | Plus AUD 13,502 school fees per school-age child |
| Travel | 2,000 | From outside Australia |
| Course fees | 12 months less any amount paid | From the CoE |
| Overseas Student Health Cover | About 600 to 700 per year | Single cover; family cover costs more |
Alternatively a parent or spouse can show annual income of AUD 87,856 (AUD 102,500 if family members are included) from the most recent tax year, with the ITR, Form 16 and relationship evidence. Indian applicants are assessed at evidence level 2 or 3 depending on the provider, which means the financial and English evidence must usually be attached at lodgement rather than declared.
Funds can be shown with bank statements, fixed deposits, an education loan sanction letter from an Indian bank or NBFC, or a scholarship letter. Home Affairs checks that the money is genuinely available: the loan must be disbursable before travel, and recent deposits need a documented source. A sanction letter that only says the loan is "approved in principle" is a common gap.
English, health and OSHC
The regulations set IELTS 6.0 overall (or equivalent in PTE Academic, TOEFL iBT, Cambridge or OET) for direct entry, 5.5 combined with at least 10 weeks of ELICOS, or 5.0 with 20 weeks, from a test taken in the last two years. Universities often require higher scores for admission; the visa level is the floor. Indian applicants need a health examination with a Bupa-approved panel physician; book it through My Health Declarations before lodging so the HAP ID is ready and no referral is needed later. OSHC must cover the whole visa period, which is the course length plus the buffer Home Affairs adds at grant.
The intake timeline
| Stage | Typical time |
|---|---|
| Offer to CoE | 2 to 6 weeks after the deposit |
| Funds, English test and health examination | 4 to 8 weeks |
| Lodgement to decision | 16 days for half of higher-education applications; up to 4 months for 90 percent |
| Grant to travel | Up to 90 days before the course starts |
Lodge at least 12 weeks before the course start date, and earlier for vocational providers whose applications sit lower in the Direction 115 order once the provider reaches its allocation. Biometrics are collected at a VFS Australian Biometrics Collection Centre when requested, and any request for information arrives in ImmiAccount with a 28-day deadline.
Working, dependants and what comes after
Students can work 48 hours per fortnight while the course is in session and unlimited hours in scheduled breaks under condition 8105; research master's and doctoral students have no cap. Condition 8202 requires enrolment, attendance and satisfactory progress, and a provider report for non-compliance leads to cancellation. Partners of master's and doctoral students may work unlimited hours; partners of other students are limited to 48 hours a fortnight.
The Temporary Graduate visa (subclass 485) Post-Higher Education Work stream gives two years after a bachelor's or coursework master's and three years after a research master's or doctorate, for graduates under 35 with IELTS 6.5 (6.0 in each band), applied for within six months of completion. Indian graduates in listed STEM and other fields may qualify for additional stay under the Australia-India Economic Cooperation and Trade Agreement arrangements. Many graduates then move to the Skills in Demand visa with an employer or to the points-tested Skilled Independent visa.
Why Australian student visas are refused, and what fixes each reason
Genuine Student requirement. Generic answers, a course unrelated to your record, or a step down in level. Write specific answers that connect your history to the course and a career outcome, address any change of field directly, and keep them consistent with the provider's assessment.
Financial capacity. Funds below the total, unexplained deposits, or a loan letter that did not confirm disbursal. Hold the full amount with documented sources, or use the parental income alternative with the tax return.
English. An expired test, a score below the level without a matching ELICOS package, or a test type not accepted for visa purposes. Retake an accepted test or add the ELICOS weeks.
Public interest criterion 4020. A bank or employment letter that could not be verified brings a three-year bar. Use only documents the issuer will confirm and answer any natural justice letter inside the deadline.
Health or OSHC gaps. Complete the examination before lodging and buy OSHC for the whole course plus the buffer.
How Vistolane files it
Vistolane files subclass 500 applications with a guaranteed lodgement date, checks the financial capacity figures and Genuine Student answers before lodging, and tracks biometrics and information requests; study-abroad consultants run whole intakes through the same workspace. Start with the free eligibility check or open the Australia Student visa route page.
