Who can apply for Australia's Student visa (Subclass 500) in 2026?

You can apply for Australia's Student visa (Subclass 500) if you are enrolled in a full-time course registered on the Commonwealth Register of Institutions and Courses for Overseas Students (CRICOS) and hold a valid Confirmation of Enrolment (CoE), hold Overseas Student Health Cover (OSHC) or fall in an exemption category, are at least 6 years old, and can satisfy the English language, financial capacity, genuine student, character and health requirements — plus, if you apply while inside Australia, an eligible substantive visa. This follows the Australian Department of Home Affairs Student visa (subclass 500) official page as of the August 2026 version of that page. It is general information rather than advice tailored to your circumstances, so treat the official page and any qualified professional you consult as the final word on your own case.

What is the fastest way to check whether I qualify at all?

Work through the core gates in this order, because each one can stop an application on its own:

• Age: you must be 6 or older. If you are a school student who is not on a secondary school exchange program, there are also starting-age caps by year level.
• Enrolment: a full-time CRICOS-registered course, evidenced by a CoE for every course you intend to study.
• Health insurance: OSHC from an approved Australian provider for you and every family member included in the application, unless an exception applies.
• Welfare: if you are under 18, adequate welfare arrangements covering your stay or until you turn 18, whichever comes first.
• English: a required test score, or a documented exemption.
• Money: enough funds for travel, fees and living costs.
• Genuine student: you must show that studying in Australia is the primary reason for the visa.
• Character and health: you and applying family members must meet both; the character requirement applies to anyone aged 16 and over.
• Australian values statement: if you are 18 or over, you must have read the Life in Australia booklet and sign the statement.

What age rules apply if I want to study at school?

The general floor is 6 years old. School students outside a secondary exchange program must also be under 17 when they begin Year 9, under 18 when they begin Year 10, under 19 when they begin Year 11, and under 20 when they begin Year 12.

Do I need a CoE, and when does it stop being valid?

You must provide a CoE for all intended courses when you lodge. If you do not, the application is invalid and cannot be processed at all — this is a lodging defect, not something you can fix later by request. Your CoE must still be valid when the decision is made: it ceases to be valid if it is cancelled or the course is completed. If you finish a course but still need the visa, you attach a new CoE to your ImmiAccount and maintain enrolment.

Suppose an applicant finishes an ELICOS course in June and waits for a July start at a university without uploading the new CoE. At decision time the department sees a completed course and no valid CoE, so the visa cannot be granted on that evidence.

For packaged courses, you must list every CoE code in the application or the visa may only cover the CoE you provided. Gaps between courses must be under two calendar months, unless the first course ends at the close of a standard academic year and the next begins at the start of the following one.

A CoE is not required in four specific situations: study under a scholarship scheme approved by the Australian Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade (letter of support), sponsorship by the Australian Department of Defence (letter of support), secondary exchange (AASES form), and postgraduate research students who must stay while a thesis is marked (letter from the education provider).

Can I apply if I am already in Australia?

You can be in or outside Australia when you apply, but applicants in Australia must hold an eligible substantive visa. You cannot apply in Australia if you hold:

If you hold no substantive visa, you can still apply within 28 days of either holding a Student visa, a special purpose visa or a dependent Diplomatic (temporary) visa, or being notified by the Tribunal that your visa cancellation has been set aside. There is a further trap: you cannot make a valid application without a substantive visa if you were previously granted a visa on an application made when you did not hold one.

How much money do I need to show?

At a minimum you must cover travel, 12 months of course fees (or the total if the course runs 12 months or less, less anything already paid), 12 months of living costs for you and accompanying family, and school fees for school-age children. The published 12-month living cost figures are:

Instead of showing funds, you can evidence that your parent or partner had a personal annual income of at least AUD87,856 in the 12 months before you apply — or at least AUD102,500 if you are bringing family members. Combined parental income can be considered, but only official government documents such as tax assessments under 12 months old are accepted; bank statements and employer letters are not.

Money alone is not enough. If you are asked for evidence of financial capacity, you must also show genuine access to it: the relationship to any third-party funder, their identity, past support they have given, and the source of deposits. A single-day bank balance certificate does not show how funds accumulated.

Family members who apply after your visa is granted must attach financial capacity evidence with their own application and cover the student's costs, 12 months of living costs including school fees, and travel.

Do I need to prove English, and which tests count?

Only if the evidence rules require it. If required, you must show a score in an approved test or fall into an exemption category. Tests must have been completed within the 2 years before lodgement if you are Regular Evidence level, or within the 2 years before a decision if you are Streamlined Evidence level and the department has requested evidence.

For tests taken on or after 7 August 2025, the minimum overall scores are:

For tests taken on or before 6 August 2025, the older thresholds apply: IELTS 6.0 (5.5 / 5.0), TOEFL iBT 64 (46 / 35), Cambridge English: Advanced (CAE) 169 (162 / 154), PTE 50 (42 / 36), and OET with a B in each test component. The lower thresholds in brackets follow the same packaging logic: at least 10 weeks of ELICOS or a foundation or eligible pathway program, or at least 20 weeks of ELICOS.

Several test-specific rules matter in 2026. From 21 January 2026, TOEFL iBT candidates must select "Taking TOEFL for Australia" during registration for the test to be valid for Australian visa purposes, and TOEFL iBT results from 26 July 2023 to 4 May 2024 are not accepted at all. For Cambridge C1 Advanced, only the paper-based test was accepted from 12 February 2024 to 6 August 2025; earlier results remain acceptable within their validity periods. LANGUAGECERT Academic results must be submitted as both the certificate and the report, or processing may be delayed.

No fully online or remote-proctored test is accepted. IELTS Online, LANGUAGECERT Academic Online, OET@Home, CELPIP Online, MET Digital taken at home and TOEFL iBT Home Edition are named as not approved.

Exemptions from providing a test score include holding a passport from the UK, USA, Canada, New Zealand or the Republic of Ireland; being a Foreign Affairs or Defence sponsored student or a secondary exchange student; enrolment in a registered school course, a standalone ELICOS course, a course registered and delivered in a language other than English, or a registered postgraduate research course; at least 5 years of study in English in Australia, the UK, USA, Canada, New Zealand, South Africa or Ireland; completing the Senior Secondary Certificate of Education in Australia in English while on a Student visa within the previous 2 years; or completing a substantial component of a Certificate IV or higher course under the Australian Qualifications Framework while on a Student visa within the previous 2 years. British National Overseas passport holders may still be asked for evidence.

When does health insurance start, and who is exempt?

For applicants outside Australia, cover must start on the day you and your family arrive, not the day the course starts — commonly one week to one month before classes begin. You must not enter Australia before cover begins, and you must maintain it until you leave; you can be refused entry if you cannot show insurance on arrival. Applicants already in Australia must have OSHC; if your previous visa required you to have health insurance, cover must be continuous, with no gap between your previous health cover and your OSHC.

Norwegian students covered by the Norwegian National Insurance Scheme, Swedish students covered by Kammarkollegiet, and Belgian students covered under the Reciprocal Health Care Agreement with Australia do not need OSHC. Failing to provide OSHC details in the application will result in refusal.

What else can make me ineligible even if I meet the main criteria?

• Age 18 and over without a signed Australian values statement.
• Unpaid debt to the Australian Government, by you or any family member including those not applying with you, unless repaid or arrangements made.
• Immigration history, including a cancelled visa or refused application; re-entry ban rules may also apply to applicants outside Australia.
• Identity problems. If you cannot prove identity, the application will be refused, and the Department might not grant you another visa, or any family members listed on your application a visa, for 10 years.
• False or misleading information.
• Best interests of the child — a visa may not be granted where that test is not met for an under-18 applicant.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I apply for a Student visa while I am in Australia on a Visitor visa?

No. A Visitor visa (subclass 600) is on the list of visas that bar you from lodging a Subclass 500 application inside Australia, alongside the 485, 601, 602, 651, 771 and 988 visas. You would need to hold an eligible substantive visa, or fall within the 28-day window that applies after holding a Student visa, a special purpose visa or a dependent Diplomatic (temporary) visa, or after the Tribunal sets aside a cancellation.

Is a CoE required before I lodge, or can I send it later?

A CoE for each intended course is required at lodgement, and without it the application is invalid and cannot be processed. It must also remain valid at the time of decision, so a CoE that is cancelled or tied to a completed course no longer supports the visa.

How much money does one student need for the 2026 student visa?

The published minimum covers travel, 12 months of course fees less amounts already paid, and 12 months of living costs of AUD29,710 for the student. Add AUD10,394 for a partner, AUD4,449 per child, and at least AUD13,502 per year of schooling for each school-age child. Travel is AUD2,000 from most places outside Australia, with separate figures for East, Southern and West Africa and AUD1,000 if applying in Australia.

Do I need an English test if I hold a UK or US passport?

No, citizens holding a passport from the UK, USA, Canada, New Zealand or the Republic of Ireland are listed as exempt from providing an English test score with the application. The exemption is not automatic for everyone who might expect it: holders of a British National Overseas passport can still be asked for evidence.

Are at-home or online English tests accepted?

No. The department does not accept any test delivered entirely online, including remote-proctored versions such as IELTS Online, OET@Home, CELPIP Online, MET Digital taken at home, LANGUAGECERT Academic Online and TOEFL iBT Home Edition. The department can also ask for English evidence at any point during processing, even if the document checklist did not request it at lodgement.

Can my family join me if they are not on my application?

Family members can accompany you only if they were included in the application, or join later as subsequent entrants — and you must have declared them in your Student visa application even if they did not plan to travel. Undeclared family members generally require a new Student visa application that explains the omission, unless they became family members after your visa was granted.

Can someone else prepare my application for me?

Only certain people may give immigration assistance: a registered migration agent, a legal practitioner, or an exempt person. Anyone can be appointed to receive documents on your behalf, which is a separate and narrower role.

References

• Australian Department of Home Affairs — Student visa (Subclass 500)
• Federal Register of Legislation — Migration (English Language Tests and Evidence Exemptions for Subclass 500 (Student) Visas) Instrument 2025
• Federal Register of Legislation — Migration (LIN 19/198: Evidence of financial capacity — Subclass 500 Visa and Subclass 590 Visa) Instrument 2019
• Australian Government Study Australia — cost of living information for international students
• Commonwealth Register of Institutions and Courses for Overseas Students (CRICOS)
• privatehealth.gov.au — Overseas Student Health Cover