When you have your student (subclass 500) visa, you may want to consider withdrawing any other undecided visa applications you have lodged - if any, if applicable. If you are granted another substantive visa, your Student (subclass 500) visa will then be ceased.

To withdraw any other visa application, you must advise the department in writing that you want to withdraw an application.

Coming to Australia:

Before you leave; Check your travel documents.

You must have

• a valid visa to enter Australia.
• a valid passport or other travel document

At the border: Complete an Incoming Passenger Card. All people arriving Australia must complete the Incoming Passenger Card. You will get the card on board.

In Australia:

What you can do when you have this visa

• participate in an eligible course of study in Australia
• travel in and out of Australia

What you must do when you have this visa

You and your family members who apply with you must meet all visa conditions and obey Australian laws.

To see your specific conditions, work and study entitlements see your visa grant letter or  Visa Entitlement Verification Online (VEVO)

How long you can stay

This is a temporary visa. You can stay in Australia until the date we have told you. The student visa grant period will depend on the type of course and its length.

To see when you must leave, use VEVO.

Staying longer

You cannot stay in Australia longer when your visa expires. To continue studying in Australia, you must apply for a new applicable visa based on your eligibility criteria. 

See your options. 

Visa expiry before graduation

If your student visa will expire before your graduation, you might be able to apply for another visa that meets your circumstances.

Travelling on your visa

You can travel outside Australia and return as many times as you want while the visa is valid.

Time spent outside Australia does not extend the visa. See your conditions in VEVO.

Proving you have a visa

To prove you have a visa and show your conditions to someone, use VEVO.

Working on this visa

International students can work no more than 48 hours a fortnight as per the recent working hours restrictions. Students must ensure they are aware of any changes to visa conditions, including work rights.

To see the visa conditions that affect your work situation, see VEVO.

Bringing a family member

You can include a family member in your application or they can apply to join you later as a subsequent applicant in ImmiAccount provided:

• you declared existing family members at the time you lodged your application, or
• they became your family member after you were granted the visa.

Existing family members must have been declared at the time of you lodged your application.

If a person became your family member after you lodged your application and before you were granted the visa, you must have informed us in writing before your visa was granted.

For student visas, your family member is:

• your partner, or
• your or your partner's dependent child who is unmarried and has not turned 18 years of age.

We cannot grant a student visa to your child if they have turned 18 years at the time your visa is finalised. Instead they need to apply for their own visa.

Where subsequent entrants are siblings (two or more children with no parent), they must make separate student visa applications and each pay the base application charge to join their parent.

Family members who apply for the visa must meet our requirements for health and character and be a genuine temporary entrant as applicable.

If you are bringing school aged children, check the annual school costs you will need to pay for them to go to either public or private schools in Australia [Necessary arrangements must be made].

Newborn child

Find out what to do if you have a child.

Tell us if things change

Things you need to let us know about include:

• changes to your phone number, email, address or passport
• changes to your relationship status
• changes to your welfare arrangements
• the birth of a child

See how to let us know if there is a change in your situation.

Your study situation has changed.

Find out what to do if there is a change in your study situation. This includes:

• you are thinking about changing courses
• completing your course early
• circumstances where you can defer your course

Your visa may also be subject to visa conditions that require you to seek permission before making certain changes to your study. To check your visa conditions use VEVO.

Education provider default

Education provider default occurs when a registered education provider in Australia:

• closes, or
• can't deliver your course because they have been sanctioned

If after lodging your student visa application your provider has defaulted, you will need to provide a new CoE for a new education provider. 

See more about education provider default.

Leaving Australia:

Before you leave: Check your travel documents

You must have a valid passport or other travel document to leave Australia.

Ensure your visa is still valid if you intend to return to Australia

Check your conditions and the expiry of your current visa in VEVO.

See what you can and must do if your visa has expired or is about to expire.

Get your superannuation if you intend not to return to Australia

You are likely to have some money in a superannuation fund if you worked in Australia and you are:

• 18 years old or older
• paid AUD450 or more before tax in a month

See how to access your super.

To prove you have been to Australia

Request your international movement records to get proof of your travel in and out of Australia.