Student And Graduate Visas

The Student visa supports eligible study in Australia, including school, vocational education, university and research courses. An application must address the Genuine Student requirement, financial capacity, applicable English requirements, health insurance and the other relevant criteria. Application-location and family rules must also be checked before lodgement.

A course offer establishes an education opportunity; the visa assessment asks additional questions. Your previous study, employment, immigration history and reasons for the particular course need to support a genuine study purpose. A change of field, a lower-level course or a gap in study may require an explanation grounded in the actual circumstances.

We assess the proposed course against your background and review the evidence supporting your study rationale and funding arrangements. We help prepare a coherent account of why this course, provider and timing fit your plans, with relevant documents addressing the questions raised by the application.

The Genuine Student Assessment

Clause 500.212 of Schedule 2 to the Migration Regulations 1994 concerns whether the person is a genuine applicant for entry and stay as a student. Home Affairs recognises that genuine students may later develop skills Australia needs; a future wish to pursue permanent residence does not automatically count against a genuine study purpose.

The application should accurately explain your present intentions. We review the account against the education, work and financial records, identify material gaps and help explain circumstances that a standard statement may not address. The evidence should reflect your own reasons and history.

Application Location And Family Arrangements

From 2 October 2026, most Student visa applicants must apply outside Australia. An application made in Australia requires an eligible visa and a relevant exemption. Some visa holders cannot use an onshore application route, and qualifying offshore applicants may also need to be outside Australia for grant.

Family inclusion is a separate question. Most new Student applicants cannot include a partner or dependent children unless an exemption applies. Combined application requirements and restrictions on adding family later also need attention. Applications made before the changes and particular existing family arrangements can be affected by transitional provisions.

We assess where the application can be made and how each family member’s position fits the current rules. This work is particularly important before further tuition is paid or travel and relocation arrangements are made on the assumption that the family can apply together.

This visa may allow an eligible parent, custodian or relative aged twenty-one or over to provide care and support to a student under eighteen, or an older student in exceptional circumstances. Accommodation, financial support, welfare arrangements and health insurance are important parts of the assessment.

The guardian’s arrangements must fit the student’s needs and the conditions of the visa. It does not permit employment. Application location, other dependants and the proposed care arrangements can also affect what is available to the family.

We assess the guardian’s circumstances alongside the student’s position, identify the evidence needed for care and support, and examine the visa and timing requirements before recommending the application. The advice helps the family plan around the arrangements the visas can actually support.

The Temporary Graduate visa can give eligible graduates a further period to live and work in Australia after qualifying study. Its streams have different requirements, and the correct stream needs to be selected before lodgement. Completion of an Australian course does not, on its own, establish every Graduate visa requirement.

Post-Higher Education Work Stream

This stream generally concerns eligible degree-level qualifications from CRICOS-registered study. Applicants ordinarily need to be in Australia, hold an eligible visa, have held a Student visa in the relevant preceding period and meet the recent-completion and study requirements. The usual stay is between two and three years, with particular qualification and passport arrangements affecting some applicants.

The usual maximum age is thirty-five at application. Specified exceptions allow some applicants to apply while under fifty, including certain research graduates and Hong Kong or British National Overseas passport holders. A Graduate Diploma qualifies only under the specific rules concerning the related preceding qualification and timing.

We assess the award, course records, completion date, visa history and applicable age rules before preparing the application. We also identify the English, police-check and insurance evidence required at lodgement, so the assessment covers both the qualification and the procedural requirements.

Post-Vocational Education Work Stream

This stream concerns eligible associate degrees, diplomas and trade qualifications connected to a nominated occupation on the relevant skilled occupation list. The qualification and occupation need to be closely related, and skills-assessment requirements apply. The usual stay is up to eighteen months, with particular passport-based exceptions.

The course title does not settle the occupation or skills-assessment question. An applicant may need evidence at lodgement that a suitable skills assessment has been sought, with the relevant assessment requirements to be satisfied for decision.

We review the qualification, nominated occupation and assessing authority’s requirements together. We coordinate the study and assessment records, identify the evidence needed at each stage and examine the timing before the Graduate application is lodged.

Second Post-Higher Education Work Stream

This stream may provide a further period for eligible graduates whose qualifying study and subsequent residence satisfy the regional requirements. The relevant first Graduate visa, education provider, study location and residence history need to be examined together.

Moving to a regional area after completing a metropolitan degree does not, by itself, establish eligibility. The applicable regional categories and the records of where the person actually lived can affect the available pathway and stay period.

We review the first Graduate visa and qualifying study, establish the relevant residence history and organise evidence such as accommodation, work and study records. The assessment identifies what supports the regional requirements and which stream-specific documents are needed for the second application.