Study in Australia

If you are going to study in Australia for a longer period of time you will need to apply for a student visa. Here we guide you through the application process step by step.

If you are taking a short program, for example a language course, of maximum 12 weeks you can use a tourist visa. If you have a Working Holiday visa you are allowed to study for 16 weeks. For university studies and all longer programs you will need to apply for a student visa by following the steps below:
 

1. Apply to College/University in Australia and get the offer letter.
2. Conditional/ Unconditional Offer Letter Provided by College/University
3. Conditional to provide GTE (Genuine Temporary Entrant)documents. Required GTE Documents are:

• Proof that you can finance your studies, such as a bank statement (Depends upon the level of college/University)
• Proof that you have enough knowledge to pass your intended studies, such as certified grade reports and IELTS-test result.
• Proof of previous employment such as an employment contract, pay checks etc.
• Documentation of criminal offenses if you have ever been convicted.
• To get a more complete document list go to and use the Document Checklist tool.

4. On approval of the same, pay the tuition and you will receive the eCoE, (electronic Confirmation of Enrolment). The document to begin your visa application. If you will take for several programs, for example first take a preparatory language course and then study at college, you will need one CoE for each program.
5. You can lodge off line and online application for visa. You should apply for a student visa subclass 500. The application can be made at the earliest 124 days before your course starts (according to the date on your CoE). You apply online. Read more and follow the instructions at.
6. Pay the visa fee and get a TRN-number. When you have completed the application you should pay the application fee which currently is 575 AUD. The easiest is to pay it with a credit card online. Read more about the payment here.
7. When the application and payment is done you will get a receipt with a TRN-number (Transaction Reference Number). Make sure to save it so you can check the status of your application.
8. Get your visa decision. How long it takes to get you visa decision depends on where you are applying from and how busy the Australian immigration authorities are. In our experience you usually get your decision within one or a couple of weeks once your application is complete. You can check the status of your application by logging in to the immigration website (with the account you created in step 2) and if needed enter your TNR-number. Login at.
9. 9. Normally the Australian authorities will notify you by e-mail once your visa decision is ready. Your visa is electronic so if you want a physical proof of you can print the grant letter that you receive online once your visa is approved.
10. 10. Travel to Australia. Once you have received your visa you can enter Australia at the earliest 90 days before the course start date printed on your eCoE. If you have not booked accommodation through your College/University you should inform them of your address in Australia within 7 days of arriving there. Usually you have the right to stay in Australia for 30 days after your course ends or 60 days if your course lasts longer than 10 months. All these date limits should be written on your visa and if that information differs from what we write here you should always follow the instructions on your visa.