Australia student visa documents

Colour scans of your current Indian passport showing your photo, personal details, and the issue and expiry dates. Home Affairs does not publish a six-month validity rule for the Subclass 500, but your passport must stay valid for the visa period you are asking for.

“Provide the pages of your current passport showing your photo, personal details, and passport issue and expiry dates.”

Only if you hold one. For Indian applicants an Aadhaar card or Voter ID serves this purpose. It supports your identity claim but is not a document Home Affairs requires everyone to produce.

“a national identity card, if you have one”

A Confirmation of Enrolment issued by a CRICOS-registered provider, for every course you intend to take. A CoE stops being valid if it is cancelled or the course is complete, and you must hold a valid one when the visa is decided, not only when you apply.

“You must provide a Confirmation of Enrolment (CoE) for all intended courses when you apply.”

For a test taken on or after 7 August 2025 the minimum scores are IELTS Academic or General Training 6.0 average, PTE Academic 47, TOEFL iBT 67, C1 Advanced 161, OET 1210, CELPIP General 7, LANGUAGECERT Academic 61, MET 53. With at least 10 weeks of ELICOS or a foundation or eligible pathway program the threshold drops to IELTS 5.5, PTE 39, TOEFL 51; with at least 20 weeks of ELICOS, to IELTS 5.0, PTE 31, TOEFL 37. The test must have been taken within the 2 years before you apply.

“The visa applicant achieved the required minimum English language test score specified in Column 2 of an item in the table in Schedule 1.”

You must show 12 months of living costs of AUD29,710 for yourself, plus AUD10,394 for a partner and AUD4,449 for each child travelling with you, plus the first 12 months of course fees less anything already paid, plus AUD2,000 travel costs for an applicant from India. Add at least AUD13,502 a year for each school-age child. If the checklist asks for this evidence and you do not attach it, the application can be refused without any further request.

“12-month living costs are for: students - AUD29,710”

The Subclass 500 charge starts at AUD2,500 for the main applicant, having increased on 1 July 2026. There is a separate charge for each family member included. No Indian concession exists: the lower rate applies only to Pacific Island, Timor-Leste and ASEAN passport holders and to ELICOS and Non-Award applicants.

“The visa costs from AUD2,500.00 for the main applicant (concessions apply in limited circumstances).”

Written answers, in English, to a set of questions inside the online application. Each answer is capped at 150 words. There is an extra question if you have previously held a Student visa or are applying in Australia from a non-student visa. This replaced the Genuine Temporary Entrant test in March 2024.

“Each question has a 150 word limit addressing the genuine student criteria.”

Fingerprints and a photograph. Not every applicant is asked, and you are usually told straight after submitting whether you need to provide them.

“We might ask for biometrics. Most applicants will be advised immediately after submitting an application if you need to provide biometrics.”

Health insurance for everyone on the application, held for the whole visa period, unless you fall in an exemption category. The policy must be OSHC specifically, not ordinary travel or private health insurance.

“Health insurance must be Overseas Student Health Cover (OSHC) covering everyone included in your application.”

A medical examination arranged outside Australia must be done by a panel physician the department has approved, never your own doctor. India is classed as a high-risk country for tuberculosis, so an applicant aged 11 or over is normally also given a chest X-ray, and one aged 15 or over a serum creatinine test.

“You must be examined by one of the Department’s approved panel physicians or clinics.”

Requested case by case rather than from everyone. It normally applies if you are over 17 and have lived in a listed country, including Australia, for 12 months or more in the past 10 years. You need one from every such country, not only India.

“We may ask you to provide a police certificate (also called a penal clearance certificate) from every country you lived in.”