Document checklist
Australia student visa documents
11 documents an Indian student needs for a Australia student visa, 8 of them required of every applicant. Each one says what it is, how to actually get it (where to book, the fee, the lead time), and links to the official page behind it. Where the authority states the requirement in its own words we quote that sentence, so you can confirm it yourself rather than taking our word or an agent’s.
Identity
Passport Bio-Data and Stamp Pages
RequiredColour 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.
How to get it
Issued by Passport Seva or your Regional Passport Office; upload the scans to ImmiAccount when you lodge. There is no Home Affairs charge for this item, only what Passport Seva charges if you need a renewal, and that runs to several weeks including police verification, so check your expiry before you start rather than after your CoE arrives. If your name differs across documents, attach proof of the change: a marriage or divorce certificate, or a deed-poll change of name document.
“Provide the pages of your current passport showing your photo, personal details, and passport issue and expiry dates.”
Read the official pageNational Identity Card
If it appliesOnly 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.
How to get it
Nothing to book and no fee if you already hold one: an Aadhaar card or Voter ID is what an Indian applicant uploads here, scanned into ImmiAccount with the rest. It is optional, so do not delay lodging to obtain one you do not have.
“a national identity card, if you have one”
Read the official page
Academic
Confirmation of Enrolment (CoE)
RequiredA 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.
How to get it
Issued by your CRICOS-registered provider, not by Home Affairs, and there is no government fee for it. The provider releases it once you accept the offer and pay the initial tuition deposit plus OSHC, so budget for those before you can lodge at all. For a package of courses you must enter every CoE code in the application form, or the visa may cover only the CoE you gave. Gaps between packaged courses must be under two calendar months, except across the standard academic year break.
“You must provide a Confirmation of Enrolment (CoE) for all intended courses when you apply.”
Read the official page
Language
English Language Test Score
RequiredFor 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.
How to get it
Book IELTS through IDP or British Council India, PTE through Pearson, TOEFL through ETS; each sets its own fee, so check at booking. The result must have been taken within the 2 years before you apply. Two traps: online and at-home tests are not accepted, including IELTS Online, TOEFL iBT Home Edition, LANGUAGECERT Academic Online, OET@Home, CELPIP Online and at-home MET Digital, so book a secure test centre. And from 21 January 2026 you must select 'Taking TOEFL for Australia' when you register, or the result will not count. Allow a few weeks between sitting and lodging: scores are not instant and a retake costs another full fee and another wait.
“The visa applicant achieved the required minimum English language test score specified in Column 2 of an item in the table in Schedule 1.”
Read the official page
Financial
Evidence of Financial Capacity
RequiredYou 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.
How to get it
Upload to ImmiAccount with the application. You must cover 12 months: AUD29,710 living costs for yourself, AUD10,394 for a partner and AUD4,449 per child, plus the first 12 months of course fees less anything already paid, plus AUD2,000 travel costs for an applicant from India, plus at least AUD13,502 a year for each school-age child. Bank statements, an education loan sanction letter, or a deposit held in your or a sponsor's name all work. You must also prove you can actually reach the money: if someone else is funding you, give evidence of your relationship, their identity documents, and any support they have given a student before. Explain where lump sums came from with transaction history or salary records, since a bare balance certificate is weak. Home Affairs can ask for this during processing even when the checklist did not ask upfront.
“12-month living costs are for: students - AUD29,710”
Read the official pageStudent Visa Application Charge
RequiredThe 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.
How to get it
From AUD2,500 for the main applicant, paid by card in ImmiAccount at lodgement, with a separate charge for every family member included. Budget on top for health checks, police certificates and biometrics, which Home Affairs lists as extra and which the Visa Pricing Estimator does not include. Home Affairs publishes no fixed processing time: it points to its processing-time guide, which reports recently decided cases rather than a promise.
“The visa costs from AUD2,500.00 for the main applicant (concessions apply in limited circumstances).”
Read the official page
Visa
Genuine Student Requirement Responses
RequiredWritten 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.
How to get it
Answered inside ImmiAccount at the time you apply, with a 150 word limit per question and no fee. Attach supporting evidence: your CV, employment letters, and documents showing ties to India. Cover why this course, why Australia rather than studying at home, how it follows from what you have already studied or done, and what you intend to do afterwards. Write it before you start the form; 150 words per answer is tighter than it sounds.
“Each question has a 150 word limit addressing the genuine student criteria.”
Read the official pageBiometrics
If it appliesFingerprints and a photograph. Not every applicant is asked, and you are usually told straight after submitting whether you need to provide them.
How to get it
Only if asked, and you are usually told immediately after submitting. You then get a letter and a request in ImmiAccount, and Home Affairs gives you 14 days to provide them, so book as soon as it arrives. Collection in India is at a VFS Global Australian Visa Application Centre, which charges its own service fee on top of the visa charge. Do not book before the request exists.
“We might ask for biometrics. Most applicants will be advised immediately after submitting an application if you need to provide biometrics.”
Read the official page
Health
Overseas Student Health Cover (OSHC)
RequiredHealth 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.
How to get it
Buy through your university or direct from an approved provider (Allianz Care, Bupa, Medibank, nib, ahm), who each set their own premium, so compare rather than defaulting to whichever your university bundles. It must run for the entire duration of your stay, not just the first year, and the policy start date and provider go into the application, so arrange it before you lodge.
“Health insurance must be Overseas Student Health Cover (OSHC) covering everyone included in your application.”
Read the official pageHealth Examination by a Panel Physician
RequiredA 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.
How to get it
Home Affairs issues a HAP ID along with your list of examinations, and you cannot book without it. You can also obtain one before lodging through the My Health Declarations service, which lets you complete the checks upfront and shorten processing. Book at an approved panel clinic in India; the physician uploads results through eMedical. Tell the department through ImmiAccount if you cannot attend within the requested timeframe.
“You must be examined by one of the Department’s approved panel physicians or clinics.”
Read the official page
Other
Police Clearance Certificate
If it appliesRequested 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.
How to get it
For India, apply through the Passport Seva portal, then attend a Passport Seva Kendra appointment. Fee ₹500. Allow for police verification, which can add weeks if your address has changed. Do not order one before Home Affairs asks, since certificates age out.
“We may ask you to provide a police certificate (also called a penal clearance certificate) from every country you lived in.”
Read the official page
3 of these are conditional: needed only if the situation described applies to you. Read each one rather than assuming, since the conditions are where applications get delayed.
This list is the same for everyone
Your marks, your budget and your subject are not. Run a free eligibility check to see where you actually qualify across 13 countries and the real programs open to you in each, then track your own progress through this checklist.
Bramica takes no commission from any university, recruiter or agency. This is information, not immigration advice. Requirements change; confirm anything you are about to act on at the official source linked against it.