Australia student visa financial requirement

At a glance

The requirement, as published

As published at immi.homeaffairs.gov.au (Student visa 500 — Gather your documents), you must show enough money for travel + 12 months of course fees + 12 months of living costs (pro rata for stays under 12 months). Published 12-month living costs: students AUD29,710; a partner coming with you AUD10,394; a child coming with you AUD4,449. Schooling costs of at least AUD13,502 per year apply for each school-age child. Travel costs guide: AUD2,000 if applying from anywhere outside Australia other than Africa. Alternative "annual income" option: evidence that your parents or partner had a personal annual income of at least AUD87,856 in the 12 months before you apply (AUD102,500 if family members come with you), proved by official government documents such as a tax assessment less than 12 months old — bank statements and employer letters are not accepted for this option. You must also prove genuine access to the funds and explain how they were accumulated; Home Affairs states that "providing a bank balance certificate across a single day does not show us how you increased your funds."

The form of the money matters as much as the amount

Applicants concentrate on reaching the figure and are refused on how the money is held. Across every major student visa route the same four questions decide it.

• Whose account is it in? Routes differ on whether a parent's account is acceptable and what proof of relationship is needed.
• How long has it been there? Many routes require the funds to have been held for a continuous period, and a deposit made last week usually fails.
• What kind of account? Some routes exclude accounts you cannot access immediately.
• Can you evidence the source? A large recent credit without an explanation invites a refusal even when the balance is correct.

Education loans as proof of funds

A sanctioned education loan is accepted as evidence of funds by several routes, which is why the loan timeline and the visa timeline are the same timeline. A sanction letter is usually needed, not an in-principle approval.

1. Confirm your route accepts a loan sanction letter, and from which kind of lender.
2. Allow for the loan taking longer than the lender indicates — collateral valuation is the usual delay.
3. Keep the sanction letter, the disbursement schedule and the lender's letterhead details together.

Our lender pages at /education-loan carry each lender's processing indication and how recently we read it. Work backwards from the visa date, not from the course start.