How to apply for a Australia student visa

At a glance

The process

Get a CRICOS-registered offer and your electronic Confirmation of Enrolment (CoE). Apply to a provider listed on the Commonwealth Register of Institutions and Courses for Overseas Students (CRICOS), accept the offer and pay the deposit so the provider issues an eCoE. Home Affairs requires a valid CoE for every intended course, valid both when you lodge and when they decide — a cancelled or completed CoE is no longer valid.

Arrange Overseas Student Health Cover (OSHC) for the whole visa period. You must include proof of paid, adequate OSHC covering everyone in the application; the Department states plainly that if you don't provide your OSHC in the application form, they will refuse your visa application. Record the insurer name, policy start/end dates and (if you or your agent arranged it) the policy number.

Meet the English language requirement with an accepted test. For tests taken on or after 7 August 2025 the published minimum overall scores include IELTS Academic or General Training 6.0, PTE Academic 47, TOEFL iBT 67 and OET 1210 — reduced to 5.5 / 39 / 51 / 1090 with at least 10 weeks of packaged ELICOS (or an eligible Foundation/Pathway program) and 5.0 / 31 / 37 / 1020 with at least 20 weeks of ELICOS. From 21 January 2026 TOEFL candidates must select 'Taking TOEFL for Australia' at registration.

Build your Genuine Student (GS) evidence and financial-capacity file. Since 23 March 2024 the GS requirement replaced GTE: you answer set questions inside the online form (150-word limit per response, in English) about your ties to family/community/employment, why this course and this provider, and how the course benefits you — Home Affairs prefers answers in the form, not a separate statement, and gives more weight to claims backed by evidence. Alongside it, assemble funds evidence showing the source and history of the money, or the parent/partner income-tax route.

Run the Department's Document Checklist Tool for your passport and provider. Enter 'India' as country of passport plus your education provider in the Document Checklist Tool to get the exact evidence list that applies to you — the required evidence varies by provider. Re-check it just before you submit, as the tool is routinely updated on 31 March and 30 September.

Lodge online in ImmiAccount and pay the visa application charge. There is no paper or in-person lodgement — you create/log in to ImmiAccount, attach your documents (maximum 60) and pay the charge for you and any family members, or the application is not valid. Home Affairs asks for a 'decision-ready' application and warns that applications lodged without relevant documentation may be refused or delayed.

Complete biometrics/health requests, then check your grant conditions in VEVO. After lodging, monitor ImmiAccount for requests: biometrics must be arranged within 14 days if asked, and health examinations are booked using the HAP ID and medical referral letter in ImmiAccount. The decision comes in writing with your visa grant number, expiry date and conditions; keep a copy in Australia and verify your work/study conditions through VEVO.

Where the dependencies bite

• The offer comes before almost everything. Most routes cannot begin without an unconditional place.
• Financial evidence has a holding period, which starts before the application and cannot be compressed.
• A loan sanction letter, where you are using one, sits between the offer and the application.
• Biometrics and medicals are appointment-based, and appointment availability is the hidden constraint in peak season.

Before you submit

1. Read your own application back as an officer would, looking for anything unexplained.
2. Check every date and figure against the supporting document it comes from.
3. Confirm the fee and the route are the current ones on the official source below.
4. Keep a complete copy of everything you submitted, in the order you submitted it.

A refusal is far more expensive than a delay: it must be disclosed on future applications to several countries, and it is harder to explain than a late submission. If something is not ready, the cost of waiting a week is usually lower than it feels.