Check the broader offshore requirement before committing to a course
Home Affairs now requires most affected temporary visa holders to lodge Student 500 or Guardian 590 from outside Australia and also be outside Australia at grant. This goes beyond Visitor 600, ETA and eVisitor. Current Student visa holders have limited exemptions for another onshore Student application; a dependent Student holder seeking a primary Student visa must apply offshore. An invalid onshore application can affect visa status. An offshore Student application has no linked Bridging visa. Applications lodged before 2 October are assessed under the earlier rules.
Home Affairs: current onshore rules · Location at grant and application validity
A Visitor 600, ETA or eVisitor is on the onshore exclusion list
The current Student 500 eligibility page says someone in Australia must hold an eligible substantive visa to apply there. Its excluded list explicitly includes Visitor visa 600, Electronic Travel Authority 601 and eVisitor 651. A Confirmation of Enrolment, course deposit or invitation does not remove that location restriction. The rule is about the visa held when applying inside Australia, not whether your passport could otherwise qualify for a Student visa.
The expanded 2 October rule affects other temporary visas too, including some work and holiday and sponsored work visas. Read the live affected-visa list and your own conditions; this page cannot decide whether an onshore application is valid for you. Current Student holders and people on bridging visas need their own current-rule checks.
Official Student 500 onshore eligibility list · Check your current visa and conditions in VEVO
A short course is different from a Student visa route
Home Affairs says Visitor 600 holders may study or train for up to three months, but cannot work. Its ETA and eVisitor pages also allow limited short study or training and tell people whose main purpose is study to check the Student visa instead. A visitor grant does not by itself permit a longer course, employment or a stay beyond the period and conditions written in that grant.
Read the conditions and permitted stay on your actual grant. If you need a full course, check the course and provider on CRICOS, obtain the Confirmation of Enrolment required for your application, and use the Student 500 document checklist tool for your passport and provider. Overseas Student Health Cover, Genuine Student answers and financial or English evidence may also be required.
Visitor 600 permitted activities · ETA study and work conditions · eVisitor study and work conditions · CRICOS course and provider register
Check status before planning an offshore application
- Identify your current visa. Read the grant notice and VEVO for its subclass, last permitted stay date, work and study conditions, and any No Further Stay condition.
- Check the Student 500 location rule. If your current visa is 600, 601 or 651, the onshore Student application route is excluded. Home Affairs says Student 500 can be applied for outside Australia; follow its current application instructions for your own circumstances.
- Plan the timing honestly. An offshore application does not extend your current visitor stay, grant work or study rights, or provide a linked Bridging visa. If the new rule applies, you must also be outside Australia at Student visa grant. Check travel and re-entry rules for any visa you hold, allow for processing uncertainty and do not begin an activity your current visa forbids.
- Prepare the actual Student evidence. Match the CoE, OSHC, document tool and Genuine Student answers to the intended course. Read the exact ImmiAccount prompts on the day you apply.
If your stay is near expiry, a No Further Stay condition appears, or you have a bridging visa or past refusal, seek case-specific help from a registered migration agent or Australian legal practitioner. Do not rely on a course salesperson's assurance that you can “convert” a Visitor visa in Australia.
Student 500 application and location rules · Complete Student 500 preparation guide → · Check No Further Stay 8503 → · Who may provide immigration assistance
Record the visa and course facts before applying
Use a short editable worksheet for your current visa, stay date, course and official Student 500 requirements. Keep the completed file on your own device; an email is not required.