Applying for a student visa
It is your responsibility to ensure you obtain and maintain a valid passport and student visa to enter Australia for study purposes.
If La Trobe University makes you a full-time study offer and you accept it, you will be issued with a Confirmation of Enrolment (COE) form which you can then use to apply for a student visa at your nearest Australian diplomatic mission (online or at a departmental office). To apply for a student visa, applicants must first satisfy basic eligibility requirements.
It is important to apply for your visa within a reasonable time frame (preferably at least four weeks before the start date of your course). Processing offices need to undertake a number of standard checks, including health assessments, which can sometimes take longer than expected.
A student visa application will be assessed against one of the following:
- Streamlined Visa Processing (SVP) requirements, if you have an CoE for an eligible course. Eligible courses include Bachelor, Master and Doctoral degrees only. If you are eligible for SVP, then you will be assessed as if you are an Assessment Level 1 (AL1) applicant (low migration risk), regardless of your country of origin. You must not apply for a student visa until the University issues you with a CoE.
- One of five Assessment Levels for each visa subclass if you have a CoE for a course of study not eligible for SVP. This includes short courses, Graduate Diplomas, Graduate Certificates, Diplomas and Advanced Diplomas, non-award courses and pathway programs (such as ELICOS, Foundation and Diplomas) not packaged with an eligible university course.To be granted a student visa, you must meet key requirements including:
- a genuine temporary entrant requirement
- financial capacity to undertake studies
- English language proficiency
- likely compliance with the conditions of your student visa and other relevant circumstances.
Package courses
If you have received an offer for both a pathway course (e.g. Foundation, English or bridging course) followed by a main course (e.g. a Bachelor degree), you can be granted a student visa to cover the total duration of the proposed package, only if you provide a CoE for both programs. You will be assessed under the visa subclass for the principal course and at the highest Assessment Level of the course in your nominated package. If you are eligible for Streamlined Visa Processing, you will be considered at Assessment Level 1 for the package.
Applying for a further student visa in Australia
If you are already studying in Australia and would like to enrol in a new course after the completion of your studies, you should apply for a new student visa before your current visa expires. The exception is if your student visa contains the 8534 or 8535 (‘No Further Stay’) condition, you will not be able to renew your student visa in Australia unless there are exceptional circumstances.
If you are returning home temporarily and would like to renew your visa at an Australian diplomatic post in your home country, you must indicate this on your Offer Acceptance form to ensure your CoE is issued to the correct office.
Visa applications for family members
Some student visa holders are permitted to bring their immediate family members to Australia as dependants, either by including them in the initial student visa application or by applying for their dependants to join them after the commencement of the course in Australia. Applicants must declare all immediate family members on their application, even if they do not plan to travel with their family members to Australia. If the applicant does not do this, their family members will not be eligible to join them in Australia.
Student visa conditions
The Department of Immigration and Citizenship (DIAC) issues student visas with a number of conditions, including, but not limited to, the following conditions with which all students must comply:
| Condition |
Description |
|---|---|
| 8105 |
You cannot work more than 40 hours a fortnight* when your course is in session (other than work which has been registered as a part of the course). Note: No work limits apply during recognised periods of vacation offered by your education provider. You cannot undertake work until you have commenced your course in Australia. If you have a subclass 574 visa, you have no work limits applying once you have commenced your Masters by research or Doctorate course in Australia. |
| 8202 |
You must remain enrolled in a registered course, satisfy academic requirements, make satisfactory academic progress, and complete your course within the time stated on your CoE. |
| 8501 |
You must maintain adequate arrangements for health insurance during your stay in Australia. Note: under policy, this means that you must maintain Overseas Student Health Cover (OSHC). |
| 8532 |
If you have not reached 18 years of age, you must maintain adequate arrangements for your accommodation, support and general welfare for the duration of your stay in Australia. To maintain adequate arrangements for welfare you must stay in Australia with:
|
| 8533 |
You must notify your education provider of your residential address in Australia within seven days of arriving in Australia. You must notify your education provider of any change in your residential address within seven days of the change. You must notify your education provider of a change of education provider within seven days of receiving your CoE or evidence of enrolment. |
| 8516 |
You must continue to satisfy the requirements for the granting of your student visa. This means, for example, that your main course of study must continue to be a course in the education sector that matches your student visa, and that you must continue to have sufficient financial capacity to support your study and stay in Australia. |
*A fortnight means any period of 14 days commencing on a Monday and ending at the end of the second following Sunday.
For a complete list of student visa conditions, please visit the DIAC website.
The University is obliged to notify DIAC if you breach any visa condition, change your course, defer prior to commencement, temporarily suspend, take an official Leave of Absence (intermit or suspend), discontinue your studies or make any changes affecting the duration of your study.
For information about visa requirements for students with families, visit our pre-departure section.
Note: the University is unable to provide advice and can only provide information concerning immigration matters.
For up-to-date information on student visa regulations, full instructions on how to apply for a student visa, and a list of Australian Diplomatic Missions, or for general information about immigration matters, visit DIAC’s website.
Assistance with student visa applications is also available from La Trobe University’s representatives, visit other ways to apply.
Permission to work
International students can work to a maximum of 40 hours per fortnight, during semester (including the entire advertised exam periods), or unlimited hours during official University vacations, once granted Permission to Work by the Department of Immigration and Citizenship (DIAC). All student visas granted from April 2008 include work rights (condition 8105).
If your visa was issued before 26 April 2008 and you have not yet applied for Permission to Work, visit the DIAC website to find out how to apply.
In some university courses the demands are heavy and students have little free time for employment. Part-time work and vacation work is not always available and students should not depend on this form of income to cover living expenses or tuition fees.
For further information regarding work rights and other visa requirements, visit the DIAC website.
Student assistance schemes
In 2005, the Australian Government introduced changes to student assistance schemes. For more information, visit our Fees page.
Renewing your student visa
If you need to renew your student visa before it expires, you can get information on how to renew your student visa from La Trobe International or visit our information page.
Students can apply for your visa renewal at a DIAC office in Australia. It is important to check with DIAC to determine if this is possible for the Assessment Level of your country of citizenship and the visa subclass required.
Note: only general visa information can be provided by LTI.
La Trobe University cannot advise students or prospective students on migrations related issues such as applying for Permanent Residency and appealing to the Migration Review Tribunal.
For detailed immigration advice, visit the DIAC website, phone the DIAC inquiry line on 131 881 (call from anywhere in Australia for the cost of a local call) or contact a Registered Migration Agent.
