Australia

Post-study work permit

After you finish a CRICOS course in Australia, the usual work visa is the Temporary Graduate visa (subclass 485), Post-Higher Education Work stream. For an Indian passport, the stay depends on the qualification.

• You can work full-time, for any employer, for the length of that visa.
• The course has to be on CRICOS, and you apply after you complete it. Most applicants need to be under 35. Masters by research and PhD applicants can apply up to age 50.
• British National (Overseas) passport holders follow a different stay. We use the Indian arrangement above for files from Pathankot.

Visa processing time

The student visa is subclass 500, lodged online. There is usually no visa interview. Home Affairs starts offshore files by priority. These windows are when a case officer begins the file, not the day the visa is granted.

A complete file moves faster. Biometrics, a health exam, or a request for more papers can push the grant later. Priority follows the education provider on your main Confirmation of Enrolment, for applications lodged from 14 November 2025.

Documents required

ImmiAccount shows the exact list for your file. These are the papers a typical student visa needs before lodgement.

• Passport

  Bio page. Add a birth certificate or national ID if you have one.

• Confirmation of Enrolment

  A CoE for every course in the package, before you lodge.

• OSHC

  Overseas Student Health Cover from a week before class until the end of your stay.

• English test

  IELTS, PTE, or TOEFL, unless you fall under an exemption.

• Academics

  Transcripts and certificates for Class 12, diploma, or degree.

• Funds

  Travel, 12 months of living costs, tuition, and school fees for any child on the file.

• Genuine Student evidence

  Employment proof, a CV, and papers that match the answers in the form.

• Health and biometrics

  Only if Home Affairs asks. Book them as soon as the request arrives.

How the visa application works

The Genuine Student (GS) requirement replaced the old GTE test for applications lodged from 23 March 2024. You answer inside the online form, in English, up to 150 words each.

1. 01Offer, then CoEThe college or university issues the Confirmation of Enrolment after you accept and meet their conditions.
2. 02Build the filePassport, academics, English score, funds, and OSHC sit in one folder before anyone opens ImmiAccount.
3. 03Lodge subclass 500Create an ImmiAccount, complete the form, attach the documents, and pay the visa charge.
4. 04Answer the GS questionsWrite the four answers in the form. Attach the papers that support them. A loose essay on its own is not enough.
5. 05Biometrics and healthComplete these if Home Affairs requests them. A decision can be made while they are still pending, so book early.
6. 06GrantThere is usually no interview. You travel once the grant notice and the course start date line up.