Student Visa (Subclass 500)

The student visa (subclass 500) lets you study full time in Australia for the length of your course, with limited work rights alongside it. Unlike the Working Holiday visa, there is no age limit and no Ireland-specific arrangement — Irish citizens apply on the same terms as other international students.

What you need before you can apply

The application is built on your enrolment, so the order matters. You cannot lodge a student visa application until you have a Confirmation of Enrolment (CoE) from an Australian provider registered on CRICOS, the register of courses approved for international students.

That means the sequence is: choose a course and provider, apply and be accepted, pay whatever deposit the provider requires, receive your CoE, then lodge the visa application.

The Genuine Student requirement

Your application has to show that you genuinely intend to study. Case officers weigh your course choice against your background — previous study, work history, and whether the course makes sense as a next step for you.

This is where thin applications fail. A course that has no connection to your existing qualifications or career, with no explanation, invites the question of whether study is the real purpose. If your course represents a change of direction, say so and explain why rather than leaving the officer to guess.

Evidence of funds

You must show you can cover your first year of course fees, your living costs and your travel. The living cost benchmark is the figure most applicants work from:

That sits on top of your first year of tuition and your travel costs, so the real total for a single student on a typical course is well above the headline figure.

There is an alternative route: evidence that your parent, spouse or de facto partner has an annual income above a set threshold for the 12 months before you apply. Both options need genuine documentation — recently deposited lump sums with no explanation attract scrutiny.

Figures are set by the Department and reviewed periodically. Confirm the current amounts on the official student visa page before you lodge.

Health cover: the detail Irish students get wrong

Ireland is one of eleven countries with a reciprocal health care agreement with Australia, which gives Irish citizens access to Medicare for medically necessary treatment. It is a genuine benefit and it is why Irish Working Holiday travellers can enrol in Medicare.

It does not exempt you from Overseas Student Health Cover.

Only students from Norway, Sweden and Belgium are exempt from OSHC, because those three countries' arrangements specifically cover student visa holders. Ireland's does not. As an Irish student you need both: Medicare access under the agreement, and OSHC for the full duration of your visa.

Two practical consequences. The Department checks your OSHC policy period before granting the visa, so the cover has to be arranged and paid before you lodge or shortly after. And you must not enter Australia before the policy has started.

Budget for it as a real cost — multi-year cover for a degree is a significant amount, and family policies cost more again.

Work rights

You can work up to 48 hours per fortnight while your course is in session, and unlimited hours during scheduled course breaks.

The limit is defined per fortnight rather than per week, which catches people out in both directions. You can work 40 hours one week and 8 the next, but you cannot average 48 across a month. Breaching the condition puts your visa at risk, and it is your responsibility rather than your employer's.

Course breaks mean the provider's scheduled breaks, not any week you happen not to have classes.

Conditions you have to keep meeting

A student visa is conditional on remaining a student. You must maintain your enrolment, make satisfactory course progress, meet attendance requirements, keep your OSHC current, and keep your provider informed of your address.

If you want to change provider or course, there are rules about when that is permitted — particularly in your first six months. Withdrawing from your course without arranging an alternative is what turns a study plan into a visa problem.

Applying from Ireland

1. Choose a course with a CRICOS-registered provider and apply for a place.
2. Accept the offer and pay any required deposit to receive your Confirmation of Enrolment.
3. Arrange Overseas Student Health Cover covering your intended visa period.
4. Gather your funds evidence, academic transcripts and identity documents.
5. Create an ImmiAccount and lodge the subclass 500 application online.
6. Complete health examinations or provide police certificates if requested.

Processing times vary considerably by provider and course sector, and are generally slower than the Working Holiday visa. Apply as early as your CoE allows rather than close to your course start date.

After you graduate

The Temporary Graduate visa (subclass 485) allows eligible graduates to stay and work in Australia after completing a qualifying Australian qualification. It is a separate application with its own charge, and eligibility depends on your qualification, your age and the stream you apply under.

In practice, the most common route onwards is a graduate visa into employer sponsorship, and then employer-sponsored permanent residency after two years with that employer. An Australian qualification plus local experience makes finding a sponsor considerably easier than applying from Ireland.

A student visa is not a permanent residency pathway in itself. Australian study and Australian work experience can both contribute to a later points-tested application, so study can form part of a longer plan — but see our permanent residency guide for how those routes actually work rather than assuming study leads there automatically.

Student visa or Working Holiday visa?

If you are Irish, under 36 and your main goal is to spend a year working and travelling, the Working Holiday visa is cheaper, far simpler and carries no enrolment or OSHC obligations. The student visa makes sense when the qualification itself is the point.

Note that a student visa allows up to four months of study on a Working Holiday visa too, so short courses do not necessarily require a 500.

How we can help

We help Irish applicants check the financial evidence, prepare the student visa application and lodge it through ImmiAccount once your enrolment is confirmed. We do not place students with providers or act as an education agent.

You can apply directly yourself at any time through the Department of Home Affairs. Get in touch if you would like your application checked before it is lodged.