⚠️ Sensitive information — always check the official source
Visa requirements, quotas, amounts and dates change often. Every fact in this guide was checked against the official source on 2 October 2026 and we re-check it periodically, but before starting any procedure confirm the details on the official links (embassy, consulate or ministry) shown on this page. viajacongus.com does not process visas and does not replace official information.
💵 How much it costs
Visa fee: AUD 2.500 for VET and higher education, AUD 2.050 if the only course is English (standalone ELICOS). It is NOT refunded if you are refused and it CANNOT be paid in instalments. It has been rising sharply: 1.600 in July 2024, 2.000 in July 2025, 2.500 in July 2026. Paid by card or PayPal; PayPal charges a 1,01 % surcharge against 1,40 % for cards.
⏳ How long it takes
It depends on the sector, and the difference is huge. Official data for applications decided from outside Australia, October-December 2025 quarter: English (ELICOS) 18 days for half and 52 days for nine out of ten; higher education 19 and 71; postgraduate research 12 and 60; and VET, the Certificate III and IV courses, 3 MONTHS for half and 7 MONTHS for nine out of ten. The cheapest course is also the slowest.
📅 How long it's valid
The visa lasts as long as your course plus a margin. You can work 48 hours per FORTNIGHT while the course is in session —it is a fortnightly cap, so it can be spread unevenly— and unlimited hours during the academic calendar holidays. Nothing before the course starts. No cap for doctorates and research master's degrees.
👤 Who needs it?
For any nationality: subclass 500 has no list of countries and no quota. It does have five requirements that must be met together —CoE, funds, OSHC insurance, English test and the four Genuine Student answers— and that is where people fall down. There is no formal age limit, but age weighs in the Genuine Student assessment: the less coherent the course is with your work history, the harder it gets. Since 2 October 2026 there is one more requirement that isn't a document: where you are. If you hold a 417, a 462, a 485 or a tourist visa, you can't lodge it while in Australia: you have to be outside when you apply and also on the day it is granted.
🧭 The step by step
1
First, check where you have to apply from
Since 2 October 2026, most temporary visa holders have to be outside Australia when they lodge the application and also when it is granted. The visas whose holder —primary or secondary— cannot apply inside the country are the 400, the 403 (Domestic Worker, Diplomatic/Consular), the 407, the 408, the 417 Working Holiday, the 457, the 462 Work and Holiday, the 482, the 485 graduate visa, the 600, the 601 (ETA), the 602, the 651 (eVisitor), the 771, the 988 and the 995, in all their streams. For the 995 the rule covers only the primary holder: a family member of a 995 holder can apply inside Australia. Verbatim: «There are no exemptions to this rule.» If you already hold a student visa as the primary holder, there are six exceptions for applying for another from inside: needing up to 12 more months to finish your main course with the same provider; being sponsored by DFAT or Defence; going on to a doctorate; going on to primary or secondary studies; having finished your main course and applying in Australia to do another; or being unable to continue your course because your provider went into default.
Watch out: «If you do not meet an exemption, you should not apply in Australia.» Lodging from inside when you have to do it from outside doesn't end in a refusal: the application is invalid, and that «could affect your visa status and you may not be eligible to apply for a further visa if your visa has already expired». And dependants are left out too: a secondary or dependent student visa holder cannot apply as the primary applicant while in Australia.
2
Look up the course in the CRICOS register, not on Google
CRICOS is the official register of courses and institutions authorised to take international students. If the course isn't on CRICOS, it doesn't qualify you for a visa, no matter what the institute tells you. Check the provider's STATUS too: there are institutes whose registration has been withdrawn that still show up in the lists of cheap courses circulating online.
Watch out: The fee listed on CRICOS isn't always what the institute charges. We verified one case where the register said AUD 1.950 a year and the college's own prospectus said AUD 9.000: a factor of 4,6. The right price is the one on the institute's website, not the one in the register.
3
Ask the institute in writing for its priority level and its approval rate
Since 14 November 2025, Ministerial Direction 115 has been in force, sorting applications into three levels: Priority 1 starts being processed in 1 to 4 weeks, Priority 2 in 5 to 8 and Priority 3 in 9 to 12. TAFE students are in Priority 1. The official priority list only covers universities and TAFEs: for private institutes, Home Affairs says the allocation statuses are not publicly available. Ask anyway and keep the answer.
Watch out: If the institute dodges the question or won't answer in writing, that's a warning sign.
4
Request a Letter of Offer from two or three institutes
It's free and commits you to nothing. The letter shows the real price, the exact deposit you have to pay and the conditions. It's the only way to compare properly, because website prices often leave out enrolment and materials fees.
Watch out: Always compare per week, not by the total. A 22-week course at 5.400 and a 52-week one at 9.600 look close and are actually 245 against 185 per week.
5
Sit the English test, if it applies to you
There are two separate requirements and you have to meet both: the VISA's (IELTS 6.0, or 5.5 if you add 10 weeks of English course, or 5.0 if you add 20) and the INSTITUTE's, which usually asks for more. If the only course in your application is an English course, the visa test doesn't apply.
Watch out: Online tests taken from home are NOT accepted: not IELTS Online, not TOEFL Home Edition, not LANGUAGECERT Online. It has to be in person at a test centre.
6
Accept the offer and pay the deposit
Ask whether there is an instalment plan before paying: several institutes have one and don't advertise it. There are cases with a down payment and three or four instalments.
Watch out: Here is a calculation almost nobody does, and we explain it below: every dollar you DON'T pay upfront is one more dollar you later have to show in the bank.
7
The institute issues the CoE
The Confirmation of Enrolment is the document proving you are enrolled, and it is only issued once you pay the deposit: enrolling isn't enough. It has to be valid when you lodge the application AND when Home Affairs decides it, which with current processing times can be months later.
8
Take out OSHC health insurance
It is compulsory and has to cover your whole stay, not just the course. It starts the day you arrive in Australia, not the day the course starts. You can buy it outside the institute: there are six approved insurers and it pays to compare. Twelve months cost around AUD 719 with Medibank Essentials and AUD 726 with nib Core.
Watch out: If your course lasts 26 weeks, the insurance isn't 6 months: cover runs for the whole stay, so you end up paying closer to 7 or 8 months.
9
Create your ImmiAccount and run your case through the Document Checklist Tool
ImmiAccount is where everything is lodged and where you then track the status. The Document Checklist Tool builds the list of documents for your specific case. You can attach up to 60 files.
Watch out: The Document Checklist Tool is updated every 31 March and every 30 September. Check it again around those dates.
10
Answer the four Genuine Student questions and pay
They are four questions of up to 150 words each, in English, and they are the part that generates the most refusals. Home Affairs PREFERS them answered within the form rather than in a separate attachment. You have them word for word further down this page.
Watch out: The rule that separates approved from refused: every claim needs a document to back it up. A statement with no paper behind it carries little weight.
11
Biometrics and medical examination, if requested
Argentina is on the list of countries with a low risk of tuberculosis, so in general no medical examination is requested. But there are exceptions that land right on the most popular cheap courses: training in nursing, or working or doing placements in a nursery or childcare centre, trigger it anyway. That affects the Certificate III in Individual Support and the Certificate III in Early Childhood.
Watch out: In Argentina there are four authorised doctors: Dr. Jorge Lantos and Dr. Raúl M. Kelly in CABA, Instituto Oulton in Córdoba and Arbesu Hematología in Mendoza. None of them publishes the price.
12
Wait, and don't commit to anything in the meantime
Don't buy flights or sign a lease until the visa is granted. With current VET sector processing times —3 months for half of cases, 7 months for one in ten— that can be a long time.
📊 The figure that shapes the whole decision
Home Affairs publishes the approval rate by sector. These are the figures for applications decided from outside Australia in the October-December 2025 quarter, report BR0097. The «real cost» column is the fee divided by the probability of approval: since the fee isn't refunded if you are refused, it's what the process ends up costing on average.
| Sector | Approved | Rate | Real cost | Wait (half / 9 in 10) |
|---|
| VET (Certificate III and IV) | 41,8 % | AUD 2.500 | AUD 5.981 | 3 months / 7 months |
| ELICOS (English) | 78,7 % | AUD 2.050 | AUD 2.605 | 18 days / 52 days |
| Higher education | 85,8 % | AUD 2.500 | AUD 2.914 | 19 days / 71 days |
| Postgraduate research | 96,4 % | AUD 2.500 | AUD 2.593 | 12 days / 60 days |
The overall average from overseas is 83,8 %. The VET series is falling: 60,2 → 57,4 → 53,7 → 59,4 → 41,8. Put bluntly: of every 100 people who apply for a VET course from overseas, 58 lose AUD 2.500.
One nuance that has to be said: that 41,8 % is for the VET sector as a whole, dominated by private institutes. A public TAFE is VET too, and it's reasonable to assume it does better. But Home Affairs doesn't publish the rate by institution, so we can't state it.
💲 The courses, from cheapest to most expensive
Sorted by cost PER WEEK, which is the only honest way to compare them: a 22-week course and a 52-week one can't be compared by the total. We only publish prices confirmed on the institute's own website. The fee listed in the CRICOS register is often not what they charge, so we don't use it.
Trade courses (VET) — Certificate and Diploma
They are the most sought after because of the price. Keep the approval rate above in mind before deciding: the sector's approval rate from overseas is 41,8 %.
Lexis Training
Certificate IV in Entrepreneurship and New Business (104022G)
City: Brisbane, Perth, Manly, Byron Bay and Maroochydore
Weeks: 52 to 54
Total: AUD 5.300 + 250 administration + 300 materials
CRICOS: 03459G
Payments: AUD 1.500 deposit and 3 instalments of 1.450
Does not publish an international admissions email; handles enquiries through its form.
Pentagon College
Diploma of Leadership and Management (109176D)
City: Parramatta, Sydney
Weeks: 78
Total: AUD 9.250
Payments: Not confirmed
Contact not verified in this round.
Australian College of Applied Business (ACAB)
Certificate III in Business (103328H)
City: Parramatta, Sydney
Weeks: 52
Total: AUD 6.400
CRICOS: 03722G
Payments: AUD 1.900 upfront and 4 instalments
Heads up: their own website publishes the wrong CRICOS code for the Certificate IV. The correct one is 106627F.
Australian College of Applied Business (ACAB)
Certificate IV in Business (106627F)
City: Parramatta, Sydney
Weeks: 52
Total: AUD 6.500 to 7.000
CRICOS: 03722G
Payments: AUD 2.000 upfront
TasTAFE (public)
Various VET courses
City: Hobart and Launceston
Weeks: depends on the course
Total: depends on the course
It is a public TAFE: its students fall under Priority 1 of Ministerial Direction 115.
TAFE NSW (public)
Various VET courses
City: Sydney and regional campuses
Weeks: depends on the course
Total: depends on the course
Regional campuses cost the same as Sydney. We could not confirm the contact: they handle enquiries through a form.
TAFE Queensland (public)
Certificate III in Early Childhood Education (119596A)
City: Robina, Gold Coast
Weeks: 52
Total: AUD 9.600
CRICOS: 03020E
Payments: No instalment plan
This course may trigger the medical examination because of the placement in a childcare centre.
Bendigo Kangan Institute (public)
Various VET courses
City: Bendigo and Melbourne
Weeks: depends on the course
Total: depends on the course
TAFE Queensland (public)
Certificate III in Fitness (109306K)
City: Brisbane, South Bank
Weeks: 22
Total: AUD 5.400
CRICOS: 03020E
Payments: No instalment plan
It looks cheap by the total, but per week it is among the most expensive in this table.
SuniTAFE (public)
Various VET courses
City: Mildura
Weeks: depends on the course
Total: depends on the course
Canberra Institute of Technology (public)
Various VET courses
City: Bruce, Canberra
Weeks: depends on the course
Total: depends on the course
CQUniversity TAFE (public)
Various VET courses
City: Rockhampton and Melbourne
Weeks: depends on the course
Total: depends on the course
English courses (ELICOS)
78,7 % are approved from overseas and the visa fee is lower: AUD 2.050 instead of 2.500. If the only course in your application is English, you also do not need to sit an English test.
ELSIS
General English, morning shift
City: Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and Adelaide
Weeks: your choice
CRICOS: 02644C
Payments: Enrolment fee AUD 200 · materials AUD 80 to 320 depending on duration
AUD 240 is the rate their own calculator assigns to Latin America. It is the confirmed national floor. They do not publish an email: enquiries go through a form.
Excel College Australia
General English (111413M)
City: Sydney (Bankstown and Haymarket) and Toowoomba
Weeks: 10 per level
CRICOS: 03862G
Payments: Enrolment fee AUD 0 · materials AUD 0
No enrolment fee or materials: overall it can come out cheaper than ELSIS. Toowoomba counts as regional.
Charlton Brown
General English
City: Brisbane, Gold Coast and Hobart
Weeks: your choice
CRICOS: 0102132
Payments: Enrolment fee AUD 250 · materials not published
No email published on the page we checked.
Tasmanian College of English
General English
City: Hobart
Weeks: your choice
CRICOS: 01758A
Payments: Enrolment fee AUD 250 · materials AUD 13 per week (minimum 72)
Hobart counts as a regional area.
Impact English College
General English
City: Melbourne and Brisbane
Weeks: your choice
CRICOS: 02995B
Payments: Enrolment fee AUD 200 · materials AUD 15 per week (minimum 60)
🚫 Institutes we do NOT recommend, and why
They show up in lists of cheap courses that circulate online. These are concrete risks, not opinions.
St Peters International College (Southport, Gold Coast)
Its registration has been listed as WITHDRAWN since 5 August 2026. Anyone who pays them today is buying a CoE that does not support a visa. It is the most serious case on the list and it still appears in cheap-course listings.
St Peter Institute (Melbourne)
Its registration expires on 9 November 2026 and the renewal is listed as «Under consideration». If the course you want starts after that date, ask in writing how the renewal turned out before paying.
GOTAFE
The code 03654D does not appear in the CRICOS register. Without CRICOS registration it cannot issue a valid CoE for a visa.
TAFE SA — Diploma of Hospitality Management
It requires having first completed the Certificate III and IV in Hospitality. Someone starting from scratch cannot enrol, even though the course appears in the listings.
Highgate International College (Perth)
Its website says AUD 3.250 and the CRICOS register declares AUD 5.500. We could not resolve the contradiction, so we do not publish a price. Ask for the Letter of Offer before deciding.
🧯 Five things you will read out there that are not true
❌ «English courses from AUD 149 a week»
Two numbers that are not the same thing need to be kept apart. The CRICOS register does list declared fees far below that: the lowest in our table is AUD 51 per week. But the declared fee is not what the institute charges you, and the confirmed floor on an institute's official website is AUD 240 per week. The 149 to 220 promos that appear on course marketplaces for a Melbourne college are not on its site: its own fees page publishes AUD 400 per week. That is why the CRICOS number is useful for comparing and for finding candidates, not for budgeting: before deciding, ask for the Letter of Offer, which is where what you will actually pay appears.
❌ «Do it without an agency and save the commission»
The education agency does not charge the student: it earns a commission from the institute, and that commission is already built into the tuition price. Of eight Spanish-speaking agencies we checked on their own websites, six publish zero cost, two make it conditional and one charges. And no institute publishes a different price for those who apply directly: several application fee waivers are granted precisely for applying through an authorised agent. The honest argument for going it alone is not the saving, it is the conflict of interest: you do not choose the agency, the institute chooses the agency. If the cheap institute has no agreement with that agency, they will not handle it for you.
❌ «Study in a regional area and you get extra years of visa»
That bonus exists, but it is for higher education graduates, not for someone doing a Certificate III or IV. It is heavily promoted and it is the most misleading promise in circulation. If you are going to do a VET course, do not count on it.
❌ «You do not need to prove your English level»
The English test is a visa requirement: IELTS 6.0, or 5.5 plus 10 weeks of English course, or 5.0 plus 20. The only exception is if the only course in your application is an English course. Applying without a test because you think it is not needed costs you the AUD 2.500 fee, which is not refunded.
❌ «I will add my partner and children later, once I am settled»
That was how it worked until 1 October 2026. From the 2nd, verbatim: «Student visa applicants are no longer able to include family members (partner and/or dependent children) in their Student visa application unless an exemption applies», and it applies equally to anyone applying for another student visa. The exemptions Home Affairs publishes are narrow: a doctorate —a Master by Research does not count—, sponsorship by Defence or DFAT, a foreign government scholarship, being an eligible national of a Pacific country or an ASEAN member country, and «other exemptions» it does not detail. You may also be able to include them if they are already on your current student visa and you apply in Australia, if you need up to 12 more months to finish your main course, or if you have to apply for another visa because your provider went into default. What has no way back is the afterwards: «Current Student visa holders are no longer able to add family members after their Student visa has been granted. There are no exemptions to this rule.» Two fine details: the main applicant and all included family members have to be in the same place when the application is lodged, and if you include a family member who is not eligible, their application becomes invalid. Anything lodged before 2 October with family members included is still assessed under the old rules.
🏦 The money you have to show
Amounts from instrument LIN 19/198, in force since 10 May 2024, with no amendments in 2025 or 2026. They are for 12 months.
| Single applicant | AUD 29.710 |
| Partner | AUD 10.394 |
| Per child | AUD 4.449 |
| Schooling, per child | AUD 13.502 |
| Airfare from Argentina | AUD 2.000 |
If your course lasts less than 12 months, the amount goes down. The AUD 29.710 only applies if the stay is 12 months or more; if it is shorter, it is calculated pro rata by days. For 30 weeks it is around AUD 17.100. Almost nobody knows this and it completely changes whether you can apply or not.
The calculation nobody does. What you have to show is the 29.710 plus 12 months of tuition fees, MINUS what you have already paid with proof. Verbatim from Home Affairs: «Deduct any costs you have already paid — you must provide evidence you have paid them». In other words: every dollar you do not pay upfront is one more dollar you have to show in the bank. That is why «paying as little as possible upfront» is not always the best option: it depends on whether what you lack is liquidity or bank backing.
The financial mistake that causes the most refusals: submitting a single-day balance certificate. Verbatim: «Providing a bank balance certificate across a single day does not show us how you increased your funds». You need history.
The Argentine bottleneck: to prove your parents' or partner's income, «We won't accept bank statements or direct evidence from an employer». Only official government documents count, such as the tax return. For a monotributista (Argentina's simplified self-employed regime) that can be harder than raising the money.
The partner and child amounts only come into the calculation if you can include them. They remain in force in the instrument, but since 2 October 2026 family members cannot be included in the application unless an exemption applies to you. If none applies, what you have to show is the AUD 29.710 —or the pro rata amount, if your course is shorter—, the tuition fees and the airfare.
✍️ The four Genuine Student questions, verbatim
They are answered in English, up to 150 words each, and Home Affairs prefers you write them inside the form rather than in a separate attachment. There is a fifth conditional one if you have held a student visa before or if you apply from Australia on another visa; its wording is not published and appears in the form.
- «Give details of the applicant's current circumstances. This includes ties to family, community, employment and economic circumstances.»
- «Explain why the applicant wishes to study this course in Australia with this particular education provider. This must also explain their understanding of the requirements of the intended course and studying and living in Australia.»
- «Explain how completing the course will be of benefit to the applicant.»
- «Give details of any other relevant information the applicant would like to include.»
The rule that separates an approval from a refusal: Home Affairs gives more weight to statements backed by documents. Everything you claim needs a document that proves it.
💼 Working while you study
- 48 hours per fortnight while the course is in session. It is a fortnightly cap, not a weekly one: it can be split unevenly, for example 40 one week and 8 the next.
- Unlimited during the breaks in the academic calendar.
- Nothing before the course starts.
- No cap for doctorates and research master's degrees.
- National minimum wage: AUD 26,44 per hour, plus a 25 % loading if you are casual. In force since 1 July 2026. It is the floor for anyone without their own award; hospitality and retail usually pay more.
🔄 If you are already in Australia on the Work and Holiday: from 2 October you have to leave
Applying for the student visa without leaving Australia is no longer possible: that route closed on 2 October 2026. Home Affairs put the 417 and the 462 —and also the 485 graduate visa and the 600, 601 and 651 tourist visas— on the list of visas whose holder, primary or secondary, cannot apply for it while in Australia. Verbatim: «If you hold a visa as a primary or secondary holder on the list below you cannot apply for a student visa in Australia. There are no exemptions to this rule.» There is no exception for the 417 or for the 462: you have to leave the country to lodge and be outside Australia on the day it is granted. Two more things before you rework the plan. One: an application lodged from outside does not get a Bridging visa —«You will not receive a Bridging visa linked to an application lodged outside Australia»—, although you can re-enter on another valid visa while it is processed, as long as you are outside when they grant it. Two: if you lodge it from inside anyway, it is not refused, it becomes invalid, and «Invalid decisions cannot be merits reviewed at the ART»: an invalid application cannot be appealed to the ART. Anything lodged before 2 October stays as it was: «applications lodged before the new rules started… will continue to be assessed under the rules that were in place when they were lodged». And what did not change: the visa remains open —«Australia continues to welcome international students»—; what changed is where you apply from.
📋 What you need at hand
- Valid passport.
- CoE (Confirmation of Enrolment) from the institute, valid.
- Proof of OSHC health insurance for the whole stay.
- English test taken at a test centre, if it applies to you (online from home doesn't count).
- Proof of funds: AUD 29.710 for 12 months for a single applicant, plus tuition fees, minus what you have already paid with receipts.
- Bank history, not a single-day balance certificate.
- If you rely on your parents' or partner's income: official government documents, such as the tax return.
- The four Genuine Student answers, up to 150 words each, in English.
- English translations if any document isn't in English.
- Credit card or PayPal to pay the fee.
⚠️ The mistakes that cost you
- Thinking that enrolling and having the money is enough. You need five things together: CoE, funds, OSHC, English test and the Genuine Student answers.
- Choosing by the price in the CRICOS register. We verified an institute whose register entry said AUD 1.950 a year and whose prospectus said AUD 9.000.
- Comparing courses by the total instead of per week. It's the mistake that makes a short course look cheap.
- Submitting a single-day bank balance certificate. Verbatim from Home Affairs: «Providing a bank balance certificate across a single day does not show us how you increased your funds». You need history.
- Proving your parents' income with a payslip or a letter from the employer. Verbatim: «We won't accept bank statements or direct evidence from an employer». Only official government documents count, such as the tax return. For a self-employed monotributista this can be harder than getting the money together.
- Paying for a NAATI translator or certifications. Verbatim from Home Affairs: «Translators outside Australia do not have to be accredited» and «You do not need to have any documents certified». An Argentine sworn translator who puts their name, address, phone number and qualifications in English is enough.
- Sitting the English test online from home. It isn't accepted.
- Counting on adding your partner or children later. Since 2 October 2026 family members can't be included in the application unless an exception applies to you, and nobody can be added afterwards to a visa that has already been granted: «There are no exemptions to this rule.»
- Taking out OSHC only for the length of the course. It has to cover the whole stay and starts the day you arrive.
- Trying to apply for the 500 from inside Australia on a 417, a 462, a 485 or a tourist visa (600, 601 or 651). Since 2 October 2026 those visas are on the list of those that can't apply inside the country, with no exceptions: if you lodge from inside, the application isn't refused, it is invalid, and an invalid application can't be appealed to the ART.
- Believing that studying in a regional area gives you extra years of post-study visa if you do a Certificate III or IV. That bonus is for higher education graduates. It's heavily promoted and it's misleading.
- Buying the ticket before the visa is granted.
🕳️ What we could not confirm
We say so because a guide that hides its gaps is useless.
- The real price of Highgate International College (Perth): its website says AUD 3.250 and the CRICOS register declares AUD 5.500.
- The priority level of private institutes. It is not public by design: Home Affairs says allocation statuses are not publicly available.
- The cost of the medical examination in Argentina. None of the four authorised doctors publishes a price.
- OSHC from Bupa, Allianz and ahm, and the real quote for stays of 6 or 7 months.
- The rejection rate specifically for Argentines. Argentina falls under "other countries", with an overall 86.5%.
- Rental prices for a shared room. The ones in circulation are medians for entire properties and inflate the cost of living two or three times over.
- We detected 156 current private VET courses under AUD 119 per week across 61 providers, but with the price taken from the CRICOS register and not verified one by one. That is exactly why we do not publish them.
- What the "other exceptions" are that allow family members to be included in the application. Home Affairs mentions them like that, in the plural, and does not publish the list.
🔎 Where this comes from
This is public information gathered and verified on 2 October 2026, not migration advice. For formal advice you need a registered MARA agent or a lawyer: an education agent cannot advise you on the visa, that is immigration assistance and it is reserved by law. Bear in mind too that the visa fee goes up often —1,600 in 2024, 2,000 in 2025, 2,500 in 2026— and that the Document Checklist Tool is updated every 31 March and every 30 September.
