Apply for a student visa
Follow these steps to apply for a student visa, prepare your documents, and submit your application on time.
Understand who can apply for a student visa
To apply for a student visa, you must:
- Be accepted into a CRICOS-registered course
- Provide evidence that you meet the Genuine Student (GS) requirement
- Follow the instructions in your offer letter and on Get Started at Melbourne to:
- Accept your offer and submit your Student Acceptance and Payment Agreement
- Obtain Overseas Student Health Cover (OSHC) for the entire length of your stay in Australia
- Receive a valid Confirmation of Enrolment (CoE). The University will send you this within 10 business days of you completing your International Student Acceptance and Payment Agreement.
All student visa eligibility requirements are set by the Department of Home Affairs (DHA). View their eligibility webpage for the full list.
Organise your visa documents
The DHA provides the most up-to-date information about student visa document requirements. For details, go to the ‘Gather documents’ section of their step-by-step student visa guide. For technical support, see the DHA's guide to attaching documents to your application.
If you’re bringing any family with you, including children, be sure to include them on any applications. For more information, review the DHA's Bringing a partner or family webpage.
Additional University-issued documents to support your application, such as a skills assessment, release letter or Nomination of Dependant Letter, are available to request via the Academic transcripts and statements webpage.
Additional requirements for students under 18
If you will be under 18 years of age when you start your course, you must have appropriate accommodation, welfare and support arrangements in place for your visa application to be approved. More information is available on Get Started at Melbourne and the Under 18 International Student Supervision Program websites.
Submit your student visa application
All student visa applications are processed by the DHA. To ensure your application is complete and accurate, carefully read the DHA guidance, including the Check twice, submit once webpage and the Applying online in ImmiAccount instructions. Please try to submit your visa application at least eight weeks before your course start date. Applying later than this may mean visa processing times affect your ability to enrol and start on time.
Monitor your application
After you submit your application, you can use ImmiAccount to check messages and your application status, update details or withdraw your application. The DHA will contact you directly if health checks or additional documents are required.
Make sure to:
- Monitor your ImmiAccount and email regularly
- Respond promptly to any DHA requests for information or documents.
If you need to make changes to your application while it is being processed, review the DHA advice about Changes in your circumstances, and check the University's Keep your visa details up to date webpage. More details about next steps are available on the DHA After you apply webpage.
Be aware of processing timelines
Application processing times can vary greatly. For indicative processing times, we recommend looking at the DHA's Processing times guide. It is updated regularly.