Can You Apply for a Student Visa on a Visitor Visa?

The Visitor Visa (Subclass 600) is a temporary visa that allows people to travel to Australia for tourism, to visit family, or for short-term business purposes. The Student Visa (Subclass 500) is a separate visa that allows international students to live and study full-time at a registered educational institution in Australia for the duration of their enrolled course. These two visas serve entirely different purposes, and the rules governing who can apply for a Student Visa, and from where, have changed significantly. For anyone who has arrived in Australia on a Visitor Visa and is now considering studying, the onshore pathway has been closed since 1 July 2024.

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What Changed on 1 July 2024

Prior to 1 July 2024, certain Visitor Visa holders were able to apply for a Student Visa while remaining in Australia. This pathway attracted a significant volume of applications, with over 36,000 lodged through the visitor-to-student route between 1 July 2023 and May 2024, according to the Department of Home Affairs. The Government identified this as a pattern of visa hopping, where individuals were using the visitor pathway to extend their time in Australia rather than applying for a student visa through the correct offshore process.

From 1 July 2024, the Department of Home Affairs expanded Legislative Instrument IMMI 16/016 through LIN 24/051 to include the Subclass 600 (Visitor) visa in the list of visa types from which a valid Student Visa application cannot be made while onshore. Any Student Visa (Subclass 500) application lodged onshore by a Visitor Visa holder on or after 1 July 2024 is invalid. The Department of Home Affairs will not assess it.

The visas affected by the 1 July 2024 changes, in addition to those already restricted, include the Subclass 485 (Temporary Graduate), the Subclass 600 (Visitor), the Subclass 601 (Electronic Travel Authority), the Subclass 602 (Medical Treatment), the Subclass 651 (eVisitor), and the Subclass 988 (Maritime Crew). Holders of the Working Holiday Maker Visa (Subclass 417) and the Work and Holiday Visa (Subclass 462) are not affected by these changes and may still apply for a Student Visa onshore.

Condition 8503 and Why It Already Blocked Many Applicants

Even before the 1 July 2024 changes, a large number of Visitor Visa holders were already prevented from applying for a Student Visa onshore by Condition 8503, known as the No Further Stay condition.

Condition 8503 prevents the holder from applying for any substantive visa while remaining in Australia, with the exception of the Protection Visa (Subclass 866). It is applied to Visitor Visas in certain circumstances, including where the applicant has not sufficiently demonstrated ties to their home country, such as through employment, family connections, or property ownership. Applicants can check whether Condition 8503 applies to their visa by logging into the Visa Entitlement Verification Online (VEVO) system on the Department of Home Affairs website.

If the condition appears on a visa, the holder cannot apply for a Student Visa or any other substantive visa while in Australia. Following the 1 July 2024 rule change, Condition 8503 is no longer the only barrier, since all Visitor Visa holders are now prevented from applying for a Student Visa onshore regardless of whether the condition applies to their individual visa.

What Visitor Visa Holders Can and Cannot Do in Australia

A Visitor Visa holder arriving in Australia to travel or visit is permitted to undertake incidental study of up to three months as part of their stay, as confirmed by the Department of Home Affairs. Study intended to last longer than three months requires a Student Visa applied for from outside Australia.

Visitor Visa holders do not have work rights in Australia. The Student Visa (Subclass 500), by contrast, allows the holder to work up to 48 hours per fortnight during study periods and unlimited hours during scheduled course breaks, subject to any conditions attached to the visa.

The Correct Pathway for Applying for a Student Visa

The correct pathway for a Visitor Visa holder who wishes to study in Australia is to apply for the Student Visa (Subclass 500) from outside Australia. This requires the applicant to depart Australia before lodging the application. The Student Visa must be applied for and granted while the applicant is offshore. A Bridging Visa is not available to offshore Student Visa applicants waiting for a decision, which means the applicant must hold a valid visa permitting their stay in whichever country they are in while the application is processed.

As part of the Student Visa application, all applicants must satisfy the Genuine Student requirement, which replaced the previous Genuine Temporary Entrant requirement for applications lodged on or after 23 March 2024. Under the Genuine Student requirement, applicants are required to answer targeted questions about their reasons for studying in Australia, their study plans and course progression, and their personal circumstances. The Department of Home Affairs assesses these responses as part of the overall eligibility assessment.

The government application charge for the Student Visa (Subclass 500) is $2,500 for the main applicant under the standard stream, effective 1 July 2026. A lower charge of $2,050 applies to applicants in the English Language Intensive Courses for Overseas Students (ELICOS) and certain non-award streams, also effective 1 July 2026.

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Requesting a Waiver of Condition 8503

Where Condition 8503 applies to a Visitor Visa, a waiver of the condition may be requested. The legal test is set out in Regulation 2.05(4) of the Migration Regulations 1994, which requires the applicant to demonstrate that compelling and compassionate circumstances arose after the visa was granted, resulted in a major change to the applicant’s circumstances, and were beyond the applicant’s control. Circumstances that existed before the visa was granted, or that arose from choices the applicant made, will generally not satisfy this test.

The waiver request is submitted primarily through the online form on the Department of Home Affairs website. For those who cannot apply online, Form 1447 (No Further Stay Waiver Request) is also available and can be submitted by email or post to the No Further Stay Waiver Processing Centre. According to the Department of Home Affairs, processing times are generally up to 28 days, though this may be longer if further information is requested.

A waiver of Condition 8503, if granted, does not in itself allow a Visitor Visa holder to apply for a Student Visa. Under the separate 1 July 2024 legislative change, Visitor Visa holders remain unable to lodge a valid Student Visa application onshore regardless of whether Condition 8503 has been waived. A decision to refuse a waiver of Condition 8503 cannot be reviewed by the Administrative Review Tribunal (ART).

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Cómo podemos ayudarle

Determining whether your visa conditions prevent you from applying for a Student Visa, and understanding the correct offshore process, can be more complex than it first appears, particularly where Condition 8503 is involved or where individual circumstances require assessment. At Australian Migration Lawyers, our migration lawyers can review your current visa, identify what conditions apply, and advise on the most appropriate pathway for your situation.

Call 1300 150 745 or book a consultation online to speak with one of our migration lawyers about your student visa options.