Australia Student Visa for Indian Students: 2026 Fee, Funds & New Rules

Australia Student Visa for Indian Students
Australia Student Visa for Indian Students

The Australia student visa for Indian students is the Subclass 500, and from 1 July 2026 the Student Visa Application Charge is AUD 2,500. In 2026 you also have to show AUD 29,710 for a year of living costs. Since 2 October 2026, most students heading to study in Australia can no longer bring a spouse or children. Worried about a refusal? India’s grant rate has fallen, but in the files our study in Australia consultants in Hyderabad see, most refusals come from gaps you can fix before you apply. Two common ones are money with no clear source and vague answers in the form. Find your profile in the first table, then see each amount in rupees.

Key Takeaways

  • From 1 July 2026, the visa charge is AUD 2,500 (approx. Rs 1,68,150). It isn’t refunded if you’re refused.
  • You must show AUD 29,710 (approx. Rs 19,98,295) for 12 months of living costs, plus travel and first-year tuition, or meet the parents’ income test.
  • From 2 October 2026, most students can’t bring a spouse or children. Exceptions include PhD students and fully funded government scholars.
  • No rule says money must sit three months, but you must explain each deposit’s source.
  • For main applicants applying from India, the grant rate fell to 48.3% in July-August 2026, from 81.4% in 2024-25.
  • Home Affairs aims to start processing within 1-12 weeks of lodging. Worldwide, half of higher education decisions arrive within 16 days.
Table of Contents
Who can apply for an Australia student visa in 2026, and who can still bring family Scroll here ↓ Australia student visa fee and bank balance for Indian students Scroll here ↓ India’s student visa grant rate and the refusal reasons you can fix Scroll here ↓ How to apply for an Australia student visa from India Scroll here ↓ How long an Australia student visa takes, and why your university’s priority matters Scroll here ↓ Frequently Asked Questions Scroll here ↓

Who can apply for an Australia student visa in 2026, and who can still bring family

It’s one visa for every course level, the Subclass 500. You need a place on a full-time course listed on CRICOS (Australia’s official register of courses for overseas students). The visa covers study for up to 6 years, and your course type and length set how long you can stay.

From 2 October 2026, most applicants can no longer include a partner or children. Family can’t join you later either.

Why you qualifyBring family?Watch-outNext step
UG or PG coursework degreeNoEach deposit needs its source explainedAccept an offer; get your CoE (Confirmation of Enrolment, proof of your place)
VET or TAFE course (vocational diploma or certificate)NoIndia VET grant rate 13.3% in 2025-26Compare a degree route first
PhD (doctoral) degreeYesMaster by Research does not qualifyInclude family when you apply
Full scholarship from your own government, such as India’s (any course; overrides the rows above)YesScholarship must fully fund your studiesInclude family when you apply

If you’re married, decide before you pay the deposit. Once you go, your spouse can’t join you later on this visa. Under 18? You must have under-18 welfare arrangements (suitable housing and care) for your stay or until you turn 18, whichever comes first. Your provider can confirm them with a CAAW (Confirmation of Appropriate Accommodation and Welfare), or nominate a guardian: a parent, a custodian, or a relative aged 21+ named in writing by a parent or custodian. If that guardian applies for the Student Guardian visa (Subclass 590), both applications should go in at the same time. An applicant under 18 also needs consent Form 1229 or a statutory declaration from each parent or legal guardian. For everyone else, the order is an offer, a CoE, then funds evidence, timed against the Australia intakes you’re aiming for.

Australia student visa fee and bank balance for Indian students

From 1 July 2026, the Subclass 500 charge for a main applicant is AUD 2,500 (approx. Rs 1,68,150) on the Home Affairs current visa pricing table. In 2026 the applicant must also show AUD 29,710 (approx. Rs 19,98,295) for 12 months of living costs. Only the charge is spent; the living-cost amount is money held, not a fee.

ItemAUDApprox. INRPaid or shown?
Visa charge, main applicant2,500Rs 1,68,150Paid, not refunded if refused
Family member 18+ (if allowed)1,530Rs 1,02,908Paid
Family member under 18 (if allowed)500Rs 33,630Paid
Living costs, 12 months29,710Rs 19,98,295Shown
Travel from India2,000Rs 1,34,520Shown
Partner / child (if allowed, such as PhD)10,394 / 4,449Rs 6,99,100 / Rs 2,99,240Shown
First-year tuitionFee on your CoE, less amounts paidDepends on courseShown
Funds to show before tuition (living + travel)31,710Rs 21,32,815Plus first-year tuition
Alternative: parents’ or partner’s minimum yearly income, last 12 months87,856Rs 59,09,195Shown instead of savings

You’ll hear that an Australia student visa for Indian students needs money held for three months. No Home Affairs rule sets that period. The Subclass 500 funds rules ask how the money was built up. A one-day balance certificate doesn’t show that. Explain each deposit’s source. Easiest to prove first:

  1. Your parents’ or partner’s income. If both parents work, they can combine incomes. The bar rises to AUD 102,500 if family comes too, as it can for a PhD. Show official government documents, such as tax assessments less than 12 months old. Bank statements and employer letters are not accepted.
  2. A paid-out education loan. Disbursement (the lender paying the money) is the best proof, so ask HDFC Credila, Avanse or SBI to pay it out before you apply.
  3. Savings with a paper trail: salary credits, a sale deed or a maturing fixed deposit, each with its document.

Scholarships and similar financial support are also on the Subclass 500 evidence of funds list, and the awards themselves are in our scholarships in Australia guide. Our cost of studying in Australia breakdown prices tuition and rent.

From our counselling desk: Among students we've counselled in Hyderabad this year, the cleanest approvals had a document behind every large credit: a salary slip, a sale deed, a loan disbursement letter. Stalled files usually had one big deposit nobody could explain.

India’s student visa grant rate and the refusal reasons you can fix

About half of main applicants (the student, not family) applying from India were approved in July-August 2026 (48.3%). In 2024-25 it was about 8 in 10 (81.4%). Refusal is now the biggest risk, and your course type changes your odds.

Course typeShare of decisions approvedPeriod
All courses48.3%Jul-Aug 2026
University degree (higher education)48.8%Jul-Aug 2026
VET or TAFE13.3%2025-26
PhD and other research degrees97.0%2025-26

Your provider’s and your country’s evidence levels decide whether funds and English proof must go in with your application. Attach them anyway: Home Affairs may decide on what you first lodged.

The Genuine Student requirement (GS) tests whether studying is your real main reason for going to Australia. You answer its questions in the visa form, up to 150 words each. Home Affairs prefers these answers to a separate GS statement.

If a similar course exists in India, one question asks why you aren’t taking it there, so be specific. Wanting permanent residency later does not count against you. In visa briefings we ran this year, students who named their course units and a specific job were far more convincing than those who wrote about general goals.

For the visa, IELTS 6.0 or PTE Academic 47 needs no English course first. A 5.5 (PTE 39) works with 10+ weeks of ELICOS (an English course packaged before your degree) or a foundation course. A 5.0 (PTE 31) needs 20+ weeks of ELICOS. These visa scores apply to tests taken on or after 7 August 2025. Check your university’s own score too; see our Australia study requirements. In the files we see, four gaps cause most refusals, worst first:

  1. One large deposit with no source.
  2. Genuine Student answers that could fit any course.
  3. A course unrelated to your study or work history.
  4. A VET course (13.3% approved in 2025-26).

How to apply for an Australia student visa from India

Applying for an Australia student visa for Indian students follows a fixed order, because an application made without a CoE is invalid. Our documents required for an Australia student visa list covers each paper. The steps:

  1. Accept your offer and pay the deposit. You then get your CoE.
  2. Buy OSHC (Overseas Student Health Cover, compulsory health insurance). It must start on the day you arrive, not the day your course starts. The Study Australia OSHC guidance says to keep it for your whole course.
  3. Build the funds evidence from the routes ranked above.
  4. Be ready to give police certificates if asked. You and family members aged 16+ must meet the character requirement (the good-conduct check). Police certificates, health checks and biometrics can cost extra.
  5. Book your health examination early. India is not on the Home Affairs list of low tuberculosis (TB) risk countries. So a stay of 6 months or more generally needs a medical exam, a chest x-ray (age 11+) and an eGFR kidney blood test (age 15+). If you’re 15+ and will study or train to be a doctor, dentist, nurse or paramedic, add HIV and hepatitis B and C tests. The health examinations you need can be done before you apply. Our Australia admission process guide shows when.
  6. Apply in ImmiAccount (the Home Affairs online portal): answer the Genuine Student questions, attach documents and pay the charge.
  7. Give biometrics only if asked. Biometrics are requested only in some cases. As of March 2026, the Home Affairs list of biometrics collection centres has none in India. If asked, you get 14 days to give them.
  8. Answer any request fast.

How long an Australia student visa takes, and why your university’s priority matters

Under the student visa processing priorities, Home Affairs aims to start a Priority 1 file within 1-4 weeks of applying. Priority 2 starts within 5-8 weeks and Priority 3 within 9-12. Those are start dates, not decisions. In late September 2026, global processing times showed half of higher education decisions within 16 days and 90% within 4 months.

For most degree students, your provider decides how soon your file is picked up. A provider below 80% of its yearly quota of new overseas students is Priority 1. From 80% it’s Priority 2, and once it’s 15% over it’s Priority 3. PhD, TAFE and government-scholarship students are Priority 1 whatever the quota. Before you accept an offer, check the provider’s priority on the Home Affairs student visa priorities page; its status on the day you apply sets yours. For a package, such as English then a degree, the main course sets it, usually the final one. Priority changes how long you wait, never whether you’re approved.

The Subclass 500 work conditions let you work up to 48 hours a fortnight while your course is in session, and unlimited hours in scheduled course breaks. Students on a master’s by research or a PhD have no work limit. For the Subclass 485 (Temporary Graduate) visa after you graduate, see our Australia post-study work visa guide.

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Frequently Asked Questions

Plan on Rs 19,98,295 (AUD 29,710) for a year of living costs and Rs 1,34,520 (AUD 2,000) for travel. Add your first-year tuition, minus anything already paid. These are amounts you show, not fees. A loan counts best once it’s paid out, and savings count when each deposit’s source is explained.

It’s harder than it was. By our count of Home Affairs data, 48.3% of main applicants from India applying from outside Australia were granted in July-August 2026. In 2025-26, 97.0% of Indian research degree applicants were approved, but only 13.3% of VET applicants. Course choice, a clear source for your money and specific Genuine Student answers now matter more.

Usually not. From 2 October 2026, most students can’t include a partner or children, and family can’t follow later. PhD students and students on a full scholarship from their own government can still bring family, but a Master by Research doesn’t count. If you applied before 2 October 2026, the old rules still apply to you.

No. The AUD 2,500 (approx. Rs 1,68,150) charge is not refunded after a refusal. Before you pay, run your file through the Home Affairs Document Checklist Tool so you apply against the current document list. Also make sure your funds trail and CoE are complete.

You don’t need IELTS itself. PTE Academic is accepted, and 47 meets the visa minimum with no English course, like IELTS 6.0. TOEFL iBT also works at 67, if you select Taking TOEFL for Australia when you register. Fully online or at-home tests are not accepted.

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