New Simplified Student Visa Framework (SSVF)
From 1 July 2016, rules have changed for student visa applicants. Number of student visa subclasses have been reduced to two. Instead of having student visa with subclass 570,571,572,573 or 574 we have just one subclass, that is subclass 500. International students who wish to apply for an Australian Visa will have to go under the same process of applying for a single student visa (subclass 500), regardless of their chosen course of study Other subclass in this class is the Student Guardian (subclass 590) visa for guardians. Also the students and student guardians will generally be required to lodge their visa application online by creating an account in Immi Account. Apart from that, annual living costs to be included in funds have increased.
For further details and assistance please contact us.
Financial capacity requirements
Under the SSVF, all student visa applicants must have sufficient funds available for the first 12 months of their tuition fees and living expenses for stay in Australia. The annual income option requires students to provide evidence of personal annual income of at least AUD 60,000. For students accompanied by family members, the amount is $70,000. Revised Living Costs for Student/guardian is $19830, Partner/spouse- $6,940, Child – AUD 2,970.
Genuine access to funds
Students and their accompanying family members must have genuine access to funds, whether it is provided by the student themselves or another eligible person. The funds shown in the visa application must be available for use to financially support the student and any accompanying family members during their stay in Australia. When considering whether the funds shown will be genuinely available, DIBP will take into account factors including:
- the nature of the relationship between the student and the person who is providing the funds, where applicable.
- income, assets and employment of the student or the other person who is providing the funds
- Previous visa history of both the student and the person providing the funds.
Processing Time of student visa application
DIBP claims to finalise 75 per cent of complete student visa applications within one month of lodgement. To reduce visa processing times, students are strongly encouraged to submit all required documents with their visa applications. Failure to submit all required documents might lead to processing delays or visa refusal..
Acceptable English language test score
| English language test providers | Minimum test score | Minimum test score | Minimum test score |
| where combined with | where combined with | ||
| at least 10 weeks’ ELICOS | at least 20 weeks’ ELICOS | ||
| IELTS | 5.5 | 5 | 4.5 |
| TOEFL Paper based | 527 | 500 | 450 |
| TOEFL internet based test | 46 | 35 | 32 |
| Cambridge English: Advanced (Certificate in Advanced English) | 162 | 154 | 147 |
Impact of the SSVF on existing student visa holders
The SSVF only applies to student visa applications lodged from 1 July 2016 and will not affect the visas of existing student visa holders. Family members of existing student visa holders (subclasses 570-576) will need to apply for a subclass 500 visa if they do not currently hold a student visa and want to join their family member in Australia.
Why Rapid Migration Visa and Education Consultancy
Rapid Education & Visa Consultants are dedicated to assist and guide international students with selecting courses in various education sectors which are aligned with their career goals. At Rapid Education & Visa Consultants the education advice is complimented with professional migration advice to design a comprehensive career strategy. We are a team of dedicated professionals equipped with sound knowledge of Australian Education Industry, National Code and Australian immigration law providing informed advice to our clients maintaining highest satisfaction level.
