Student Visa (500) Guide

Genuine Student (GS) Requirement: Proof of Funds and English Thresholds

From 23 March 2024, the Department of Home Affairs replaced the former Genuine Temporary Entrant (GTE) requirement with the Genuine Student (GS) requirement. Any student visa (Subclass 500) application lodged on or after that date is assessed against the GS standard; applications lodged before are still assessed under the old GTE. GS is a mandatory criterion for grant (clause 500.212 in Schedule 2) and, together with financial capacity and English proficiency, forms the three core scrutiny points of the subclass 500 visa. This page breaks down all three from a decision-making angle: the current requirements, common refusal points, and how to write your statements.

Last checked: June 2026. Refer to the Department of Home Affairs for the authoritative position. Specific amounts, scores, and policy may change as official settings are adjusted; before lodging, use the official links below and the official Document Checklist Tool to check each point against your own circumstances.

1. What GS actually assesses

GS is fundamentally about whether you genuinely intend to study in Australia — treating study in Australia as your primary purpose. A key shift from the old GTE is that you are no longer penalised for intending to stay/migrate after graduating. Home Affairs explicitly acknowledges that a genuine student may gain skills Australia needs during their studies and apply for permanent residence when eligible; such future intentions are not, in themselves, treated as adverse. The focus returns to "is this period of study reasonable and genuine for you".

Factors Home Affairs assesses holistically include:

how much research you have done into your chosen course, institution, and living arrangements in Australia;
whether the course is commensurate with your existing level of education (e.g. holding a master's but enrolling in a lower-level course invites questions);
whether the course will improve your employment prospects in your home country or elsewhere, its relevance to your past or future career, and expected salary and benefits;
your overall personal circumstances: ties to family, community, employment, and finances (i.e. whether your personal background and motivations are internally consistent);
where the applicant is a minor, the intentions of the parent, legal guardian, or spouse are also considered.

The statutory source of these factors is Ministerial Direction No. 106, which took effect on the same day as GS (2024-03-23) and applies to student and student guardian visas.

2. The GS questions and documents in the application form

GS is no longer a standalone "GTE statement" but a set of structured questions within the application form. Home Affairs has made clear it prefers you to answer directly in the form rather than attach a separate GS statement. Each answer must be in English, with a 150-word limit. The online form's questions broadly cover:

your current personal circumstances, including ties to family, community, employment, and finances;
why you chose to study this particular course at this particular institution in Australia;
your understanding of the requirements of the chosen course and of studying and living in Australia;
what benefit completing this course will bring you;
(if you have previously held a student visa, or are applying onshore from a non-student visa) a further targeted question;
any other information you consider relevant and wish to add.

Key principle: statements backed by evidence carry more weight. Beyond the answers in the form, you must upload supporting documents to ImmiAccount (such as academic transcripts, proof of employment, proof of funds, proof of family relationships). Home Affairs assesses "the applicant's overall personal circumstances"; empty assertions are far less credible than "statement + matching evidence".

3. Financial capacity requirements and current amounts

You must show genuinely available funds covering tuition, travel, and living costs for yourself and any accompanying family members. From 10 May 2024, the funds threshold for subclass 500 and 590 visas was raised to the current level. There are two ways to satisfy it, and you choose one:

Funds method (12 months): show enough to cover the first year's travel, tuition, living costs, and school-age children's schooling costs for you (and accompanying family) (a stay of under 12 months is pro-rated);
Annual income method: a non-accompanying spouse/de facto partner or parent provides proof of annual income above the set threshold.

Current living-cost threshold (12 months)

Item	Current amount (AUD, 12 months)
Main applicant (the student)	29,710
Spouse / de facto partner (accompanying)	About 75% of the main applicant amount (per the official calculation)
Each accompanying child	About 20% of the main applicant amount (per the official calculation)
School-age children's schooling costs	8,000 per child per year (varies considerably by state/school)
Travel cost for offshore applications	2,000 (East/Southern Africa 2,500; West Africa 3,000)

Note: the main applicant living cost of AUD 29,710 (effective 2024-05-10), the overseas travel cost, and school-age children's schooling costs are official set amounts; the figures in the table for spouse/children, added as a proportion of the main applicant amount, vary with the base figure and official methodology, so always rely on the live numbers in the official pages and the Document Checklist Tool. In addition to living costs, you must add the first year's tuition. The annual income method has two thresholds, single and with family; those amounts are likewise per the official source. For full amounts, see the official financial capacity help text and the student visa funds page below.

"Genuine access" is a key scrutiny point

A balance alone is not enough; you must also show the money is genuinely available to you during your stay in Australia. Acceptable forms of evidence include deposits or loans from an approved financial institution, government loans, scholarships, or sponsorship. You should also corroborate:

proof of the relationship between you and the person providing the funds, plus their identity documents;
a history of ongoing support to you (rather than funds assembled at the last minute);
an explanation for recent large deposits (source of funds), and explanations for ongoing deposits such as salary;
if the funds come from a business, proof that the business is trading normally.

Whether you need to submit financial/English evidence depends on the combined immigration risk level (risk framework) of your institution and your nationality; but even if the system deems you exempt, the case officer retains discretion to require it. Self-checking with the official Document Checklist Tool first is the safest approach. To quickly estimate the total, use our cost calculator.

4. English score requirements (by course/visa)

From 23 March 2024, the English thresholds for student visas were raised across the board. The minimum score for a subclass 500 visa depends on your study pathway (whether you package an ELICOS language course, and whether it is a foundation/bridging course):

Scenario	Minimum IELTS (overall)
Main course packaged with ≥20 weeks ELICOS	5.0
Main course packaged with ≥10 weeks ELICOS; or a standard/extended foundation course; or a bridging course leading into year 2 of a bachelor's	5.5
All other general cases (no packaged language course)	6.0
Graduate work visa (Subclass 485, for reference)	6.5 (no band below 5.5)

Tests Home Affairs accepts include IELTS Academic (including One Skill Retake), IELTS General Training, PTE Academic, TOEFL iBT (you must select "Taking TOEFL for Australia" when registering), LANGUAGECERT Academic, the Michigan English Test (MET), and others. Equivalent scores across tests are per the official source; our English score conversion tool can compare IELTS/PTE/TOEFL. Common exemptions include: the main course is a standalone ELICOS, a registered course taught in a language other than English, a registered postgraduate research course, or completing enough years of recent English-taught study in an English-speaking country (subject to the official source and the relevant 2025 legislative instruments).

5. Common refusal triggers

Course and background not consistent: an academic "downgrade" (already holding a higher degree but enrolling in a lower-level course), a large change of field with no reasonable career logic, or age/course duration clearly mismatched, with no convincing explanation.
Obvious signs of "padded" funds: a large deposit appearing just before lodgement with no explanation of source, funds parked for too short a time, or the funds provider's relationship to you or their income unable to be substantiated.
Vague statements disconnected from evidence: 150-word answers that are only slogans, lacking specific research into the institution/course/city, or contradicting the uploaded documents.
English below the threshold for your pathway: the score does not match the chosen study pathway (whether ELICOS is packaged), or the score has expired.
Inconsistent information: discrepancies between the form answers, the documents, your prior visa history, and the institution's CoE.
Migration intent read the wrong way: although GS no longer penalises "wanting to migrate in future", if the overall motivation reads as "study is just a means", you can still be found not to meet GS.

6. How to write persuasive GS answers

Stick to 150 words per question and stay on point: answer the specific question with specific facts, don't use templates; one clear line of argument per question.
Pair "claim + evidence": if you say "this course improves my employment", attach home-country job requirements, salary data, or an employer's letter of intent; Home Affairs gives evidenced statements more weight.
Explain "why this institution / this course / this city": name the specific specialisation, the teaching staff/course structure, and how it connects to your past study or work, to show you have done your research.
Pre-empt the "red flags": an academic downgrade, a study gap, older age, a change of field, the source of funds — rather than leaving the case officer to guess, explain it yourself first.
Show home-country ties: family, employment, and financial ties support "a genuine purpose to study", but you needn't disingenuously "pretend you don't want to stay" (GS allows reasonable post-graduation plans).
Be consistent throughout: the form answers, uploaded documents, CoE, and prior visa history should corroborate each other with no contradictions.

Subclass 500 Student visa details— overview of eligibility, documents, and processing time.
English score conversion tool— IELTS / PTE / TOEFL equivalence.
Cost calculator— estimate total tuition and living costs at official published prices.
Visa refusal and review (AAT/ART) guide— how to respond after a refusal and the appeal pathways.

Official information sources

This site is an information guide and does not constitute migration agent (MARA) advice; for application decisions, refer to the official information from the Department of Home Affairs, or consult a registered migration agent (OMARA registered).