Student Visa (subclass 500)
Study permit
Full-time study with pathways to temporary graduate work and skilled visas.
Source: Department of Home Affairs · verified 2026-08-14
What does it take to move to Australia? Processing, cost, job offer and permanent residence
5 pathways verified against an official source. Facts on this page come from those records — not from unsourced scores or blurbs.
Verified 2026-08-14–2026-08-16 against Department of Home Affairs.
What language evidence and skills assessment does Australia name?
- Language evidence: IELTS, PTE Academic, or TOEFL iBT (as accepted by the stream)
- Credential assessment: Skills assessment by the relevant assessing authority
How long do these Australia routes take, what do they cost, and do they lead to permanent residence?
Every cell is a sourced value or an explicit statement that nothing is stored. Amounts stay in the published currency.
- Student Visa (subclass 500)
Australia
- Residency
- Temporary — not a permanent-residence route on its own
- Job offer
- Not stated
- Points
- No threshold published
- Application fee
- No amount stored
- Funds
- From AUD 29,710
- Processing time
- No duration published; the authority points to a guidance tool
Source: Department of Home Affairs · verified 2026-08-14
- Skilled Independent Visa (subclass 189)
Australia
- Residency
- Permanent residence on grant
- Job offer
- Not stated
- Points
- At least 65
- Application fee
- No amount stored
- Funds
- Not stored
- Processing time
- No duration published; the authority points to a guidance tool
Source: Department of Home Affairs · verified 2026-08-14
- Skilled Nominated Visa (subclass 190)
Australia
- Residency
- Permanent residence on grant
- Job offer
- Not stated
- Points
- At least 65
- Application fee
- No amount stored
- Funds
- Not stored
- Processing time
- No duration published; the authority points to a guidance tool
Source: Department of Home Affairs · verified 2026-08-14
- Skilled Work Regional (Provisional) Visa (subclass 491)
Australia
- Residency
- Temporary on grant; subclass 191 after 36 months only if the holder complied with this visa's conditions for the whole period held
- Job offer
- Not stated
- Points
- At least 65
- Application fee
- No amount stored
- Funds
- Not stored
- Processing time
- No duration published; the authority points to a guidance tool
Source: Department of Home Affairs · verified 2026-08-16
- Permanent Residence (Skilled Regional) Visa (subclass 191)
Australia
- Residency
- Permanent residence on grant
- Job offer
- Not stated
- Points
- No threshold published
- Application fee
- No amount stored
- Funds
- Not stored
- Processing time
- No duration published; the authority points to a guidance tool
Source: Department of Home Affairs · verified 2026-08-16
Which Australia routes grant permanent residence on the day they are granted?
Which Australia routes lead to permanent residence later?
Which Australia routes do not lead to permanent residence on their own?
- Student Visa (subclass 500)
Australia
Do I need a job offer for these Australia routes?
The authority does not state whether a job offer is required
The verified record does not state whether a job offer is required. Absence of the field is not a no — check the official source below.
What these authorities do not publish
Union of the absences recorded on this destination's routes. Each row quotes the reason stored on that record.
Processing time
- Student Visa (subclass 500)
Department publishes no figure. Page directs to the processing time guide tool and states the result 'is a guide only and not specific to your application'.
Source: Department of Home Affairs · verified 2026-08-14
- Skilled Independent Visa (subclass 189)
Department publishes no figure. Page directs to the processing time guide tool and states the result 'is a guide only and not specific to your application'.
Source: Department of Home Affairs · verified 2026-08-14
- Skilled Nominated Visa (subclass 190)
Department publishes no figure. Page directs to the processing time guide tool and states the result 'is a guide only and not specific to your application'.
Source: Department of Home Affairs · verified 2026-08-14
- Skilled Work Regional (Provisional) Visa (subclass 491)
Department publishes no figure. Page directs to the processing time guide tool and states the result 'is a guide only and not specific to your application'.
Source: Department of Home Affairs · verified 2026-08-16
- Permanent Residence (Skilled Regional) Visa (subclass 191)
Department publishes no figure. Page directs to the processing time guide tool and states the result 'is a guide only and not specific to your application'.
Source: Department of Home Affairs · verified 2026-08-16
Application fee
- Student Visa (subclass 500)
Page shows cost as 'From ... (concessions apply in limited circumstances)' and directs to the Visa Pricing Estimator. No amount is published on the page, so no fee is stored.
Not yet verified against an official source
- Skilled Independent Visa (subclass 189)
Page shows cost as 'From ... (concessions apply in limited circumstances)' and directs to the Visa Pricing Estimator. No amount is published on the page, so no fee is stored.
Not yet verified against an official source
- Skilled Nominated Visa (subclass 190)
Page shows cost as 'From ... (concessions apply in limited circumstances)' and directs to the Visa Pricing Estimator. The only amount published is a second instalment of AUD4,885 for family members without functional English, which is a different charge, so no fee is stored.
Not yet verified against an official source
- Skilled Work Regional (Provisional) Visa (subclass 491)
Page shows cost as 'From ... (concessions apply in limited circumstances)' and directs to the Visa Pricing Estimator. A second instalment may apply for applicants 18 or older with less than functional English; no amount is published on the page, so no fee is stored.
Not yet verified against an official source
- Permanent Residence (Skilled Regional) Visa (subclass 191)
Page shows cost as 'From ... (concessions apply in limited circumstances)' and directs to the Visa Pricing Estimator. No amount is published on the page, so no fee is stored.
Not yet verified against an official source
Minimum education
- Student Visa (subclass 500)
Page states no minimum prior education level; admission depends on the course and provider. Previous stored value 'high_school' was unsourced and has been removed.
Not yet verified against an official source
- Skilled Independent Visa (subclass 189)
Page states no minimum education level; eligibility runs through the skills assessment and points test. Previous stored value 'bachelor' was unsourced and has been removed.
Not yet verified against an official source
- Skilled Nominated Visa (subclass 190)
Page states no minimum education level; eligibility runs through the skills assessment and points test. Previous stored value 'diploma' was unsourced and has been removed.
Not yet verified against an official source
- Skilled Work Regional (Provisional) Visa (subclass 491)
Page states no minimum education level; eligibility runs through nomination or family sponsorship, a suitable skills assessment, an invitation, and the points test.
Not yet verified against an official source
- Permanent Residence (Skilled Regional) Visa (subclass 191)
Regional Provisional stream publishes no education, English, age, or points-test minimum. Eligibility is an eligible provisional visa held for at least 3 years, ATO notices for three of five income years, and compliance with that visa's conditions.
Not yet verified against an official source
Compare across countries: all comparisons · How long these routes take · Which routes grant permanent residence on grant · Which routes lead to permanent residence later · Do I need a job offer
Verified pathways
Skilled Independent Visa (subclass 189)
Permanent Residence
Permanent visa for points-tested skilled workers without needing sponsorship.
Source: Department of Home Affairs · verified 2026-08-14
Skilled Nominated Visa (subclass 190)
Permanent Residence
State-nominated permanent visa adding 5 points and access to state occupation lists.
Source: Department of Home Affairs · verified 2026-08-14
Skilled Work Regional (Provisional) Visa (subclass 491)
Work Permit
A 5-year provisional visa for skilled workers nominated by a state or territory government agency, or sponsored by an eligible relative, to live, work and study in a designated regional area. It does not grant permanent residence. If eligible, the holder may apply for the Permanent Residence (Skilled Regional) visa (subclass 191) after 3 years from the date this visa is granted. Subclass 191 requires that the holder complied with the conditions of this visa for the whole period held — that is a condition of the permanent stage, not merely good practice. Home Affairs publishes numbered conditions 8515, 8578, 8579, 8580 and 8581 through its visa conditions tool; the applicant must check them directly. Condition 8579 requires the holder to live, study and work in a designated regional area that was on the list on the date this visa was granted. The designated regional areas page (last updated 28/02/2025 9:56) does not state that the list can change.
Source: Department of Home Affairs · verified 2026-08-16
Permanent Residence (Skilled Regional) Visa (subclass 191)
Permanent Residence
A permanent visa for people who have held an eligible provisional visa — subclass 491 or subclass 494 — for at least 3 years, have complied with that visa's conditions, and can provide ATO notices of assessment for three income years out of the five years of the eligible visa. There is no minimum income requirement. It is not available as a first visa; it is reachable only after holding a qualifying provisional visa.
Source: Department of Home Affairs · verified 2026-08-16
Not yet verified
These names appear in searches. We have not checked them against an official source, so this page states no fees, timelines, or settlement outcomes for them.
Australia — Skills in Demand (subclass 482)
UnverifiedAn employer-sponsored temporary skilled work visa.
Not yet verified against an official source