Travel
Financial capacity includes applicable travel costs for the student and, where relevant, accompanying family members.
Australia · Student visa 500
Student 500 financial capacity
How to organise funding evidence for travel, living costs, tuition and the family costs that apply to your application.
Financial capacity is not simply about showing money. The evidence needs to fit your circumstances, the relevant costs and the real source of the funds.
What the financial evidence may need to cover
Home Affairs identifies specific financial categories for a Student 500 application. What you need to demonstrate depends on the actual circumstances of your case and the people included.
Living costs
Home Affairs uses a living-cost framework for the student and relevant accompanying family members.
Tuition
Financial evidence needs to account for relevant tuition fees, taking into account amounts already paid where applicable.
School costs for dependants
Where school-aged dependants are involved, school costs can form part of the financial-capacity calculation.
Forms of evidence recognised by the instrument
The current LIN 19/198 instrument specifies several forms of financial-capacity evidence. The evidence used should match the source actually funding the case.
Money deposit with a financial institution
The instrument recognises money deposited with a financial institution as a specified form of evidence.
Loan with a financial institution
A financial-institution loan is also specified when that is the source of the funding.
Government loan
Government loans are expressly included among the specified forms of financial-capacity evidence.
Scholarship or financial support
A scholarship or financial support can also be a specified form of evidence when it genuinely supports the funding plan.
The parent or partner income pathway is different
Home Affairs provides an alternative pathway based on qualifying income of a parent, spouse or de facto partner. The instrument requires official government documentation of that income. Applicable figures can change, so they should be checked against the current official source before lodgement.
The evidence should tell one financial story
Tuition, living costs, family composition and the source of funds should make sense together. A document can be genuine while still failing to explain how the proposed period of study will actually be funded.
What stays outside this guide
This page is limited to financial capacity. General eligibility, OSHC, English, work, dependants and the complete process stay on the main Student 500 page. The Genuine Student criterion remains with its dedicated guide.
Official sources
This guide uses official Home Affairs and Federal Register of Legislation sources.
- Document Checklist Tool — Evidence of financial capacity Australian Department of Home Affairs
- Disclaimer for Document Checklist Tool Australian Department of Home Affairs
- Migration Regulations 1994 — Subclass 500 clause 500.214 Federal Register of Legislation — Australia
- LIN 19/198 — Evidence of financial capacity for Subclass 500 and 590 Federal Register of Legislation — Australia
- LIN 19/198 — Current compilation text Federal Register of Legislation — Australia
Personalized plan
Connect financial capacity to your complete Student 500 case
Use the existing Student 500 assessment to identify the requirements and evidence that apply to your circumstances.
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