About this Visa

This visa is for international students who want to study English Language Intensive Courses for Overseas Students (ELICOS) in Australia. This includes:

• courses that lead to a certificate I, II, III or IV
• courses that result in no formal Australian award.

If you are studying ELICOS as a pre-requisite to another course, you must apply for the visa appropriate to your main course of study. If you are studying several courses, the main course is the higher level course.

Example: If you plan to complete a three-month ELICOS before starting a Bachelor of Arts degree, you must apply for the Higher Education Sector visa.

Important: Before you apply for this visa, you must have been accepted to study full-time at an educational institution in Australia.

Who is this visa for?

This visa is for you if you want to do one of the following:

• apply for your first student visa
• renew your student visa
• apply to join a family member who is in Australia on a student visa.

How much will this visa cost?

You must pay a non-refundable visa application charge when you lodge your visa application.
See: Student Visa Charges

What does the visa let me do?

With this visa:

• you can study in Australia
• your dependant family members may accompany you to Australia if: 
• you are a fully funded applicant
  See: Fully Funded Students
• you will be or have been studying an ELICOS course or courses of 12 months or more duration
• when you have commenced your course of study in Australia, you can work up to 20 hours per week while your course is in session and unlimited hours during scheduled course breaks.
• your family members can work up to 20 hours per week provided you have commenced your course of study in Australia.
  Note: If you have been granted Student visa before 26 April 2008 you and your dependent family members may need to apply separately for Permission to Work.
  See: How to Apply for Permission to Work
• your partner (if eligible to accompany you to Australia) can study in Australia for up to three months.
  Note: If your partner wants to study for more than three months they must apply for their own student visa. The application can be made in Australia.

What is your assessment level?

Your assessment level is determined by your nationality and course of study.
See: Information form 1219i Overseas Student Program - Assessment Levels (58KB PDF file)