Subclass 590 — Student Guardian visa

Who the Student Guardian visa (subclass 590) is generally for

General information only — not immigration assistance or legal advice. In broad terms, the subclass 590 Student Guardian visa is a temporary visa for a parent, legal custodian, or an eligible relative who comes to Australia to provide care and support to an international student. It is most commonly associated with caring for a student who is under 18, although there are limited circumstances where it can relate to an older student who needs care for special reasons. The relationship to the student and the caring arrangement are central to this visa, so applicants typically need to show how they are connected to the student and how the welfare and accommodation arrangements will work. A defining feature of this visa is that the holder generally cannot work in Australia — the visa exists for guardianship and care, not employment. Because of that, applicants are usually expected to demonstrate genuine access to enough money to support themselves, the student, and any accompanying family members without relying on a job here. Study is also typically limited, with only short or limited courses generally permitted. Other common threads for temporary Australian visas usually apply as well, including health requirements, character (police clearance) requirements, adequate health insurance for the relevant period, and a demonstrated genuine intention to stay temporarily. Eligibility rules, age thresholds, who counts as an eligible relative, and the exact conditions change over time and depend heavily on individual circumstances. This snapshot is generic and identical for every reader. Check the official Department of Home Affairs page for the current requirements, and a registered migration practitioner can advise on how the criteria apply to your specific situation.

Common questions

Health and character checks

Most people applying for an Australian visa are asked to meet a health requirement, and the Student Guardian visa is no exception. The Department states that most visa applicants must meet this requirement, and family members included in an application may also need to meet it depending on the visa applied for. Applicants may be asked to arrange health examinations, which are assessed by a Medical Officer of the Commonwealth to check for conditions that could be a significant healthcare and community-service cost or that could limit access to services in short supply. Because examinations can be needed before an application is finalised, applicants are generally advised to check what health checks they require early in the process. The Department tells each applicant what specific examinations, if any, are needed for their circumstances. Character is assessed under section 501 of the Migration Act 1958, and meeting the character requirement is one of the criteria listed for this visa. Applicants are generally asked to declare any criminal history, answer all questions truthfully, and provide the information requested. After applying, the Department may ask for a police certificate from each country a person has lived in, typically for those over 17 who spent 12 months or more in a country during the past 10 years. Police certificates are generally valid for 12 months from their issue date, and an Australian check is obtained through the Australian Federal Police. Some applicants may also be asked to complete additional character forms such as Form 80. This is general information only and is not immigration assistance or legal advice.

Adequate health insurance

Holding adequate health insurance is one of the requirements listed for the Student Guardian visa, and the Department expects a holder to maintain suitable cover for the whole of their stay. Guardians are personally liable for any health care costs they incur in Australia. Most temporary visitors do not have access to Medicare, so the Department strongly encourages private health cover. For visitors who are not students, this is generally arranged through an Overseas Visitors Health Cover (OVHC) product; the student being supported has a separate requirement to hold Overseas Student Health Cover under their own student visa. Cover can be bought from an Australian registered insurer or, in some cases, an overseas insurer, and applicants are encouraged to compare policies. As a guide to a minimum standard, the Department indicates that a policy's per-person benefit should be at least AUD1,000,000 per year and should cover items such as public hospital treatment, prescribed pharmaceuticals administered in hospital, medical services and ambulance transport. Applicants are encouraged to check waiting periods, exclusions and any excess or co-payment, since costs may not be fully covered. People from countries that have a Reciprocal Health Care Agreement with Australia may be eligible for some care under Medicare, but are still encouraged to hold private cover. The Australian Government's Private Health website lists registered insurers and further information for overseas visitors. This is general information only and is not immigration assistance or legal advice.

Visa Application Charge and other costs

The Department lists the base Visa Application Charge for the Student Guardian visa as from AUD2,500.00 for the main applicant, with concessions applying in limited circumstances. A further charge generally applies for each family member who applies for the visa together with the main applicant. A lower visa cost is available to eligible citizens of certain Pacific Island countries and Timor-Leste who lodge a valid application, based on the primary applicant's passport. The exact amount payable depends on individual circumstances, and the Department provides a Visa Pricing Estimator to work out an indicative figure. Beyond the government charge, applicants may need to pay separate costs for things such as health examinations, police certificates and biometrics. These are paid to the relevant providers and are additional to the Visa Application Charge. This government Visa Application Charge is set and collected by the Department of Home Affairs. It is entirely separate from any fee charged by an independent service or platform, which is never part of the government charge. This is general information only and is not immigration assistance or legal advice.

Visa length and timing

The Student Guardian visa is a temporary visa. The Department decides its length based on the student visa holder's stay and their age, and the holder can generally stay until the date shown on their visa grant letter. If a guardian wants to keep providing care after the visa ends, the Department's guidance is that they would generally apply for a further Student Guardian visa rather than extending the existing one. Time spent outside Australia does not extend the visa. Processing times are not fixed and vary between applications. The Department publishes an indicative processing time guide based on recently decided cases, and notes that an application can take longer if it is incomplete, if documents are missing, or if information needs to be verified. Some supporting documents also have their own timing rules; for example, police certificates are generally valid for 12 months from their issue date, so applicants are encouraged to consider when to obtain them. This is general information only and is not immigration assistance or legal advice.

Visa conditions that generally apply

The Migration Regulations 1994 set out the conditions that must be attached to this visa. For a guardian granted the visa to care for a nominated student, conditions 8101, 8201, 8501, 8516, 8534, 8537 and 8538 are generally imposed. Where the visa is instead granted on the basis that it significantly benefits Australia's relationship with a foreign government, condition 8106 generally applies in place of 8101. Family members granted the visa generally have conditions 8101, 8501, 8502 and 8516. Condition 8101 means the holder must not work in Australia. Under the relations-benefit stream, condition 8106 instead allows work only where it is relevant to the tasks specified in the visa application. Condition 8201 means the holder must not study or train for more than three months, with a specific exception allowing an ELICOS (English language) course of less than 20 hours per week. Condition 8501 requires the holder to maintain adequate arrangements for health insurance for the whole time they are in Australia. Condition 8516 means the holder must continue to be a person who would meet the criteria for the visa. For a family member, condition 8502 means they must not enter Australia before the person specified in the visa enters. Condition 8534 is a "no further stay" condition: while the holder remains in Australia they generally cannot be granted most other substantive visas, with limited exceptions (a protection visa, a Subclass 485 Temporary Graduate visa, or a further Subclass 590 Student Guardian visa). Conditions 8537 and 8538 are the welfare conditions specific to this visa. While the nominated student is in Australia, the holder must live in Australia, stay with the student, and provide accommodation, support and general welfare. The holder must not leave Australia without the student unless they first give the department evidence of compelling or compassionate reasons and of alternative welfare arrangements (approved by the education provider if the student is under 18). This is general information only and is not immigration assistance or legal advice.

Who this visa is for and what decision-makers assess

This is a temporary visa for a person who comes to Australia to provide accommodation, support and general welfare for a nominated student who holds a student visa. It is generally used for a student who is under 18, but it can also apply where a student has turned 18 and there are exceptional reasons for a guardian to reside with them. A separate stream exists where granting the visa would significantly benefit Australia's relationship with the government of a foreign country. Applicants are generally the student's parent, a person who has custody of the student, or a relative who has turned 21. Where a relative applies, the nomination generally needs written support from a parent or custodian. The nominated student must hold a student visa that was granted on the basis of the primary criteria. Decision-makers generally look at whether the applicant is a genuine applicant intending to stay temporarily (considering the applicant's circumstances, immigration history and compliance record), whether there is genuine access to sufficient funds and evidence of financial capacity to support the applicant, any accompanying family, and generally the student, and whether adequate health insurance is arranged. They also assess the applicant's ability to provide appropriate accommodation, support and welfare, and the arrangements made for any of the applicant's own children who are under 18. Applicants are generally assessed against public interest criteria covering health, character and security, and against special return criteria. An applicant who is in Australia generally needs to hold a substantive visa. This visa does not involve a points test, a skills assessment, an occupation list or an English-language test. This is general information only and is not immigration assistance or legal advice.

Family members and what the visa allows after grant

The nominated student is not included in the guardian's application, because the student holds their own student visa. Only limited family members can generally be included in a Student Guardian application: this is generally confined to a child of the guardian who has not turned 6. The department will generally not grant the visa if a member of the family unit is under 6 unless there are compelling and compassionate reasons (or the application is in the relations-benefit stream). A child who has turned 6 cannot be included as a family member in a Student Guardian application and would generally need to apply for a visa in their own right. This is a temporary visa that is in effect until a date specified by the decision-maker. Time spent outside Australia does not extend the visa. To stay longer, a holder can generally apply for a further Student Guardian visa; this visa is not a pathway to permanent residence. After grant, holders generally cannot work (a limited work allowance applies only in the relations-benefit stream). They can generally study an ELICOS course of less than 20 hours per week, or undertake other study or training for no more than three months. Holders can generally travel outside Australia and return while the visa is valid, but generally must not leave Australia without the nominated student unless alternative welfare arrangements have been made and the required evidence given. Holders must give evidence of adequate arrangements for health insurance covering their whole intended stay. Holders and their family members must meet all visa conditions and obey Australian laws, and must continue to provide the accommodation, support and general welfare arrangements on which the visa was granted. This is general information only and is not immigration assistance or legal advice.

Common reasons for refusal and review at the Tribunal

Applications of this type are commonly refused where the applicant does not satisfy the genuine-applicant and genuine-temporary-stay requirement, or where there is insufficient evidence of access to sufficient funds and financial capacity. Other common factual reasons include a lack of evidence of adequate health insurance, not meeting the health or character public interest criteria, or inadequate arrangements for the accommodation, support and welfare of the student (or of the applicant's own young children). Refusals also occur where a member of the family unit is under 6 and there are no compelling and compassionate reasons, or where an applicant who is in Australia does not hold a substantive visa. If a decision is unfavourable, merits review may be available at the Administrative Review Tribunal, which replaced the Administrative Appeals Tribunal on 14 October 2024. Merits review generally means the Tribunal looks at the decision again and can affirm it, vary it, set it aside, or send it back to the department for reconsideration. A strict time limit applies and is set out in the decision record; the Tribunal generally cannot extend the time limit for these migration decisions, so a late application generally cannot proceed. A fee applies (currently A$3,727 for a migration decision made under Part 5 of the Migration Act 1958), a 50% reduction may be available on financial-hardship grounds, and 50% of the fee is generally refunded if the decision is set aside, varied or remitted. This is factual information about the review process and is not advice or a prediction about any individual case. This is general information only and is not immigration assistance or legal advice.

Costs: government charges explained

The Australian Government's Visa Application Charge for this visa is set in the Migration Regulations 1994. The base application charge for the main applicant is generally A$2,000. A lower concession rate, with a base charge of A$730, generally applies to applicants who hold a passport from specified countries, including Pacific Island nations and Timor-Leste. The charge sits within the shared Student (Temporary) (Class TU) schedule, which is also used for the Student visa. Because the only family members who can be included in a Student Guardian application are children who have not turned 6, the additional applicant charge that applies is generally A$400 (A$180 at the concession rate); the schedule's higher additional-applicant charge of generally A$1,225 (A$545 at the concession rate) is for other applicants in the class. The second instalment of the Visa Application Charge for this visa is nil. The Visa Application Charge is generally not refunded if the application is refused or withdrawn, and a card-payment surcharge may be added when paying. These charges are set in the Regulations and are generally reviewed each year, usually taking effect on 1 July, so current figures should always be confirmed on the official pricing pages. Beyond the Visa Application Charge, applicants generally meet other costs, such as health examinations, police or character certificates and biometrics, and must arrange and pay for adequate health insurance for the whole stay. A skills assessment is not required for this visa. These are Australian Government charges. Any fee charged by a website, an agent, or a registered migration practitioner for help with an application is separate from, and additional to, the government Visa Application Charge. This is general information only and is not immigration assistance or legal advice.