How much money do I need for an Australian student visa?

Twelve months of living costs at the figure Home Affairs publishes, plus twelve months of tuition and return travel. The living figure is reviewed and has risen more than once, so check the current one on the Home Affairs site.

What replaced the GTE?

The Genuine Student requirement. You answer specific questions about your circumstances and intentions in the application itself, rather than relying on a statement alone.

Yes. Overseas Student Health Cover must be held for the length of your visa and is normally paid up front for the whole period.

Can I work while studying in Australia?

Student visa holders have capped working rights during term and more during breaks. The cap changes, so check the current limit. It is not part of the funds you must show.

Does Australia care that I applied elsewhere first?

It cares that you declare it. A previous refusal must be disclosed, and an undisclosed one is treated far more seriously than the refusal itself.

Do I need an NOC for Australia?

Yes. It is Nepal's requirement rather than Australia's, and without it your bank cannot legally remit your tuition.

Officeak

🇦🇺 Subclass 500 student visa

Studying in Australia from Nepal

Australia takes more Nepali students than anywhere else, which cuts both ways. The route is well worn and every counsellor knows it, and for the same reason Home Affairs looks at Nepali files closely. The Genuine Temporary Entrant test was replaced by the Genuine Student requirement, and the change was not cosmetic: the questions are more direct and they are answered in writing, by you, before anyone reads your statement.

Work out your own figure Check if you are eligible

A published rule, not an estimate

What the visa asks you to show

A$29,710

Living costs to evidence

NPR 26.7 lakh

A$36,000

Plus first year tuition still owed

typical masters, NPR 32.4 lakh

NPR 59.1 lakh

So, roughly, in the bank

at A$1 = NPR 90, August 2026

12 months of living costs (AUD 29,710) + 12 months tuition + return travel

Funds should be genuinely available; recent large deposits invite questions.

Source: Department of Home Affairs financial capacity requirement, 2026. Check the current figure on the government's own site before you rely on it; it changes, and a page is not an authority.

Estimates, for planning

What it actually costs

These are ranges for planning, not a quote. Once you hold an offer letter, type your own tuition into the calculator and ignore the middle column.

	Lower	Typical	Higher
Tuition, masters, per year	A$26,000NPR 23.4 lakh	A$36,000NPR 32.4 lakh	A$50,000NPR 45.0 lakh
Tuition, bachelors, per year	A$22,000NPR 19.8 lakh	A$33,000NPR 29.7 lakh	A$45,000NPR 40.5 lakh
Tuition, diploma, per year	A$14,000NPR 12.6 lakh	A$20,000NPR 18.0 lakh	A$28,000NPR 25.2 lakh
Living, per year	A$22,000NPR 19.8 lakh	A$29,000NPR 26.1 lakh	A$38,000NPR 34.2 lakh
One offvisa fee, oshc, flight	A$2000 visa · A$700 a year · NPR 95,000 flight from Kathmandu

Converted at A$1 = NPR 90, set August 2026. Rates move; the calculator uses the same figures and shows the date it was last updated.

Put your own numbers in

From Kathmandu

When to do what

Dated backwards from the intake, because that is the only fixed point. The step people leave too late is marked.

10 to 12 months beforeSit IELTS or PTEAustralia accepts several tests and most institutions publish the score they want by course. Check the course, not the university.
8 to 10 months beforeApply, and collect offersConditional offers are normal. The condition is usually the English score or a final transcript.
6 months beforeAccept, pay the deposit, get the CoEThe Confirmation of Enrolment is what the visa application needs. Nothing proceeds without it.
5 to 6 months beforeAssemble the financial evidenceTwelve months living, twelve months tuition, return travel, held in a way that shows the money is genuinely yours to use. Start this before the CoE, not after.
4 months beforeArrange OSHC and the NOCOverseas Student Health Cover is compulsory and usually paid for the whole visa length at once. The NOC runs in parallel and is a Nepali requirement.
3 months beforeLodge the subclass 500Answer the Genuine Student questions yourself, in your own words, and make sure they agree with your statement. Check current processing times rather than assuming.

Why files fail

What gets a Nepali application refused here

The Genuine Student answers contradicting the rest of the file

You answer a set of direct questions about your circumstances, your ties to Nepal, why this course and why Australia rather than studying at home. Those answers sit alongside your statement and your history, and an officer reads all three together. The failure is not a wrong answer, it is three documents telling slightly different stories.

Funds that exist but are not demonstrably available

Home Affairs asks for twelve months of living costs, twelve months of tuition and return travel. The wording that matters is that funds be genuinely available to you. Money in a relative's account that has never moved, or a balance assembled the month before, meets the figure without meeting the test.

A course that lowers your level of study

A student with a bachelors applying for a diploma is asked why, and the honest answer is often that the diploma was cheaper or easier to get into. That reads as a visa pathway rather than an education plan. If the step down is genuine, and sometimes it is, the file has to argue it rather than hope it goes unnoticed.

A previous refusal not declared

Countries share this information. An undisclosed refusal turns a survivable problem into a finding of misrepresentation, which can carry a multi-year exclusion. Declare it and address it directly.

Questions families ask

How much money do I need for an Australian student visa?: Twelve months of living costs at the figure Home Affairs publishes, plus twelve months of tuition and return travel. The living figure is reviewed and has risen more than once, so check the current one on the Home Affairs site.
What replaced the GTE?: The Genuine Student requirement. You answer specific questions about your circumstances and intentions in the application itself, rather than relying on a statement alone.
Is OSHC compulsory?: Yes. Overseas Student Health Cover must be held for the length of your visa and is normally paid up front for the whole period.
Can I work while studying in Australia?: Student visa holders have capped working rights during term and more during breaks. The cap changes, so check the current limit. It is not part of the funds you must show.
Does Australia care that I applied elsewhere first?: It cares that you declare it. A previous refusal must be disclosed, and an undisclosed one is treated far more seriously than the refusal itself.
Do I need an NOC for Australia?: Yes. It is Nepal's requirement rather than Australia's, and without it your bank cannot legally remit your tuition.

The NOC, start to finish →The sentences that sink a statement →Work out the whole cost →

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