Life in Australia Guide

Many people focus on applying for a visa but know little about the conditions they must follow while staying in Australia after it is granted. Conditions differ by visa type and by individual, and may have changed since you applied.

• The exact conditions attached to your visa are most reliably checked on your visa grant letter and via VEVO.
• Conditions that commonly cause problems: 8105/8101/8104 (work restrictions), 8503 (No Further Stay), 8202 (course progress), 8516 (maintaining eligibility), 8501 (maintaining health insurance) and others.
• Conditions apply the same way regardless of nationality — they are equally important for every foreign resident in Australia.

Your VEVO result shows the following. Capturing each item or keeping it by email gives you evidence in case of a dispute.

• Visa class / subclass: your visa type (e.g. Subclass 500 student, 482 skilled, 600 visitor).
• Visa expiry date: the expiry date — plan to renew or depart before this date passes.
• Work entitlements: whether you can work and any limit (unlimited / time-limited / no work).
• Conditions: a list of condition numbers in 8xxx format. Check what each number means on the Home Affairs 'See your visa conditions' page.

If you see any condition numbers, make sure you check the meaning of each one. Skipping over the numbers can lead you to breach a condition without realising it.

• 8105 (student visa work limit): while your course is in session you may work only up to 48 hours per fortnight. A 'fortnight' is any 14-day period starting on a Monday. You cannot work before your course formally begins (unless a previous visa allowed work). During scheduled breaks (course not in session) the time limit may be lifted.
• Combined total: all forms of work — casual, part-time, ABN contracting and so on — are added together; going over 48 hours is a breach.
• 8101 (no work): attached to many visitor visas (such as Subclass 600), this means you cannot work at all.
• 8104 (limited work): a time-limit condition on some temporary visas, usually applying a 48-hours-per-fortnight cap.

Work limits have changed under government policy in the past, so re-check the actual limit for your visa on VEVO and the official website. Working over the limit is a breach not only by you but also by the employer who gave you the work — be wary of employers who push you into extra hours without knowing the limit.

If your visa carries condition 8503 (No Further Stay), you cannot apply for most other visas while you remain in Australia. In effect, once your current visa ends you must in principle depart; you cannot switch to or extend a visa while inside Australia.

• It is attached to some visitor and temporary visas, and you must check for the 8503 marking yourself on VEVO.
• If you have 8503 but plan an onshore visa application unaware of it, you could be caught out badly.

Condition 8202 requires student visa (Subclass 500) holders to maintain their studies in good faith. You must meet three requirements at the same time:

• Maintain enrolment: you must remain enrolled full-time in your registered course.
• Maintain AQF level: you must keep a course at the same AQF (Australian Qualifications Framework) level as at the time of your visa application (switching to a lower level without authorisation is a breach).
• Attendance and results: you must meet the attendance and satisfactory course progress standards under the ESOS Act (2000).

Education providers are obliged to report to Home Affairs if attendance or results fall below standard, and this can constitute a breach of 8202 and grounds for visa cancellation. Speak to your institution's international student support office first before suspending or changing your course.