How long will your visa really take?
Check another visa

Student visa (500) - Non-Award Sector

Check estimated processing times for the Australian Student visa (Subclass 500) - Non-Award Sector stream. Based on data from 4.5 million visa decisions obtained from the Department of Home Affairs via FOI.

Your estimated processing time

Less than 1 day

Typical processing time
July 2026
25% decided withinLess than 1 day
75% decided within6 days
90% decided within14 days

Student visa processing times by nationality

How long the Student visa takes can vary depending on your passport, based on real decided applications: choose a nationality below for the full breakdown.
NationalityOutside AustraliaIn Australia
AustriaLess than 1 day
CanadaLess than 1 day
DenmarkLess than 1 day
GermanyLess than 1 day
IrelandLess than 1 day
ItalyLess than 1 day
JapanLess than 1 day
NetherlandsLess than 1 day
NorwayLess than 1 day
SpainLess than 1 day
SwedenLess than 1 day
SwitzerlandLess than 1 day
United KingdomLess than 1 day
United States of AmericaLess than 1 day
People's Republic of China2 days
Mexico2 days
Indonesia3 days
France4 days
Hong Kong5 days
South Korea5 days
Malaysia5 days
Taiwan, Province of China5 days
Singapore7 days
India14 days
Medians only: half of applications were decided faster, half slower. A dash means too few decisions from that location for a reliable figure.
Get your personalised estimate

Get your personalised estimate

Processing times vary significantly based on your citizenship and location. Find out what the wait really looks like for someone like you.
Free. Based on FOI data from 4.5 million visa decisions.

About Student visa processing times

About this data

The times shown above are monthly averages for the Student visa, aggregated across all applicants. Your actual processing time may differ significantly based on your citizenship and where you apply from.

Where this data comes from

This data is derived from approximately 4.5 million visa grants obtained from the Department of Home Affairs via Freedom of Information request (Reference: DA25/10/00449), covering July 2024 to September 2025. View the released document.

Methodology

Processing times shown are monthly averages for this visa subclass and stream, aggregated across all countries and application locations.Times are presented as percentiles (25th, 50th, 75th, 90th) showing what proportion of applicants received decisions within each timeframe.Data is updated monthly when new information becomes available from the Department of Home Affairs.

Get a personalised estimate

The figures above are averages across everyone. Your citizenship and location can make a big difference. Our Visa Time Checker gives you a personalised estimate based on your specific situation, not just these aggregated figures.

Check other visa types

Looking for a different visa? Use our visa processing time checker to see estimates for any Australian visa type.

Want to understand this better?

Read our guide explaining how processing times work, what affects them, and how to interpret these estimates: Australian visa processing times guide