Student Guardian Visa Subclass 590

What is a Student Guardian Visa?

A student Guardian visa subclass 590 is for a parent, custodian or a relative who is at least 21 years old who needs to travel to Australia to provide care and support to student visa holders who are less than 18 years of age. In exceptional circumstances these students can be more than 18 years old.

The application for the Student Guardian visa subclass 590 and the application for the nominated student’s subclass 500 Student Visa must made together at the same time.

Visa Fees

Location at the time of the 590 visa application.

You can be in Australia or outside Australia to apply for the student guardian visa.

If you are in Australia, you should hold a substantive visa. If you are in Australia and hold the following visas, you won’t be eligible.

• • Domestic Worker (Temporary) Diplomatic and Consular visa (subclass 426)
  • Temporary Work (International Relations) visa (subclass 403) in the Domestic Worker (Diplomatic or consular) stream
  • Diplomatic (Temporary) visa (subclass 995) – primary visa holder only. A family member of a Diplomatic (Temporary) visa (subclass 995) can apply for a student visa in Australia
  • Transit visa (subclass 771)
  • Visitor visa (subclass 600) in the Sponsored Family stream or in the Approved Destination Status stream

What do you need for this visa:

• • You must be at least 21 years old.
  • You must be either a parent, custodian or a relative of the student you are nominating for the student visa subclass 500.

A relative for a subclass 590 student guardian visa is a parent, brother, sister, stepbrother, stepsister, grandparent, aunt, step-grandparent, step-aunt, step-uncle.

A custodian must provide a nomination letter by a parent for this application and should also have the right and responsibility for daily care and control of the nominated child and any decisions associated with child’s care and control.

• • The nominated student in most cases will be less than 18 years old.
  • In some exceptional circumstances a subclass 590 may be granted to the applicant to accompany a nominated student who is 18 years or more. The following examples are not limited:
  • there are well-recognised and strong religious or cultural grounds requiring the student to always have a relative as a chaperone in their home country or
  • the student requires a relative to be their carer on medical grounds.
  • If any member of the family unit has not turned 6 years old, subclass 590 guardian visa cannot be granted unless there are compelling or compassionate circumstances, or the grant of the visa will significantly benefit relationship of Australia with another country.
  • Both the student guardian and student must have a genuine intention to temporarily stay in Australia also known as genuine temporary entrant criteria.

If you want to find out more about the Genuine Temporary Entrant Criteria (GTE), please refer to our blog by clicking on the following link.

• • Both the nominated student applying for the student visa subclass 500 and the student guardian applicant subclass 590 applicant have genuine intention to stay together. If they don’t intend to live together it will be breach of the visa grant criteria.

• • The applicant of the student guardian visa subclass 590 should make appropriate arrangements for accommodation, support and general welfare of their children who are not travelling and are les than 18 years old.

• • The applicant of the student guardian visa subclass 590 needs to provide evidence that they have enough funds to support the living costs, accommodation costs, study costs, health insurance costs and any other costs of themselves, the nominated student, and any other secondary applicant during their stay in Australia.

Funds required as evidence

If the applicant intends to stay for 12 months or more:

• • Student Guardian Visa subclass 590 applicant, AUD 21041.
    • • For Spouse or de facto partner, AUD 7362.
      • For any dependent child, AUD 3152.
      • For any school age dependent, AUD 8296.

OR

Government documentation which demonstrates an income of AUD 72,492 such as tax returns that have been issued 12 months before the application for the student guardian visa is lodged.

• • A primary or a secondary applicant needs to maintain adequate health insurance. For student guardian visa, Overseas Visitors Health Cover (OVHC) is an appropriate visa cover.

• • Any child who is older than 6 years must lodge a separate student visa subclass 500 visa application.

• • You must satisfy character and health requirements.

• • Applicant must not have their Australian visa cancelled in last 3 years because of providing false or misleading information or material or any bogus document. Applicant must not have their visa cancelled due to not complying with their visa conditions including working without any working rights.

If 3 years have not passed there must be compelling or compassionate circumstances.

• • An applicant for the student guardian visa 590 must not in the last 3 years have departed Australia while being an unlawful non-citizen. At the time they left they must not have been a holder of bridging visas BVB, BVC and BVE.

The above condition does not apply if the applicant left Australia within 28 days after their substantive visa expired.

The above condition also does not apply if the applicant left Australia holding a BVB, BVC or a BVE which was granted within 28 days after a substantive visa held by the person expired.

• • Applicant should not have provided any false or misleading information or material or any bogus document in this visa application or any the visa the applicant held 12 in the period of 12 months before the application was made.
  • The minister should be satisfied that during the period starting 10 years before the application for the student guardian visa is made no applicant had their visa refused on the basis that they failed to satisfy the minister of their identity.
  • All applicants of the student guardian visa should hold a valid passport. It is always recommended that you have at least 6 months validity left on your passport.
  • All applicants of the student guardian visa need to sign an Australian Value Statement which is part of the application. No separate steps need to be taken.
  • All applicants who have been deported from Australia because of character issues including criminal record won’t be granted the student guardian visa.
  • Under policy the maximum period for a student guardian visa is 5 years. If the nominated student is attended primary school, the student visa will normally be granted for only 2 years.

Where should be an applicant when the visa is granted?

An applicant of the student guardian visa can be within Australia or outside Australia at the time of the grant of their visa.

When visa is in effect!

Applicant can travel into and outside Australia until their visa expires.

Mandatory Visa Conditions

The following conditions must be imposed on the student guardian visa:

• • Condition 8201: Maximum 3 months study. An applicant who has been granted a student guardian visa can only study up to 20 hours a week on an English Language Intensive Course for Overseas Students (ELICOS).

• •  Condition 8501: All applicants must maintain adequate health insurance.

• • Condition 8516: All student guardian visa applicants must continue to satisfy the criteria for the grant of the visa.

• • Condition 8534: A person who holds a student guardian visa 590, can only be granted a subclass 590 student guardian visa, a subclass 485 Temporary Graduate visa or a protection visa after their current student guardian visa expires.

• • Condition 8537: A person who has been granted a student guardian visa must live in Australia with the nominated student and provide them appropriate accommodation, support, and general welfare.

• • Condition 8538: A person who has been granted a student guardian visa must not leave Australia without the nominated student. If they need to leave Australia without the nominating student, they must have compelling and compassionate circumstances. They need to make appropriate arrangements for the nominated student’s accommodation, support, and general welfare.

• • Condition 8101: For the student guardian visa holder, who has nominated a student under 18 years of age for the student visa 500, they must not work in Australia.

• •  Condition 8106: For the student guardian visa holder, who has nominated a student 18 years or above for the student visa subclass 500, applicant cannot work in Australia unless it is relevant to the business or tasks specified in the visa application.