Key takeaways
- The Genuine Student requirement applies to student visa applications lodged on or after 23 March 2024, replacing GTE, and asks whether study is your primary reason, not whether you will stay temporarily.
- Four questions inside the form: your current circumstances, why this course and provider, how it benefits you, and anything else, at 150 words each, in English.
- Home Affairs assesses your situation at home, your potential situation in Australia, the value of the course to your future and your immigration history, giving more weight to evidence-backed statements.
- A future intention to seek permanent residence does not count against you, but an unrelated field or inconsistencies between answers and documents may trigger closer scrutiny.
- A Saudi scholarship student should lead with the financial guarantee letter, the scholarship decision, the employment tie and the bond to return.
In this article
- What changed from GTE to Genuine Student?
- What are the four questions?
- What is Home Affairs looking for?
- How do you write a 150-word answer?
- When should you lodge, and how long does it take?
- Which mistakes get answers refused?
- What is different for a Saudi scholarship student?
- How KD International helps
- Summary
The Genuine Student (GS) requirement is how the Australian Department of Home Affairs assesses whether you genuinely intend to study. It applies to student visa (subclass 500) applications lodged on or after 23 March 2024, replacing the Genuine Temporary Entrant (GTE) requirement, according to the Department of Home Affairs (updated 13 January 2026). Four questions, 150 words each, with evidence attached. This guide explains what changed and how a Saudi student should answer.
What changed from GTE to Genuine Student?
The core difference is the question being asked. GTE asked: do you intend to stay temporarily? Genuine Student asks: is study the primary reason you are applying for this visa? The official page states that the requirement recognises genuine students may develop skills Australia needs and may later choose to apply for permanent residence, and that future intentions of this kind do not count against an applicant, according to the Department of Home Affairs (updated 13 January 2026).
The second change is the format: instead of a long stand-alone statement, you answer specific questions inside the online application form, and the Department prefers this to a separate attachment. The requirement applies to every applicant: those applying from outside Australia, those applying onshore from another visa, and those applying for a new student visa after completing a course.
What are the four questions?
The application form asks, per the official page (updated 13 January 2026):
- Your current circumstances: ties to family, community, employment and your economic circumstances.
- Why you wish to study this course in Australia with this particular education provider, including your understanding of the course requirements and of studying and living in Australia.
- How completing the course will benefit you.
- Any other relevant information you would like to include.
A fifth question applies to applicants who have held a student visa or are applying in Australia from a non-student visa. The limit is 150 words per response, all responses must be in English, and statements supported by evidence are given more weight, per the same page.
What is Home Affairs looking for?
The Department looks at your overall circumstances, not a single sentence. Four areas, according to the official page and Ministerial Direction No. 106, which commenced on 23 March 2024:
Your situation in your home country
Why not study the same course at home if it is available? What are your ties: family, community and employment? What are your economic circumstances? Direction 106 tells decision makers to allow for any reasonable motives the applicant establishes.
Your potential situation in Australia
How much do you know about the course, the provider and living in Australia? How much research have you done into the course and your living arrangements? A generic answer that would fit any university reads as weak research.
The value of the course to your future
Is the course consistent with your current level of education and past employment? Will it improve your employment prospects in Saudi Arabia or elsewhere? What salary and benefits would the qualification bring? Direction 106 states that decision makers should allow for reasonable changes to career or study pathways, so a change of field is fine if you explain it.
Your immigration history
Previous visa applications for Australia and other countries, any refusals or cancellations, and your compliance with previous visa conditions.
How do you write a 150-word answer?
The rule: every sentence is either a fact backed by an attached document or a specific reason. Follow these steps:
- Open with facts: your current job or study, your scholarship sponsor and your family. For a scholarship student: the scholarship decision and the financial guarantee letter from the sponsoring body.
- Name the course, the university and the city, and give one specific reason for each: a unit, a laboratory, a supervisor or a professional accreditation.
- Show you understand the course requirements: its length, contact hours, English condition and the living costs the Department sets at AUD 29,710 for a student over 12 months, per the student visa page (updated 1 July 2026).
- Tie the qualification to a specific job after graduation: the title, the employer and what changes in your salary or career. For an employed scholarship student: the bond to return to your employer.
- Attach what you mention: transcripts, current employment letter, the guarantee letter or bank statements, and a future job offer if you have one.
- Use the fourth question for what helps your file: previous visits to Australia where you complied with visa conditions, or a previous refusal, its reason and what has changed.
When should you lodge, and how long does it take?
Lodge as soon as you receive your Confirmation of Enrolment (CoE), but not before the evidence you will cite in your answers is complete; the Department may refuse an application lacking financial evidence without asking for more information, per the student visa page (updated 1 July 2026). Applications lodged outside Australia on or after 14 November 2025 are processed under Ministerial Direction 115, per the same page, and processing times vary, so check the processing-time tool before booking travel.
Which mistakes get answers refused?
| Mistake | Why it hurts | Instead |
|---|---|---|
| Generic text that fits any university | Reads as weak research into the course and provider, an area decision makers assess under Direction 106 | One specific reason each for the course, the university and the city |
| A field unrelated to your previous study or work, unexplained | One of the circumstances that may warrant closer scrutiny under Direction 106 | Explain the change and its reasonable motive |
| Inconsistencies between answers and documents | Apparent inconsistencies are grounds for further scrutiny under Direction 106 | Check dates, names and figures in every document |
| Hiding a previous refusal | Immigration history is a separate assessment area | Disclose it and explain what has changed |
| A long separate statement instead of answering in the form | The Department prefers answers in the form, per the official page | 150 focused words per question |
| Answers with no attachments | Evidence-backed statements are given more weight | Attach a document for every fact |
Everything in the table as at 14 September 2026. Remember that the visa fee is from AUD 2,500 since 1 July 2026, per Study Australia, so getting the answers right the first time saves money and time.
What is different for a Saudi scholarship student?
A student sponsored by the Ministry of Education or an employer has three strengths that should appear in the answers: funding secured by a financial guarantee letter from the sponsoring body, a clear employment tie in Saudi Arabia if employed, and a regulatory condition to study full time and reside in the scholarship country under the King Salman Scholarship Program conditions (as at 14 September 2026). Name the program and track, and attach the scholarship decision and the financial guarantee; together they answer both the economic circumstances question and the benefit question. Track details are in our guide to Saudi scholarship programs.
A self-funded student relies on bank statements or parental income; the Department alternatively accepts a parent’s or partner’s personal annual income of at least AUD 87,856 in the 12 months before applying, per the student visa page (updated 1 July 2026).
How KD International helps
KD International offers visa guidance among its services and helps you assemble the visa file after your offer: reviewing your answers to the four questions, matching them against your documents, and arranging NAATI-certified translation where needed. The company does not write you a story; it helps you state your own facts clearly and with evidence. See our step-by-step process or register your application.
Summary
The Genuine Student requirement does not ask you to swear you will go home; it asks you to show that study is your primary reason and that you know what you will study, where and why. Four short answers, every sentence backed by a document, do more than any long statement. The practical step: draft your four answers now at 150 words each, then contact us to review them with you before you lodge.
Frequently asked questions
It is the criterion the Department of Home Affairs uses to assess that study is your primary reason for applying for a student visa (subclass 500). It applies to applications lodged on or after 23 March 2024 and is answered through specific questions in the application form with supporting documents.
GTE asked about the intention to stay temporarily; Genuine Student asks about the genuineness of study. The official page states that a future intention to apply for permanent residence does not count against an applicant, and the answers are now short questions in the form rather than a long statement.
Your current circumstances and ties to family, employment and finances; why this course in Australia with this provider and your understanding of its requirements; how completing it benefits you; and any other relevant information. A further question applies to those who held a student visa or are applying onshore.
150 words per response, in English. The Department prefers answers in the form to a separate statement and gives more weight to statements supported by documents attached in ImmiAccount.
The requirement does not ask that expressly; it asks that study be your primary reason and recognises that a genuine student may later apply for permanent residence. What matters is your real ties, the value of the course to your future and the honesty of your file.
Academic transcripts, a current employment letter with position and period, evidence of economic circumstances for 12 months such as a guarantee letter, bank statements or tax returns, any future job offer, and your Australian study record if you have one.
Ministerial Direction 106 allows for reasonable changes to career or study pathways, but treats a field unrelated to previous study or employment as a circumstance that may warrant closer scrutiny. Explain the reason for the change and how it serves your future work.
Official sources
- Genuine Student requirement — Department of Home Affairs
- Direction No. 106: Assessing the genuine entry and stay requirements for Student visa and Student Guardian visa applicat — Department of Home Affairs
- Subclass 500 Student visa — Department of Home Affairs
- Student visa (subclass 500) — Study Australia
- الشروط: برنامج خادم الحرمين الشريفين للابتعاث — وزارة التعليم
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Last updated: 14 September 2026. Fees and requirements change; always confirm with the official source before deciding.
