Eligibility for Australia Student Guardian Visa 590 in 2026: Parent, Custodian or Relative
To accompany a student in Australia on a Student Guardian visa (subclass 590), you must be the student's parent, a person who has custody of the student, or a relative who has turned 21 and has been nominated in writing by a parent or by the person who has custody — and the student you care for must be under 18, or 18 or older and needing care and support because of exceptional circumstances. That framework comes from the Australian Department of Home Affairs' Student Guardian visa (subclass 590) official page, as of the August 2026 version of that page, read together with Schedule 2 Part 590 of the Migration Regulations 1994. The requirements below are general information rather than personalised advice; a family's own combination of relationships, custody orders and travel plans should be checked against the official page or a registered professional before lodging.
Who counts as a parent, custodian or relative?
The official page uses three entry points, and only a relative route carries an age test.
| Route | Who qualifies | Additional requirement |
|---|---|---|
| Parent | The parent of the student visa holder | None beyond the shared criteria |
| Custodian | A person who has custody of the student | None beyond the shared criteria |
| Relative | A listed relative of the student | Must have turned 21 and be nominated in writing by a parent or by the person who has custody |
For this visa, "relative" is a closed list: parent or step-parent; grandparent or step-grandparent; sibling or stepsibling; aunt, uncle, step-aunt or step-uncle; niece, nephew, step-niece or step-nephew; partner; child or stepchild. A cousin, a family friend, or the parent of the student's classmate falls outside that list, so those arrangements cannot be built on the 590 route regardless of how close the relationship is in practice.
Why does the written nomination matter so much?
Because it is the hinge on which the whole relative route turns. A 25-year-old sister who is otherwise willing and able to move to Australia does not meet the relationship criteria on her own; she needs a nomination in writing from a parent of the student or from the person who has custody. Parents and custodians, by contrast, apply on the strength of their own status and do not need anyone else to nominate them.
From a planning perspective, this matters for families whose care arrangements are already complicated. If custody sits with one parent after a separation, or with a guardian appointed by a court, the nomination should come from the person who actually holds custody, and the relationship evidence should line up with that. The official page does not require nominations from both parents; it requires a nomination from a parent or a person who has custody.
How old does the student have to be?
The care and support you provide must be for either:
- a student visa holder who is under 18 years of age, or
- a student visa holder who is 18 or older and needs care and support due to exceptional circumstances.
The under-18 route is the ordinary case. The over-18 route is an exception, and the official page does not define "exceptional circumstances" with a checklist, so it is assessed on the facts presented rather than on a fixed document list. Assume that a general preference for family company, or a wish to supervise an adult student's daily routine, is a weak basis for the exception.
You must also be able to provide accommodation, general welfare and support to the student. This is a distinct criterion, not a formality: the visa exists so that a nominated student has a carer physically present, and the official material also notes an intention to live in Australia with the student.
What financial, health and character criteria apply?
Beyond the relationship and age tests, the official page lists a cluster of criteria that apply to essentially every applicant:
- Funds: you must show evidence of enough money to pay for your stay, covering yourself, any accompanying family members, and the student visa holder.
- Health insurance: you are personally liable for your healthcare costs, and you must maintain adequate health cover for the whole of your stay, including transport for medically necessary treatment.
- Genuine temporary entrant: you must intend only to stay temporarily and to do what the visa allows, and you must have substantially complied with the conditions of your last substantive or subsequent bridging visa. Decision makers look at your circumstances at home, your likely circumstances in Australia, your immigration history, and anything else relevant to a temporary stay.
- Health: you and any family members applying with you must meet the health requirement.
- Character: if you are applying as a relative of the student visa holder, you must meet the character requirement.
- Australian values: you must have read, or had explained to you, the Life in Australia booklet and sign an Australian Values Statement.
- Debt to the Australian Government: any money owed by you or your family members must have been repaid or arrangements made to repay it.
- Immigration history: a cancelled visa or refused application can count against eligibility.
- Best interests of the child: the visa might not be granted if doing so would not be in the best interests of an applicant under 18.
Does it matter whether I apply inside or outside Australia?
Not for eligibility in principle — you can be in or outside Australia when you apply and when the decision is made. What changes is the visa you must already hold if you are inside Australia. You can apply onshore if you hold a substantive visa other than one of the excluded types, which include the Temporary Work (International Relations) visa (subclass 403) in the Domestic Worker (Diplomatic or Consular) stream, the Domestic Worker (Temporary) Diplomatic and Consular visa (subclass 426), the Temporary Graduate visa (subclass 485), Visitor visa (subclass 600), Electronic Travel Authority (subclass 601), Medical Treatment visa (subclass 602), eVisitor (subclass 651), Transit visa (subclass 771), Maritime Crew visa (subclass 988), and the Diplomatic (Temporary) visa (subclass 995) for primary holders.
If you do not hold an eligible substantive visa, the official page allows an onshore application within 28 days of either holding a student visa, a special purpose visa or a dependent Diplomatic (Temporary) visa, or being notified by the Tribunal that a visa cancellation has been set aside.
What happens to my own children?
This is the part of the 590 criteria that most often reshapes a family's plan, because the rule bites even on children who are not travelling.
Children under 6. The visa will not be granted if any member of the family unit is under 6 years old unless there are compelling and compassionate reasons, or granting the visa would significantly benefit the relationship between the Australian Government and the government of another country. This applies even if the under-6 family member is not planning to travel with you, and you cannot add a child under 6 after you have submitted your application. If an under-6 family member is granted a visa, it is valid only until their 6th birthday; after that they need their own Student visa to continue studying in Australia. Children aged 6 or older can travel with you, but must apply for their own Student visa.
Children staying behind. You must make adequate arrangements for the accommodation, support and welfare of any non-migrating child of the family who is not coming to Australia, is under 18, and does not hold a Student visa. Arrangements are treated as adequate for children aged 6 to 18 if they will live with another parent or custodian, or with a relative who is at least 21. You must show evidence of the arrangements plus a letter from the appointed guardian accepting responsibility, detailing their consent that the child will be wholly or substantially reliant on their financial support, and confirming the child will reside in the guardian's household. A copy of the guardian's passport bio-data page, or a valid driver's licence showing the signature field, should also be included.
What can you actually do on a 590 visa?
You can come to Australia to provide care and support for a student visa holder who is under 18 (or over 18 in exceptional circumstances), and you can care for more than one student. You can study an English Language Intensive Course for Overseas Students (ELICOS) for less than 20 hours per week, or undertake other study or training for no more than 3 months. You cannot work.
Your stay runs to a date specified in your grant letter, and in setting it the department usually considers the length of the student visa holder's stay or when that student turns 18 — so the visa can lapse before the student's course ends, and staying longer generally means applying for a further Student Guardian visa. You may travel in and out of Australia as often as you like while the visa is valid, but you cannot leave Australia without the student visa holder unless alternative welfare arrangements have been made, and time spent outside Australia does not extend the visa.
On cost, the official page routes applicants to the Visa Pricing Estimator rather than publishing a single figure, with a lower application cost for eligible Pacific Island and Timor-Leste citizens holding a valid passport from a listed country, applied in ImmiAccount. Health checks, police certificates and biometrics may add separate costs.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can a grandparent, aunt or adult sibling be the guardian?
Yes. Grandparents and step-grandparents, aunts, uncles, step-aunts and step-uncles, siblings and stepsiblings, nieces and nephews and their step-equivalents, partners, and children or stepchildren all appear in the relative definition. The relative must have turned 21 and be nominated in writing by a parent of the student or by the person who has custody.
Is the written nomination required if I am the student's parent?
No. The written nomination requirement attaches specifically to the relative route. A parent, or a person who has custody of the student, qualifies on that status alone and does not need a nomination from anyone else.
The student is already 18. Can I still apply?
Only if the student needs care and support because of exceptional circumstances. The official page sets this out as a narrow alternative to the under-18 case and does not list qualifying examples, so the strength of the documented reasons matters more than the relationship category.
Can I bring a child under 6 with me?
Only in limited cases. The visa will not be granted if any member of the family unit is under 6 unless there are compelling and compassionate reasons, or granting it would significantly benefit Australia's relationship with another government. The rule applies even if the child is not travelling, and a child under 6 cannot be added after you lodge.
Can I work in Australia on this visa?
No, the 590 does not carry work rights. Study is limited to ELICOS for under 20 hours per week, or other study or training of no more than 3 months.
Do I need to hold a particular visa to apply from inside Australia?
Yes, you generally need to hold a substantive visa that is not one of the excluded subclasses listed on the official page, such as the Visitor visa (subclass 600), eVisitor (subclass 651) or Temporary Graduate visa (subclass 485). Otherwise, you may still apply within 28 days of holding a student visa, a special purpose visa or a dependent Diplomatic (Temporary) visa, or of the Tribunal setting aside a cancellation.
How long will the visa last?
The grant letter specifies the date, and the department usually sets it by reference to the student visa holder's stay or the date that student turns 18. Travel outside Australia does not extend the visa, and extending a stay generally means a further Student Guardian visa application.