How Long Does a CoE (Confirmation of Enrolment) Take to Be Issued?
Why there's no single official processing time for a Confirmation of Enrolment, what tends to make it faster or slower, and what to do if yours seems overdue. Figures as at September 2026.
Read the full guide, with official sources →
Watch
Chapters
- 0:00 How long does a CoE take?
- 0:13 What tends to make it faster
- 0:24 What tends to slow it down
- 0:35 Every provider sets its own timing
- 0:47 If it seems overdue
- 0:57 Routine, not a red flag
- 1:08 No CoE yet?
- 1:19 Got your CoE?
- 1:30 Where to read more
Transcript
How long does a Confirmation of Enrolment take after you pay your deposit? There's no single official answer — it depends entirely on your education provider.
A few things tend to speed it up: paying your deposit the way the provider expects, having no outstanding conditions on your offer, and applying outside the sector's busiest period.
The same handful of things tend to slow it down: the pre-February intake peak, an unmet condition, a payment that doesn't quite match, or incomplete enrolment paperwork.
Unlike a government process with one published standard, each provider sets its own CoE timing. A figure you see quoted for one university tells you nothing about another.
If it feels overdue, contact your provider's international student office directly — not general admissions — with your application ID and proof of payment ready.
None of this means something's gone wrong. These are routine administrative points, and they usually get resolved with one follow-up conversation, not an escalation.
Your CoE has to exist before you can lodge a student visa, so any delay here pushes back everything that follows — your OSHC arrangements and your visa lodgement.
Once your CoE is in hand, how much lead time you need before your course starts is a separate, case-specific question — check current visa processing times before locking in a date.
The full guide, with the official sources, is on migratio.com.au. The link is in the description.
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