Vietnam to Australia 2026: student visa, the 462 ballot, and English points
How Vietnamese citizens move to Australia: the student visa financial and English requirements, the Work and Holiday (462) ballot Vietnam shares with China and India, and how Proficient vs Superior English changes your skilled-visa points. Figures as at September 2026.
Read the full guide, with official sources →
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Chapters
- 0:00 Vietnam to Australia: the pathway most people actually use
- 0:13 $29,710 a year in living costs
- 0:24 Three ways to meet the English score
- 0:40 92 weeks of study opens the door to a subclass 485
- 0:51 Vietnam needs a ballot for a first subclass 462
- 1:04 $25 to enter the ballot
- 1:14 Who can enter the ballot
- 1:25 Superior English earns the maximum points
- 1:39 Vietnamese: a top-5 home language in Australia
- 1:49 The ballot is for the FIRST 462 only
- 2:01 Vietnam does NOT need a government letter of support for the 462
- 2:14 Where to read more
Transcript
Moving from Vietnam to Australia? For most people, the pathway starts with a student visa, subclass 500 — not a work visa.
The student visa needs you to show at least twenty nine thousand, seven hundred and ten dollars a year in living costs. That's the Home Affairs benchmark, on top of tuition.
For tests from 7 August 2025, the visa itself needs IELTS 6.0 overall. Or 5.5, with at least 10 weeks of English classes first. Or 5.0, with at least 20 weeks.
After a course that meets the Australian Study Requirement — 92 weeks of registered study — you can apply for the Temporary Graduate visa, subclass 485.
Want to work and travel first instead? Vietnam is one of three countries — with China and India — that must go through a ballot for a first Work and Holiday visa, subclass 462.
There's a 25 dollar ballot registration fee. If you're randomly selected, you get 28 calendar days to lodge the actual visa application.
To be eligible you need to be 18 to 30, have a tertiary qualification or at least 2 years of university study, functional English, and around 5,000 dollars in funds.
Aiming at a skilled visa instead? Proficient English, IELTS 7.0 in each band, adds 10 points. Superior English, IELTS 8.0, adds the maximum: 20.
Vietnamese is one of the top five languages spoken at home in Australia — 1.3 percent of the population, in the 2021 Census.
One thing to know: the ballot only applies to your first Work and Holiday visa. A second or third subclass 462 is lodged directly online, no ballot involved.
And a myth worth killing: some countries need a letter of support from their government to apply for a 462. Vietnam is one of the countries Home Affairs explicitly does not require this from.
The full guide, with the official sources, is on migratio.com.au. The link is in the description.
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