Reading your visa grant letter and conditions cheat sheet

How to read a visa grant letter

Your grant letter is the proof of your visa and the source of truth for what you can and can't do. The format is the same across most subclasses.

The fields that matter

Visa subclass and stream — e.g. "Student (subclass 500), Higher Education sector". This tells you which set of rules applies.
Grant date — when the visa took effect.
Visa expiry date — when it ends. Diary this 6 months out so you can plan your next move.
Travel facility — the date by which you must enter Australia on a provisional or permanent visa (only relevant for some subclasses).
Conditions — the numbered list (8101, 8105, etc). Read every line.
Stay period — how long you can stay per entry (relevant for multi-entry visitor visas).

Things to do on receiving your grant letter

Save the PDF in two places — cloud and offline.
Note the VEVO check link. Australian employers, landlords and banks may ask you to generate a VEVO check.
Add the expiry date to your calendar with a 6-month and 3-month reminder.
If anything on the letter is wrong — passport number, name spelling — tell Home Affairs through ImmiAccount immediately. Don't wait.

Conditions are the numbered rules listed on your visa grant letter. The most common ones for newcomers:

Code	What it means	Where you'll see it
8101	No work.	Some Visitor visas, some bridging visas
8104	Work limited to 48 hours per fortnight (specific to subclass-481 / 485 family in some cases).	Some temporary work visas — read your own grant letter
8105	Work limited to 48 hours per fortnight while course is in session.	Student visa 500
8202	Maintain enrolment and satisfactory attendance / progress.	Student visa 500
8501	Maintain adequate health insurance for the visa period.	Most temporary visas, including 500, 482, 485
8503	No further stay — you cannot apply for most other visas from inside Australia.	Some Visitor visas
8531	Leave Australia before the visa expires.	Most short-stay visas
8607	Work only for your sponsoring employer in the nominated occupation.	482
8608	Notify changes to your employment in the nominated occupation.	482

The full list, with the exact legal wording for each condition, is at: