Student Visa

Choosing Australia to study because of the cultural diversity, friendly natives, and high quality of education. Australia is currently the third most popular destination for international students in the English-speaking world. Australia also offers excellent value for money and a standard of living that is among the highest in the world. Living expenses and tuition costs in Australia are considerably less expensive than in other countries.

Australian education providers have innovative approaches to education by means of different activities. The teachers here are experienced and in constant touch with the industry. A lot of unique resources are available and enriching information is accessible from teachers and students. There are a lot of international students on the campus and thus it is a collaborative environment where learning happens naturally. The class sizes are smaller which facilitates individual attention from the teachers and the discussions become highly interactive. Student visas can be a good way to improve your skills and employability.

The Student Visa is designed for students who are willing to undertake education in Australia under the following courses of study,

• Certificate Trade Courses
• Diploma and Advance Diploma Courses
• Bachelor degree
• Graduate certificate
• Graduate diploma
• Associate degree
• Master degree

Visa Eligibility Criteria:

• Enrolment in a registered course of study:

Applicants need to enrol in a course of study, which is registered on the Commonwealth Register of Institutions and Courses for Overseas Students (CRICOS).

• Financial capacity:

Applicants must have the legal evidence of their financial capacity that shows they are eligible to pay their course fees and living costs of their dependent family members.

This could be either of the following:

• Evidence of funds to cover your studies for the first 12 months of your stay in Australia; or
• Evidence of taxable income of your parents or spouse for the last 12 months

• English proficiency:

It is mandatory to provide evidence of English language skills with the visa application or when asked by an officer otherwise the visa will be refused.

This would generally require you to undertake English language testing – minimum scores would generally be as follows:

• IELTS:5 Average
• TOEFL (Paper):527
• TOEFL iBT:46
• CAE (Cambridge):162
• PTE (Pearson):42
• OET (Occupational English Test):B Pass

• Closely controlled welfare arrangements for all the students under the age of 18:

Students under 18 years of age should have evidence of organized welfare arrangements to stay in Australia.

• Accompanying Family Members:

Applicants and their family members can make a combined request in the student visa application or they can apply to join them later. It is essential to have the necessary funds on hand to support the accompanying family members living in Australia and also for those after the grant of the student visa (such as new born baby).

• Genuine Temporary Entrant requirement:

This requirement serves as a reliability measure that the student visa program is used as projected and not for a temporary stay in Australia.

You will need to show that you are a genuine student who will complete their studies in Australia, comply with visa conditions and in general return home after your studies.

This would generally involve demonstrating how the studies are relevant to your background, and how they will improve your employment prospects in your home country.

Country and Provider Risk Model

Risk ratings apply to different education providers and to different passport countries.

Depending on the combination of your passport country and the education provider, you will either need to meet:

• Regular Evidentiary Requirements:in this case you would need to provide evidence of English language ability and finances
• Streamlined Evidentiary Requirements:evidence of English language ability or finances not generally required

• Health and character:

Applicants need to undergo health examinations as a part of the visa application process. This may consume quite a few weeks to complete. Also, the applicants are required to answer some character related questions that will be used to assess their character.

• Overseas student health cover:

Applicants are required to obtain Overseas Students Health Cover (OSHC) a week prior to the date they are supposed to arrive in Australia.

How do I apply?

You can either be in Australia or overseas when you apply for a student visa. If in Australia, you would generally need to hold a substantive visa which is not subject to a “no further stay" condition.

The application is generally lodged online, though paper applications are possible in some circumstances.

Visa Conditions

Your visa is generally approved for the duration of your studies plus 2 months or so. PhD and Masters by Research students will generally receive an additional 6 months to handle marking of their theses.

You are permitted to work in Australia on a student visa once you have commenced your studies. In general, you can work for up to 40 hours a fortnight whilst your course is in session.

You must maintain enrolment in an approved course whilst in Australia – you are not allowed to swap to a lower course, but can swap to a higher level course whilst you are in Australia.

To obtain a student visa, you must provide evidence of adequate health insurance arrangements, and this is also an ongoing condition of your visa.