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To study in Australia, you must first get an Australian student visa. For which student will need to fill out a visa application form, pay a visa application fee of 630 UD (~34,313 INR), and attend an interview. Prior to applying for a visa, the applicant must obtain a Confirmation of Enrolment (COE) or a Letter of Offer confirming your acceptance into a program listed on the Commonwealth Register of Institutions of Courses.

Among the various subclasses of visa, you are required to apply for a specific subclass depending on your age, type of program, and duration of stay. In most cases, international students pursuing higher education in Australia apply for the Australian Student Visa Subclass 500 is required (regardless of the field of study opted).

Some of the important points to know when applying for an Australian University and acquiring a student Visa are:

• You can make online applications through ImmiAccount.
• The application fee is around 630 AUD for subclass 500.
• The funds required as proof for a single student are 62,222 AUD. 

Australian Student Visa (Subclass 500)

The student subclass 500 visa came into effect in July 2016. It covers the complete duration of your study program and lets you stay in Australia for up to five years and is in line with your enrollment date. The base application charge for an Australian Visa is 620 AUD (~34,311 INR). Some of the perks of obtaining this student visa include being able to bring a family member to Australia, participate in an eligible course of study, and apply online in or outside of Australia for the choice of program.

To get the subclass 500 student visa, international students must:

• Enrolled in a full-time on-campus program in Australia
• Have an OSHC (Overseas Student Health Cover) or fall in either of the exempt categories.
• Must be of the minimum age of 6
• Have proof of welfare arrangement, if you are less than 18 years old.

Australian Visa Types

Australian Student Visa Eligibility

As an international student willing to study in Australia, you must ensure that you fulfill the following eligibility criteria for obtaining your student visa:

Enroll in a course of study and Provide Evidence

Your Australian student visa application must consist of evidence of enrollment, which is often available in one of the following forms:

• CoE or Confirmation of Enrollment– Offered to students accepted for full-time courses registered on CRICOS (Commonwealth Register of Institutions and Courses for Overseas Students).
• Packaged courses & CoEs: When applying for more than one course, your visa application must consist of all the CoE codes or else your student visa will only cover the period of stay for the specified CoE.
  • You can apply for two or more courses, where one course leads to another. The gap between the commencement of the two courses should not exceed more than two months. An exception on the gap period is given when the first course ends by the end of the academic year and the following course begins with the start of the upcoming academic year.
• Letter of Support: If accepted to a full-time study or training which is funded by the Australian Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade scholarship schemes, you can provide your letter of support as evidence of enrollment.
  • Similarly, if you are funded by the Australian Department of Defense, you can apply for a student visa with your letter of support.
•  Acceptance Advice of Secondary Exchange Students (AASES): Students planning an exchange degree from Australia can submit this along with the application.
• Letter from Educator: Required by PG students who need to stay in Australia while the thesis is being marked will have to submit a letter from the educator verifying the same.

Be a Genuine Temporary Entrant (GTE)

You will be required to write a GTE statement, preferably in English. If the statement is written in another language, a translated copy will be required. GTE statement is assessed to identify students who wish to apply for the student visa for reasons other than education, such as getting or maintaining ongoing residency in Australia. Hence, having a good and genuine GTE statement is of utmost importance.

The GTE statement must consist of the following evidence or information:

• Previous Study: Academic transcripts, education provider name, duration of study, and certificate attained.
• Gap in Study– Reasons addressing any gap in the previous education.
• Current Employment- Current employer, firm’s address, job designation, duration of employment, and referrals contact details.
• Ties to Home Country– Describe your intent to return to home country through significant family, financial, and social ties.
• Economic Situation in Home Country– Income tax return or bank statements, potential employment offers, and documents representing details of business or employment for 12 months, prior to making the application.
• Employment in Third Country– Potential employment offers with payscale details and other incentives.

Have adequate Health Insurance

The visa applicant along with their family must have and maintain OSHC (Overseas Student Health Cover). You can obtain an OSHC by finding an approved insurance provider in Australia and pay for your opted policy. For any member of the family joining you after you arrive in Australia, OSHC must be represented to the immigration department. This should cover your health for the complete duration for which you wish to stay in Australia.

• Minimum cover for singles is 430 AUD/year
• Minimum cover for couples is 2680 AUD/year
• Minimum cover for a family is 4000 AUD/year

English Language Requirements

Applicants who are required to provide evidence of English language proficiency can submit certain test scores approved by the department. Detailed below are the minimum test score requirements for various ELP exams approved by the department.

*ELICOS- English Language Intensive Courses for Overseas Students

Have enough Money for your Stay

You are required to present financial proof ensuring that you have enough money to stay in Australia. The expenses required vary depending on the stay duration, program opted, and more. You are required to have enough money to cover your cost of living, course, and overall travel expenses. The documents you can provide include:

• Money deposits at a financial institution
• loans or other financial support documents
• Scholarships to study in Australia or similar financial support documents
• You have to present proof of an overall income of 62,222 AUD in 12 months immediately prior to making visa application.
  • If you bring family members the costs to be reflected are 72,592 AUD.
• Plan on the expenses required: These will include the cost of living and the tuition fees & related academic fee for courses
  • Bachelors program costs- 27,390 AUD to 61,632 AUD (~14.88 lakhs- 33.48 lakhs)
  • Masters program costs- 30,138 AUD to 68,490 AUD. (~16.37 lakhs- 37.21 lakhs)
  • Cost of living for a single student- 21,041 AUD/year (11.43 lakhs). If accompanied by a partner additional 7362 AUD(4.0 lakhs) and for a child additional 3,152 AUD(1.71 lakhs) is required.

Note: The cost of the program and living mentioned are approximations. Each applicant has to ensure the exact funds required for making visa applications.

Meet Character Requirements

If you are 16 years old or more, you need to fulfill character requirements for an Australian student visa. To fulfill the requirements, while making applications you must:

• Provide a complete declaration of criminal conduct you have been engaged in.
• Provide true answers to the questions asked
• Provide the complete information requested Ministry of Home Affairs.

The Home Affairs may ask you for additional documents after you have applied. These are:

• Police certificate
• Form 80 personal particulars for character assessment
• Character statutory declaration
• Letter of conduct from an employer
• Military certificate.

Meet Health Requirements

To meet the health requirements you must be free from any disease that can threaten public health, cost major healthcare and community service, or can place a demand on community services or healthcare services that are in short supply.

Sign the Australian Values Statement

The statement confirms that the student visa applicant will abide by and respect Australian laws. You are also required to have read Life in Australia booklet. Mentioned below are the details of the documents required when applying for an Australian student visa:

• Passport/ Birth Certificate
• CoE (Confirmation of Enrollment)/ Offer Letter
• OSHC (Overseas Health Cover)/ Insurance
• Evidence of Financial Capacity for 12 months stay and return airfare (Minimum $20,000 excluding Tuition costs)
• Genuine Temporary Entrant (GTE) Proof
• English Language Test Scores: Some exemptions are available for students completing 5 years of study in the following countries:
  • UK
  • USA
  • Canada
  • New Zealand
  • South Africa
  • Republic of Ireland
• Other exemptions: Students from New Zealand studying at Australian Universities do not require a student visa. Study cost is equivalent to that of domestic students for New Zealanders. Foreign students coming from Belgium or Norway are not obliged to buy the Overseas Student Health Cover.

Australia Student Visa Process

International applicants must apply for their Australian student visa at least 6 months before the course begins. Let us now brief the overall process involved in getting your student visa to study with Australian universities: 

Step 1: Before You Apply

• Organize your health exams
• Get help with your visa application
• Get a valid passport

Step 2: Documents required for Australian student visa:

• Proof of Identity
• CoE, letter of acceptance and support
• Evidence of having enough money to stay
• Provide evidence of having genuine access to the money
• Evidence that you are exempted from paying visa application charge, if applicable
• Evidence of OSHC
• GTE documents
• Partner documents, if valid.
• Documents for dependents and children, if applicable.
• Find out specific documents required with this Document Checklist Tool

STEP 3: Where to Apply for Visa

• Apply online for the Australian Student visa by:
  • Create a login for ImmiAccount
  • Attach required documents
  • Pay Visa application fees
  • Australian student visa fees can be paid via MasterCard (including Debit MasterCard), VISA (including VISA Debit Card), American Express, Diners Club, JCB, China Union Pay, Prepaid credit cards, PayPal, and BPAY.

Step 4: After You Apply

After Completing your applications you must complete the following through ImmiAccount:

• Provide Biometrics
• Get health examinations and medical referral letters
• Provide additional information required
• Abide by the law

Step 5: Visa Outcome

The decision on your Australian student visa application will be sent to you in writing. If you are accepted, the letter will consist of your visa grant number, the date on which visa expires, and conditions on your student visa.

After obtaining the Confirmation of Enrollment (CoE) from an Australian University, arrange for finances and other documents. Apply for Australian Student Visa by following the below-given steps:

• Submit documents and pay $413, basic Student Visa Fee
• Create ImmiAccount  download in pdf format for offline application.
• Attach the above-mentioned documents; maximum 60 files/ person of up to 5 MB
• Fill and Submit the final application

Australian Student Visa Processing Time

Usually, the student visa for Australia is processed within a month, however, the maximum time it could take is 10 months. However, Simplified Student Visa Framework (SSVF) streamlines the visa processing time. Processing Time for Student Visa is:

NOTE- To apply for Student Visa Extension in Australia use ImmiAccount and choose the visa extension option from any of the available options.

Work as an International Student in Australia

Most of the Australian Student Visas allow international students to work while they are learning. With subclass 500 visa students are allowed to work for work up to 40 hours every 2-week period once your course starts. You can work part-time on-campus or off-campus depending on your college/university regulations.

Australia is a great place to work-while studying. Here is why:

• Workplace protection offered to international students is the same as that offered to any Australian.
• Irrespective of your job you will be offered a minimum wage pay rate on an hourly basis as per the guidelines of the Australian Government.
• Strong support is offered to international student workers by both education institutes, as well as government and private organizations.

In case planning for holiday work, you can work for unlimited hours with an Australian student visa subclass 500.

Australian Student Visa Acceptance Rate

Student Visa Australia Acceptance Rate for various sectors of education in Australia is:

• Higher Education: 23.3%
• Vocational and Educational Training: 18.9%
• Postgraduate Research Sector: 11.8%
• ELICOS (English Language Intensive Courses for Overseas Students): 82.8%

The chances of your visa application being accepted a highly dependent on a few factors- visa rejection history, the trueness of the information provided, financial ability, language proficiency, and complete documentation. Lack of any of these can result in denial of an Australian Student Visa.

Australian Student Visa Reasons for Rejection

Australia welcomes international students to its universities with open arms, however, there are higher chances of student visa rejections. Some of the reasons for Australian Student Visa Rejection are:

• Incorrect/ Incomplete Documents
• Choosing a course unrelated to previous academic studies
• Inability to support tuition, living and other costs in Australia
• Incompetency in English Language Proficiency
• Health issues
• Inability to explain yourself as GTE (Genuine Temporary Entrant)
• Criminal records (if any)
• Failure to meet academic requirements
• Intentions of not leaving the country

To conclude, it can be said that for obtaining a study visa for Australia you need to make sure that you tick off each and every minute detail for eligibility and requirements. Consider your student visa application as one of the most important aspects of your ticket to studying in Australia. Fulfillment of all parameters and focusing on the correctness of the documents will enhance your chances of receiving the awaited documents.