How to apply for an Australia Student Visa?

Australia is one of the most sought after destinations for international students applying to study abroad. Housing hundreds of world-class institutions for a range of courses, Australia promises bright career prospects after graduation.

Student visa Australia requirements

• Genuine Temporary Entrant requirement.
• Financial requirements.
• English proficiency test score.
• Character Statutory Declaration Form.
• Health Certificate.

• Independent ELICOS Visa – Subclass 570 Elicos Visa is particularly for international students wanting to pursue an ELICOS Course (English Language Intensive Course for Overseas Students).

• Vocational Education and Training Sector Visa – Subclass 572 VET Student visa is required for international students wanting to pursue Certificate I, II, III, or IV, VET Diploma, Vocational Graduate Certificate, Advanced VET Diploma and Vocational Graduate Diploma.

• Higher Education Sector Visa – Subclass 573 Visa is required for international students to study a higher education course, such as Bachelor’s degree, Associate’s degree, Graduate Diploma, Advanced Diploma, Graduate Certificate, and a Master’s degree.

• Postgraduate Research Sector Visa:  Subclass 574 PG Research Visa is mandatory for international students travelling to study towards a research-based Doctoral or Master’s Degree.

Note:

As an international student, you will be expected to prove your English proficiency by taking one of the accepted standard English tests (IELTS, PTE, TOEFL iBT and CAE). You will need to submit the evidence of your financial status to prove you can pay for your studies and stay in Australia.

OSHC (Overseas Student Health Cover) is a must and it should be valid throughout your stay in Australia. Some courses require students to have their health checked and certified as healthy by doctors in their country and later approved by the Australian immigration department. Furthermore, a criminal record check is mandatory as a part of your character assessment.

Australia Subclass 500 Student Visa

Indonesian's who want to come to Australia to study full-time at a registered educational institution must apply for an Australia subclass 500 Student Visa. The applicant will be assessed as regular or streamlined based on the provider and country of passport.

If the visa applicant falls under the regular category, it is mandatory to satisfy English language and financial capacity requirements in addition to the general requirements. If the visa applicant falls under a streamlined category, it is not mandatory to provide evidence of English language and financial capacity. 

Health and insurance requirements for Australia subclass 500 Student Visa

• Student Visa Australia applicant(s) must meet the health requirements. Visa applicant(s) might need to undergo health examinations as part of the visa application process and can choose to undertake them prior to lodging the visa application.
• Student Visa Australia applicant(s) must satisfy character requirements.
• Student Visa Australia applicant(s) must have adequate health insurance while in Australia. It can be only met by obtaining Overseas Student Health Cover (OSHC), unless exempted.

Genuine temporary entrant requirements for Australia subclass 500 Student Visa

• The genuine temporary entrant (GTE) requirement for Australia subclass 500 Student Visa is an integrity measure to ensure that the student visa programme is used as intended and not as a way for international students to maintain ongoing residency in Australia.
• The GTE requirement applies to all visa applicants. The officer assessing the visa will take into account whether the individual circumstances indicate an intention for a temporary stay in Australia.

English language requirements for Australia subclass 500 Student Visa

The main applicant needs to provide evidence of English language skills as part of the visa application. It is usually fulfilled by a satisfactory test score in an approved English language test, unless exempted. The following English language test providers such as IELTS, TOEFL, PTE, CAE, OET scores are acceptable for visa purposes.

Financial capacity requirements for Australia subclass 500 Student Visa

The visa applicant needs to have enough money that is genuinely available to pay for all costs associated with the study in Australia. Evidence of financial capacity can be demonstrated from either of the following:

• Sufficient funds to cover travel costs to Australia and 12 months’ tuition, living and schooling costs (for school aged dependents, if applicable) for the main visa applicant and accompanying family members, or
• Evidence that the spouse or parents of the main applicant are providing financial support and they have an annual income of at least AUD 60,000 for a single student visa application or at least AUD 70,000 for a visa application that includes accompanying family members
• An Acceptance Advice of Secondary Exchange Students (AASES) form for secondary exchange students only
• A letter of support from Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) or Department of Defence 

Visa Entitlements for Australia subclass 500 Student Visa

• Student Visa Australia holder(s) can study registered full-time course(s) in Australia.
• Student Visa Australia holder(s) can generally work a specified number of hours.
• Student Visa Australia holder(s) can generally stay in Australia until the course is finished.

• A copy of your passport along with a copy of your driver licence or national identity card and your birth certificate. 
• A completed visa application form (157A).
• English test scores.
• Confirmation of Enrolment or an Offer letter from the institution.
• Evidence of your financial capacity to support your studies. 
• Overseas Health Insurance (OSHC).
• Criminal check record. 
• Recent passport-size pictures.

To apply for a student visa, you should have secured a COE (Confirmation of Enrolment) or an offer letter from an Australian institution for a CRICOS registered course. 

Once all your documents are arranged and in place, you will have to create an ‘ImmiAccount’ online and apply through the portal. You can directly upload the documents and pay the student visa application fee, which is AUD620. 

Most applications for a student visa for Australia take a month to process. The best part is that you can apply from anywhere in the world. Once your visa application is lodged, you can view the status of it through your ImmiAccount. 

Additionally, you might be asked to attend an interview at your nearest Australian embassy or consulate. With a student visa, you can study two or more related courses if the course gap is less than two calendar months. The overall cost to apply and receive an Australian Student Visa will range between AUD 600 and 700.