Student Visas

Australian Immigration - Student Visas

The Country

The name Australia conjures up an instant set of images for most Brits. These usually involve long golden beaches (for basking and having barbecues on) and sparkling blue sea (for swimming, surfing and snorkelling in). And lots and lots of sun. It’s true that Australia does have a lot of beaches – around 7,000, more than any other nation on earth. It’s also fair to say that it has very good weather. But this vast island continent is much more than its stereotype.

Australia is the sixth largest country on Earth. Within its 7,617, 930 square kilometres, stretching from the sunshine city of Perth in the west to the Gold Coast in the east, and from the tropical warmth of Darwin in the north to the Twelve Apostles in the south, lies a spectacular natural environment – tropical rainforests, mountain ranges, huge tracts of desert, lush green farmlands and exotic wildlife on land and at sea. This is the backdrop of Australia’s unique, distinctive personality, which can be found in the cosmopolitan cities, friendly people and proud, hospitable, diverse culture. Australia enjoys one of the highest standards of living in the world.

The Education System

Australia’s education system follows the same model as the UK. After completing high school, Australian students have a similar set of choices as people in the UK – if they want to stay in education they can go to university to do a degree, or undertake Technical and Further Education (TAFE) if they want to do a more vocational or applied course.

The length of courses is also similar – for example, most undergraduate degrees are three years long (though specialist degrees like medicine and architecture take longer) and the majority of masters degrees are one year long, though again specialist programmes are sometimes longer.

Academic standards are high, particularly in the universities. Australian universities have an international reputation for excellence in lots of different fields and are known for their innovative, research-intensive culture. In the World University Rankings 2007, published by The Times Higher Education Supplement, six Australian universities appeared in the top 50 – only eight UK institutions made that level of the list. Qualifications awarded by Australian universities are internationally recognised and highly regarded by employers and overseas universities alike. (For more information on the rankings, go to the Stats page)

The Cost

Tuition fees are individually set by the institutions so will vary according to the subject you study as well as the institution you study it at, but, on average, an undergraduate degree in a subject such as the arts, humanities, law or business will cost between AU$12,000 and AU$19,000 a year (approx £4,800 - £7,600). Laboratory-based undergraduate degrees are more, usually between AU$15,000 and AU$25,000 (approx £6,000- £10,000) a year. At postgraduate level, a graduate certificate or graduate diploma will cost approximately $9,000 to $18,000 each year (around £3,750 - £7,250); masters and PhD courses between $16,000 and $28,000 (£6,400 - £12,000).

According to the Australian government, an international student will spend an average of AU$230 (£95) a week on living costs, taking into account accommodation, food, clothing, entertainment, transport, travel and so on. Please bear in mind that this figure will vary according to location, course and lifestyle, i.e. if you intend to study in Sydney and have a penchant for shopping and champagne, you might want to up it a little.

Visas

The type of visa you'll need to study in Australia will be determined by how long your course is. If it is 3 months or less, you'll be able to enter Australia on a Tourist visa. All British citizens are eligible for a Tourist (short stay) visa – it entitles you to be in the country for up to 12 months, but not to undertake any form of paid work. A Working Holiday visa entitles British citizens between the ages of 18 and 30 to be in the country for 12 months, and to work, though there are restrictions on what kind of work you can do and how long you can do it for.

If your course is longer than three months, you'll need to get a Student visa. A student visa entitles you to be in the country for as long as your course lasts, and usually allows some time for traveling around, too. If you were granted a Student visa, the conditions of your student visa will also allow you to work part-time for up to 20 hours a week while you are studying during the term and for as many hours as you wish during your holidays. If you were granted a Student visa on or after 26 April 2008, you will already have Permission to Work automatically included with your visa. However, if you were granted a Student visa before 26 April 2008 and have not yet applied for Permission to Work, you may only apply for Permission to Work after you have started your course in Australia.

In order to apply for a student visa, you'll need to have an offer of study from your chosen institution. So don't worry about it until then. We'll send you a guide on how to apply, including a list of all the documents you'll need, with your offer of study.  

Student visas are divided into subclasses based on the principal course of study.

The Department of Immigration associates a certain risk to the issue of student visas, and to this effect base the different student visas on assessment factors - examples include: Education sector of study and the applicant's country of nationality.

Students who have obtained certain Australian qualifications are potentialy able to apply for new categories of permanent skilled visas in Australia on completion of their studies.

The different student visa subclasses (based on the intended studies from the list below) : -

570 - English Language Intensive Courses for Overseas Students (ELICOS) - Applies to stand-alone English language courses that lead to a certificate I, II, III or IV, or that result in no formal Australian award.  

571 - Primary or Secondary school course - Applies to primary, junior secondary or senior secondary school courses, and approved secondary school exchange programs.

572 - Vocational education and training sector - Applies to Certificates I, II, III or IV (except ELICOS), diploma, advanced diploma, vocational graduate certificate or vocational graduate diploma courses.

573 - Higher education - Applies to a Bachelor degree, associate degree, graduate certificate, graduate diploma, or Masters by coursework.

574 - Postgraduate research - Applies to Masters by research or a doctoral degree.

575 - Non-award - Applies to non-award foundation studies, or other full-time courses or components of courses not leading to an Australian award.

576 - AusAID or Defence - Applies to students sponsored by AusAID or the Australian Department of Defence undertaking full-time courses of any type.

580 - Student Guardians - Parents or relatives can apply for a visa to stay in Australia as the guardian of a student who is studying in Australia.

If you are intending to study in Australia contact us for details of the assessment factors that apply to you, and the details you must submit with your visa application.

Students must provide evidence that they have sufficient funds to fund accommodation, pay for airfares, course tuition fees, overseas student health cover (OSHC) and all general expenses during the stay in Australia. The assessment factors will review the student's financial resources in this regard.

Strict conditions are imposed on student visa holders (see examples below) - a breach of any of these conditions may lead to the cancellation of the visa.

The student must satisfy attendance and/or course requirements and maintain a valid enrolment for the chosen course of study. Students are required to attend a minimum of 80% of all classes (closely monitored by DIAC), and have to achieve satisfactory academic results.

Students (and their dependents) are not allowed to work. After they have commenced studies, they can apply for work rights - which will be limited to 20 hours per week.

The student must remain with the education provider with whom the student enrolled for the first 12 months of the course (or for the duration of the course if the course lasts for less than 12 months) - save for in exceptional circumstances

The student's residential address (and any changes) must be notified to the educational provider within 7 days of arrival in Australia (or of any move)