Student Visas for Australia

Tens of thousands of Students come to Australia every year and the process to obtain a visa depends on your country of origin.

Australia has agreements with certain countries - called Gazetted Countries. Because of these agreements visas may be easier to obtain.

Students from Non-Gazetted Countries will normally be required to obtain a "Favourable Genuiness Assessment" (FGA) from the Embassy before applying to the educational institution for acceptance. The letter of acceptance plus the FGA need to go back to DIMA and you will then be directed to pay the institution the required fee. The receipt is then sent to DIMA along with the application and the visa is issued.

Gazetted Countries

The following are gazetted countries. If you are a national of a country that is not listed here, please see the section on non-gazetted countries. If you are a national of a country that is listed below, or are government sponsored or a secondary school exchange student, the following information applies to you.

Asia	North America	Oceania	Northern Europe	Southern Europe	Middle East
Brunei Hong Kong Indonesia Japan Republic of Korea Malaysia Taiwan Thailand Singapore	Canada USA	New Caledonia New Zealand Papua New Guinea	Austria Belgium Czech Republic Denmark Finland France Germany Hungary Ireland Netherlands Norway Poland Slovak Republic Sweden Switzerland United Kingdom	Cyprus Greece Italy Malta Portugal Romania Spain	Arab Republic of Egypt Kuwait Saudi Arabia Bahrain

If you are a national of a gazetted country, your application will be subject to more streamlined processing procedures. Basically, if you are a national from a gazetted country you can apply for a visa after you have enrolled in your course and received confirmation of your enrolment with a registered provider.

Genuineness Assessment

If you are a national of a gazetted country, to be granted a student visa, you must be assessed as being a genuine student with the intention of undertaking full time studies in Australia, fulfilling your visa conditions and having a genuine intention to leave Australia when you have finished your course.

The Australian diplomatic office where you apply for your visa will assess your genuineness as a student. Some of the factors looked at in determining your genuineness are:

the situation in your home country;
your immigration history and ties with Australia;
the relevance of your course to your future employment;
your level of English in relation to the course you intend to undertake;
whether a similar course is available in your home country;
whether you have enough money to meet all expenses while in Australia.

Health Requirements to be Met Before Studying in Australia

Anyone who is not an Australian citizen and who wants to enter or stay in Australia must meet the health requirements.

Overseas Student Health Insurance Cover

It is a condition of the grant of your Overseas Student Visa that you and your dependents have acceptable health insurance cover during the whole time you are in Australia. To be covered for health insurance, you will have to pay the Overseas Student Health Cover (OSHC) for yourself and any family members travelling with you.

The OSHC provides medical and hospital insurance for overseas students and their dependants who have travelled to Australia with them. All applicants must show evidence that they have health insurance cover before a visa can be issued to them.

To arrange for the OSHC, students can pay the OSHC premium to the education provider which will then arrange to pay the health insurance cover on their behalf.

Student Health Cover for AusAID Students
If you are a student sponsored by AusAID you will not need to pay the OSHC yourself. You will, however, need to provide proof that AusAID supports your application.
Student Health Cover for Students from Norway and Sweden
Students applying from Norway and most Swedes do not need to obtain OSHC because the Department of Health and Community Services has advised that these countries have a national health scheme or other arrangements that provide acceptable health insurance for them while they are overseas. For the OSHC requirement to be waived, Norwegian students should have documentation proving that they are covered by the Norwegian National Insurance Scheme. Swedish students should have proof that they have insurance provided by CSN International (the Swedish National Board of Student Aid). However, the OSHC is available to Norwegian and Swedish nationals if they require it.

Student Visa Requirements

To be granted a student visa, you must also:

be accepted for a full-time registered* course;
be able to support yourself while you study;
make arrangements for acceptable overseas student health insurance;
arrange for any accompanying school-aged dependants (aged 5 to 18) to be educated, and have official confirmation of their enrolment (if you are a student with an Australian Government scholarship, you will not have to meet this requirement);
meet Australian health and character requirements.

* A registered course is an education or training course offered by an Australian education provider who is registered with the Australian Government to offer courses to overseas students. The Department of Education, Training and Youth Affairs (DETYA) can provide details of registered courses.

The Australian government may not grant you a student visa if any of these requirements are not met.

Family Members

For overseas students, the term 'family members' covers spouse (including de facto spouse), unmarried dependent children under 18 and fiancé whom you intend to marry within three months of arrival in Australia. Generally, your family members may come with you to Australia if you include them in your visa application.

Family members not included in your initial student visa application and who wish to join you at a later time must apply separately for a visa to enter Australia.

Family members must not work unless granted permission to work and must follow the conditions as set out on their visa. If given permission to work, they cannot work for more than 20 hours a week. However, if you are studying for your PhD or master's degree and have permission to work, members of your family have unrestricted work rights.

Visa Charge

When you apply for a visa, you must pay a charge. Your application will not be accepted without payment. Once you have made that payment, the money cannot be refunded.

As at June 1999, the charge for applying for a student visa outside Australia is AUD$290. The Australian diplomatic mission where you apply for your visa will tell you what methods you can use to pay this charge.

You do not have to pay the visa charge if you are applying under an approved scheme such as AusAID or other Australian Government-sponsored schemes or if you are a secondary school exchange student.

Student Visa Conditions

If you are successful in your application your student visa will be granted to you with a number of conditions attached. These conditions include:

you must satisfy your course requirements and maintain a valid enrolment To satisfy the course requirements, students must:
- be enrolled in a registered course; and
- attend least 80% of their course.
- if evidence of attendance cannot be provided, students must achieve a satisfactory academic performance as certified by the education provider; and
- pay tuition fees as required by the education provider.
you and your family members must not work without permission
if permission to work is granted, you can only work for 20 hours per week except during the holiday periods can you work unrestricted hours;
you must study with the education provider where you initially enrol for the first year of the course or for the duration of the course if it is less than one year;
you must advise DIMA in writing, two days before any change of address;
you must maintain acceptable health insurance cover during your entire stay in Australia.

The Australian Government may cancel your visa if any of these conditions are not met

Application Forms

157P - Application for a Student Visa with Permission to Work	This form can only be lodged in Australia AFTER a student has commenced study in a registered course in Australia
157S - Application for a Student Visa - Scandinavia
157Y - Application for a Student (Temporary) Visa English - Portuguese - Spanish	This form can only be used outside Australia by student visa applicants from gazetted countries AND by all student visa applicants inside Australia.

Further Information

Form 1105i* - Supporting Yourself in Australia
Form 1071i* - Health Requirement
Form 929* - Change of Address
Form 981i* - Applying Overseas for a Student Visa
Form 80* - Personal Particulars for Character Assessment
Form 47P* - Character Requirement: Police Certificates
Fact Sheet 22 - Health Checks to Enter Australia
Fact Sheet 56 - Overseas Students in Australia

Non-Gazetted Countries

As a national of a non-gazetted country, it is important that you lodge your application for a student visa before you enrol in your course of study, pay your course fees, or get official confirmation of your enrolment.

Genuineness Assessment

If you are national of a non-gazetted country, to be granted a student visa you must be assessed as being a genuine student with the intention of undertaking full time studies in Australia, fulfilling your visa conditions and having a genuine intention to leave Australia when you have finished your course.

The Australian diplomatic office where you apply for your visa will assess your genuineness as a student. Some of the factors looked at in determining your genuineness are:

the situation in your home country;
your immigration history and ties with Australia;
the relevance of your course to your future employment;
your level of English in relation to the course you intend to undertake;
whether a similar course is available in your home country;
whether you have enough money to meet all expenses while in Australia.

Before you lodge your application, you can self-assess to see if you are likely to be granted a student visa by answering yes or no to the questions on the Self Assessment for all Students from Non-Gazetted Countries. This will give you the opportunity to assess yourself against the factors that will be used by the Australian diplomatic office to decide whether you meet the visa requirements or not.

IF ANY OF YOUR ANSWERS TO THE SELF ASSESSMENT QUESTIONS IS NO, IT IS UNLIKELY THAT YOUR VISA APPLICATION WILL BE SUCCESSFUL. YOUR VISA APPLICATION CHARGE CANNOT BE REFUNDED.

It is important that you DO NOT pay your course fees until you have been advised in writing by the Australian diplomatic office where you have lodged your application that you may confirm your enrolment.

This procedure aims to discourage non-genuine applicants and reduce the need for education providers to refund fees. It also allows for your genuineness to be assessed before you enrol and pay any course fees.

What If I am Over the Age of 35?

Generally, if you are over the age of 35 and a citizen of a non-gazetted country, you can be considered for a non-award* course, including an English-language course, only if you are:

sponsored with financial support by a government authority in your home country; or
an English language studies teacher by profession, seeking to upgrade your English language proficiency. In this case, you will be expected to have a good proficiency in English already. Only studying in an advanced English course will be acceptable. You will need to provide evidence of your current English ability, evidence that further study of English will benefit your current teaching work and that you will have a teaching position available to you on your return to your home country; and
proceeding to employment-related study. The study being undertaken must relate to your employment in your home country. You must already have reasonable English proficiency to enable you to undertake the course.

* A non-award course is a course approved for overseas students, including English language study that does not lead to the award of a degree, diploma/trade certificate or other formal award.

If you are enrolling in an English course or other study as a specified prerequisite to enrolment for postgraduate or second degree studies, you will be required to provide confirmation of enrolment by a registered higher education provider.