Tips on Student Visa

Every year students spend a fortune for getting a visa to study abroad. Australia has become the most popular country among students to study abroad. If a student intends to study in Australia, he/ she will need to apply for a student visa (subclass 500). A student visa is usually the type of non - immigrant visa that will allow the student to enroll at a post-secondary educational institution in the host country. The student must be enrolled as a full-time student or may also apply to undertake two or more courses and also obtain confirmation of such enrolment. They must also have the required score level of proficiency in the English language. One must also have Overseas Student Health Cover (OSHC) for the time frame of your stay in the country.

Do I need to give IELTS or TOEFL to apply for a Student Visa?

In case a person is not from an English-speaking nation, he/she will have to demonstrate that they can communicate in English to the University they are applying to. The DIBP site records qualified tests, with conceivable outcomes being the IELTS, TOEFL iBT, Pearson Test of English (PTE) Academic, and Cambridge Advanced English (CAE). The score that a person will need will rely upon whether he/she is pursuing a full degree, completing a foundation course, or enlisting on a fundamental English Language Intensive Course for Overseas Students (ELICOS).

How much money is the Student required to bring into the country?

There is no bar as such on the amount of currency that a person can bring with themselves into Australia, but they will be needed to declare amounts over $10,000. Every person applying for the Australian visa must have access to sufficient funds to cover their airfares (both departure and return journey), the tuition fees, and accommodation costs and other relevant daily expenditures.

If the parent, relative or guardian is accompanying the student, then they must apply for a Student Guardian Visa (subclass 590). If the student wants to travel to Australia for a short term study, they also need to apply for a visitor visa. Apart from that, students who come to the host country to take part in any work based training need to apply for a Training and Research visa (subclass 402).

How to Apply for the Visa?

Make sure that while applying for the visa, apply from the official government website of the country that you are planning to visit. It is imperative that one must read all the relevant important information and instructions about the application process and requirements and then start filling the form. Do note that there are different forms for different types of visas. Fill out the application for the type of visa that you want to apply for.

Department of Immigration and Border Protection(DIBP) eVisa online service portal enables all applicants to fill out their applications online. Make sure that you do not leave out any information. Upload all the necessary documents asked and make the payment afterward. Once you have applied, you may track the progress of your application via the Query Application Status.

Note that you will be given a Transaction Reference Number which will enable you to upload all the relevant necessary documents. This number is important in case you want to communicate with government authority. With the help of this number, the applicants may check different details related to their application such as the visa class and subclass, duration of stay, expiry dates, names of the dependent people and other information.

The Department of Home Affairs in Australia has announced that a 5.4 percent Visa Application Charges (VAC) increase in fees will apply to applications made on or after 1 July 2019 on most visa subclasses. 

Things that need your attention while Filling the Application Form:

While filling out the application form, you must take care of certain fields about which you must be very attentive:-

• Class and Subclass of the visa you want to apply for.
• Provide your permanent residential address.
• See and make payments carefully.
• Upload the relevant documents according to the given size (in MB).
• Send or convey your application as trained by the particular visa application structure, or contact the general request line for help.
• Answer all inquiries honestly - on the off chance that you give wrong data or reports; your visa may not be conceded. Try not to go out on a limb!
• Provide firsts or ensured duplicates of any required reports except if the division exhorts something else.
• You can get familiar with the subtleties of each kind of visa - and what is required to satisfy the different criteria - by visiting the DIBP site.

What documents are required for applying for Visa?

The student applying for the Australian visa for studying must provide the following documents along with visa application.

• Completed Australian student visa application form (157A)
• Letter of invitation
• Airplane tickets (return journey as well)
• Copy of international ID bio-information page (students might be asked to give their visa physically)
• Proof of financial support during the tenure of the stay
• Travel insurance
• Four recent passport-sized photographs

General Questions asked during a Visa Interview:

After you have submitted all the documents and application forms, you are called for a visa interview taken by the appointed person from the host country. The following are certain questions that might be asked from the person applying for a Student visa.

• What is the purpose of your visit?
• Why do you wish to study in Australia?
• Are you planning to live in Australia after your course ends?
• Do you plan to continue studying in Australia after your present course ends?
• What course have you applied for?
• Why do you want to visit at this specific time?
• Why have you chosen this particular course?
• Why have you picked an Australian college/university? Why not do this course in your home country?
• How long will your course last?
• What subjects did you take in your undergraduate/graduate field of study?
• How many universities did you apply to?
• How did you find out about this university and its courses?
• Are you travelling with someone else?
• How long will you stay?
• Where will you stay?
• Are you travelling with someone else?
• How much does your course cost?
• How will you be paying for the course?
• Have you booked airline tickets?
• Do you have health insurance for this trip?
• What do your parents do for a living?
• Who is sponsoring your education and stay in Australia?
• What are your job prospects for the completion of your chosen course of study?
• Will you return to your home country after your visit?
• What will you do on returning to your home country?

Here is all the information you need to apply for your student visa in Australia. Search accordingly for all your accommodation and application needs. Go through all the guidelines of duty-free concession limits for the people entering Australia and goods that you declare. Visit the "Australian Government Department of Immigration and Border Protection" website for further details. We wish you all the luck for your future endeavors!