How to Extend Your Australian Visa

Your course of study coming to an end? Want to continue further but visa expiring soon? And you have no clue how to renew an expiring visa? Do not worry an ounce. You have landed yourself on the very right page. Many international students studying in Australia find themselves in similar situation at some point of time. Therefore in order to make things less complicated, we bring to you a detailed step by step guide on how to renew an Australian visa. The first thing you need to do is stop panicking. Keep calm and read on!

Australia has emerged as the top destination for higher studies for students from across the globe. The quality of education and skills imparted here are highly recognized worldwide. An educational degree from Australia ensures a bright future and thus many students make Australia their first preference to pursue further studies.

Many a times, a number of international students wish to carry on with their studies further by staying back in Australia and thus seek to renew their visas. But the lack of clarity on the process for renewing the visa often leaves them in a limbo. Therefore it is highly advised to apply for the visa renewal application well in advance in order to avoid any hindrance or delay in obtaining the new visa. In this regard, we have created a step by step guide for the students in Australia looking for renewing their visas.

Process to Renew your Visa:

First of all, do not get confused with the term “extending your visa”, the only way to extend your visa is to renew it and it involves the same procedure as in the case of obtaining a fresh visa but with some extra formalities.

The following are detailed steps of the procedure that one ought to follow in order to renew a visa:

• First, get sure with the course you want to extend your studies with and the institution you to want pursue it from (in case of change in institution as well). Once you have selected the course and institution, apply for a new Confirmation of Enrollment (CoE) from that particular university. Remember, CoE is your ticket to a renewed visa as you require sponsorship from an institution or an organization to validate your purpose of stay in Australia. Remember here that a CoE could only be obtained from institutions recognized under the Commonwealth Register of Institutions of Course for Overseas Students. Ensure that your institution is well recognized. Another important point here is to apply for a new CoE before three months of the expiry of your current visa.
• Ensure that your Overseas Student Health Cover (OSHC) policy is well extended up to the expiry of current visa. In case, it has been over 12 months for your health checkups, make sure you get all the required examinations and checkups done before applying for a new visa. Visit the official site of Department of Home Affairs, under the Government of Australia and use My Health Declaration Service to know about all the essential tests and checkups to be taken up in order to get the OSHC policy.
• Next comes the crucial part of documentation. The easy way to sort out all the documents is to maintain a checklist before hand and thus collect all the required documents. One must only refer to authentic and credible sources to know about the required documents. In this case, you may look up to the Department of Home Affairs’ Document Checklist Tool, maintained specifically for people’s convenience. To make things easy for you, we have curated a list of essential documents required to get the visa renewed. Still it is highly advised to crosscheck all the documents with the Checklist Tool in order to avoid last minute disorder.

The essential documents required are :

• Your Birth Certificate
• National Identity Card
• Passport (pages having visa and immigration approval)
• Household Registration Book
• Your resume or curriculum vitae (duly verified by local authorities)
• Your new as well as previous Confirmation of Enrollment (CoE) codes
• Your Overseas Student Health Cover (OSHC) Policy document. Also attach your HAP ID along with OSHC document for any official reference.
• Also attach a personal statement stating your fulfillment of all the Genuine Temporary Entrant (GTE) requirements.
• All the essential documents proving your financial ability to survive in Australia for an extended period. For this, you may attach your bank statements for previous financial year or your proof of working in Australia. In case a candidate is working, he/she may need to produce Evidence of Annual Income stating that your annual income is at least $60,000 (Australian Dollars).
• In case one is not working, then he/she have to prove the evidence for Genuine Access to Funds.
• Once all the above mentioned or the required documents are obtained, proceed to the main part of the process and that is applying for a new visa. For this, you may directly go to the official website of Department of Home Affairs. Here you will find the tab for applying to get visa renewed. Proceed as the instructions direct and ensure successful application. An application fee of $535 is required to complete the process of applying to renew the visa. Once the application is submitted successfully, an official acknowledgement is sent to the candidate. Along with the acknowledgement, a copy of relevant bridging visa type is sent to the candidate.

There are mainly two types of bridging visa in Australia for students

1. Bridging Visa A Subclass 010 (BVA): It is the most common type of transitory visas issued to students. It is issued when a student has applied well in time for renewal of the existing visa. This visa covers the phase from the expiry of the current visa to the receipt of new one. It validates one’s stay in Australia even when the current visa has been expired. This visa enables one to stay back in Australia for an extended period than their current visa permitted.
2. Bridging Visa B Subclass 020 (BVB): This visa is also a transition visa along with the feature to enable the holder to travel outside Australia. This type of visa comes with a ‘travel period’ and ‘travel authority’. This is issued when the applicant seeks permission to travel outside Australia in between the period of obtaining a new visa. Once the holder returns to Australia within the permitted travel period, a BVB Visa also acts a BVA visa and thus validates the stay of the person even after the expiry of the current visa.

Apart from the above mentioned classes of visas there are other types as well, such as – Bridging Visa C Subclass 030 (BVC), Bridging Visa E Subclass 050 and 051 (BVE), Bridging Visa F Subclass 060 (BVF). All these visas are required when one overstays his/her permitted period of time without the approval from concerned authority.

What makes Australia a top destination for students?

Innovation with Uncompromised Excellence

One thing that makes Australia a hot destination among students is its unending zeal to achieve excellence in a particular field through innovation. Australian education system believes in evolving and adapting with the changing nature of technology. It also encourages its students and teachers to follow the same. The education system in Australia promotes one to use innovative ideas and methodology.

A Stand Apart Educational Framework

Australia is known for providing excellent opportunities to students and research scholars from around the world. Australia delivers at par excellence and quality across all levels of education. To ensure this, the Australian government has put in place a robust educational framework called Australian Qualifications Framework (AQF). AQF serves as a testament to the quality of education offered by Australia and is one unique feature which highlights Australia among other countries. AQF covers each and every aspect of higher education offered in Australia, right from secondary level of education to the tertiary level (higher education along with vocational studies).

Safety a Priority

Australian education is well-recognized worldwide. It is also well-accepted among leading job providers. And all these make Australia a dream destination for students from across the globe. In order to encourage and attract international students, Australia has made itself open and safe, welcoming them with wide open arms.

Thus the Australian government has put in place a special safety provision called Education Services for Overseas Students (ESOS) Act. This act has a specially designed framework to protect the rights of international students, studying in Australia. The framework puts the onus of responsibility on to the respective institution to provide safety and security to its students in every way possible.

Excellent Job Opportunities

The Australian Education System opens the doors of endless opportunities for students. The quality of education offered in Australia is well-recognized all over the world. Job providers have always instilled their trust and confidence in the candidates qualified from Australia. The quality of knowledge and skills that a student possess during his/her stint in Australia, makes him/her a desirable candidate for any job profile that he/she may seek. Australia offers education in multiple disciplines, thereby creating a workforce that is essentially skilled for various industries and thus is also a hot destination for recruiters from all over the world.