Australia Student Visa

Anyone who is not a Australian citizen or permanent resident can apply to study in Australia.

To qualify for a student visa, you must enrol in a registered course.

Please contact registered education agents to get information about courses and institutions for overseas students.

If you intend to study for less than four months, you may qualify for a visitor's visa or a working holiday visa.

Applicants for a student visa have certain advantages such as:

• subsidised health cover
• being able to study for more than three months
• being apply to apply for permission to work

Applicants can start the visa application process once they receive a confirmation of enrolment or a electronic confirmation of enrolment from their preferred institution. For more information, you should contact your local Australian Government office overseas in order to find out more about the visa processing requirements. Applicants assessed at Level 1 can apply online and those for levels 3 and 4 need to produce a letter of offer when applying for a student visa.

Assessment levels

• visa sub-classes - This specifies the visa sub-class for your principal
• course of study assessment levels - Each education sector in any particular country has five assessment levels
• evidentiary standards - These visa requirements also include English language proficiency as stringently assessed from levels 1 to 5
• electronic confirmation of enrolment (eCoE) - The only accepted evidence of enrolment when processing visa applications

International students are normally issued multiple travel visas which allow them to travel from and to Australia within the validity of their visa. Family members and dependents will normally be considered in the same visa class as the applicant. For extending the period of stay, a further visa application is required.

For the latest information about student visas, please visit the Department of Immigration and Multicultural and Indigenous Affairs (DIMIA) web site.

Quarantine

Australia wishes to keep out exotic plants and animals which may threaten native plants and animals, humans, agriculture and the environment. This work is facilitated by the Australian Quarantine and Inspection Service (AQIS). Please visit the AQIS web site for more information about what is allowed or not allowed in the country. This information is available in a number of foreign languages.