Australia Visas & Immigrations

Australian Student Visas

Tens of thousands of students come to beautiful Australia every year to take advantage of the high-level of education. The process to obtain a visa depends on your country of origin.
Australia has agreements with certain countries - called Gazetted Countries. If you are a national of a Gazetted Country, a visa will be easier to obtain.

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

Students from Non-Gazetted Countries will normally be required to obtain a "Favorable Geniuses Assessment" (FGA) from the Australian Embassy before applying to the educational institution for acceptance.
You can be granted a student visa only if you wish to undertake a registered course or part of a registered course on a full-time basis.
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.

Basic Requirements

Age - you must be under 45 when you apply.
English language – you should have sufficient ability in the English language to work in Australia (at least at a vocational level).
Qualifications – you must have post-secondary qualifications and your skills must be assessed by the relevant assessing authority as suitable for your nominated occupation.
Nominated occupation - when you apply you nominate a skilled occupation, which fits your skills and qualifications. Your nominated occupation must be found on the Skilled Occupations List.
Recent work experience - the period of work experience required will vary depending on the number of points you may be granted for your nominated occupation.
Australian qualification exemption – you do not need to meet the work experience requirement if you have completed an Australian qualification less than 6 months before lodging your visa application.
Skills assessment – before you apply, you must have your skills assessed by the Australian assessing authority designated to assess your nominated occupation.

If you are unable to meet these basic requirements, then you should NOT continue with a General Skilled Migration application.

Overseas Students

If you are currently a student in Australia and you wish to apply for a SIR (Provisional) visa, then you must meet the basic requirements as well as these criteria:
You must

be under 45 years of age;
have vocational level English;
be on a Student visa that allows you to apply;
pay the relevant visa application charge (VAC);
apply within six months of completing your degree/diploma/trade qualification at an Australian institution; and
obtain a positive skills assessment in a 60-point occupation listed on the Skills Occupations List (SOL), or nominate a 50-point occupation from the SOL if they have completed:

an Australian doctorate degree after at least two years of full-time study in Australia; or
a degree, diploma, or trade qualification as a result of at least two years of full-time study at an Australian regional institution,

Note: You must have lived in regional Australia while studying for at least two years, i.e. the study must not have been by distance learning.

obtain sponsorship from an authorised State or Territory government or their appointed Regional Certifying Body;
score at least 110 points of the general skilled migration points test.
provide evidence that you have undergone a medical examination for the purpose of this application;
provide evidence that an Australian Federal Police (AFP) check has been requested (receipt from AFP or copy of request) meet health and character requirements for permanent entry.