How to arrive and

The fine print, costs and processing time of the Contributory Parent category visa

The first Visa Application Charge (VAC) for visas in the Contributory Parent category is payable at the time of application. Before the visa can be granted the second VAC is payable. Applicants for visas in the Contributory Parent category pay a very substantial second VAC as a contribution toward their future health costs in Australia.

There are two payment options for applicants in the Contributory Parent category:

1. 
   Permanent visa: pay a substantial second VAC in one instalment; or
   
2. 
   Temporary visa: pay a proportion of the second VAC to entitle parents to a two-year temporary residence visa including Medicare access and employment rights. During that period, parents may apply at any time for a permanent visa at which time the remaining proportion of the substantial second VAC is required.
   

For the granting of a permanent visa in the Contributory Parent category, a 10-year, Assurance of Support bond is required. Parents who are unable to pay the substantial second VAC for a visa in the Contributory Parent category may wish to consider applying for a visa in the parent category.

The fee for Parent applications lodged outside Australia is currently A$1 245. If you lodge your 'Aged Parent' application in Australia, the fee is currently A$1 845. Applicants for the existing parent visa will pay a health charge of AU$1,080 per adult. Those applying for the new contributory parent visa will pay a hefty health charge of A$26 475 per adult (payable in one lump sum or over two instalments). All parent applicants require an ‘Assurance of Support’ (a financial bond), which must be lodged by their sponsor or another eligible person. The bond is A$3 500 for the main applicant under the existing Parent visa or A$10 000 under the Contributory Parent scheme.

As the number of parent visa applications vastly exceeds the number of places available, applications for the existing Parent visa are held in a queue, currently for several years. There are many more places available under the Contributory Parent scheme and these applications are given priority. However, it is too soon to predict exactly how long processing will take.

5) The Retirement visa – For information purposes only

Sadly for some people, this visa was phased out. From 1st July 2005, you must already have held this visa or have previously held this visa, or be the spouse of someone who holds this visa.

This retirement visa is no longer being issued. Please see its nearest equivalent nowadays : Investor Retirement Visa (405)
http://www.immi.gov.au/Visas/Pages/405.aspx

6) The Student visa

The Australian Government operates an overseas student program (OSP) that allows people who are not Australian citizens or Australian permanent residents to study in Australia. Anyone who is not an Australian resident may apply to study in Australia under the OSP. Over 180 000 students from around the globe flock to Australian universities each year. Students who complete a course of study in Australia can apply for Australian permanent residency under the Skilled Migration Program (see Skilled visa above). Over 50% of Skilled Migration Visas awarded in 2008-09 were granted to Graduate Students.

The student visa is an option to gain eventual permanent residence in Australia. It is not the most direct route, nor the quickest, nor the cheapest, but for some people it is their best visa option.
If you want to study under this program, you must obtain a student visa before you can commence a course of study in Australia. Further information about the overseas student program is available from the official Australian government ‘Study in Australia’ website at: http://www.studyinaustralia.gov.au
If the period of study will be less than 3 months then you do not require a Student visa and therefore a Visitor (tourist) visa is adequate. Any period longer than 3 months requires a Student visa. 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. The Department of Education, Science and Training (DEST) can provide details of registered courses at: http://cricos.deewr.gov.au/ . Your chosen course has to have been approved by the Australian government as CRICOS (courses regulated for international students).
A Student Visa provides you with temporary resident status and is valid for the duration of your course. After completion of your studies, you will be required to leave Australia by the date specified in your visa, unless you are making an application for another temporary or permanent residency visa.
Australia’s Student visa program has seven subclasses, mostly linked to the education sector. The following table will help you identify which visa subclass you can apply for.

If the main course you will be studying is a(n) ...	Then you can apply for a Student visa, subclass ...
English Language Intensive Courses for Overseas Students (ELICOS), undertaken as a stand-alone course, not leading to an Australian award, ELICOS undertaken as a stand-alone course, leading to a certificate I, II, III or IV	... 570 - Independent ELICOS
primary school course, secondary school course, including junior and senior secondary, or approved secondary exchange program,	... 571 - Schools
certificate I, II, III, and IV (except ELICOS), diploma, or advanced diploma, Note: Former RATE system qualifications: Certificate, Advanced certificate and Associate diploma.	... 572 - Vocational Education and Training
bachelor degree, associate degree, graduate certificate, graduate diploma, or masters coursework,	... 573 - Higher Education
masters research, or doctoral degree,	... 574 - Postgraduate Research
enabling course: non-award foundation studies, or other full-time course or components of courses not leading to an Australian award,	... 575 - Non-award
full-time courses of any type undertaken by an AusAID or Defence student sponsored by the Australian Government,	... 576 - AusAID and Defence

Each student visa application is assessed according to an assessment level. The assessment level is determined by the passport held and visa subclass. The assessment levels relate generally to how likely students are to comply with their visa conditions, based on previous students’ behaviour. Assessment level 1 represents the lowest assessment (risk) level and assessment level 5 the highest.

The higher the assessment level, the more evidence you will need to provide to demonstrate your financial capacity, understanding of the English language and other relevant matters. You can find out your assessment level by looking up your nationality and visa subclass in Form 1219i, ‘Overseas Student Program - Assessment Levels’ at: http://www.immi.gov.au/allforms/pdf/1219i.pdf
If you have an assessment level 2, 3, 4 or 5, then you must make your first Student visa application from outside of Australia. Assessment Level changes were made on 1 November 2004 to certain European Union countries. Additional Assessment Level changes were made to other countries from 1 April 2005. See more about this at: http://www.immi.gov.au/business-services/education-providers/index.htm

The visa requirements
If you are applying for a Student visa inside or outside Australia, you will need to meet some general requirements that apply to all people wishing to study in Australia by way of:

• 
  health
  
• 
  character
  
• 
  health insurance
  
• 
  debts to the Commonwealth of Australia, and
  
• 
  custody arrangements, accommodation and general welfare, if you are under 18 years of age.
  

- Health

You (and any family members included in your visa application) must satisfy the health requirements specified in the Migration Regulations. Australia's health requirements are designed to:

• 
  minimise public health and safety risks to the Australian community,
  
• 
  contain public expenditure on health and community services, and
  
• 
  maintain Australian residents’ access to health and other community services.
  

See Form 1163i ‘Health requirements for temporary entry to Australia’ http://www.immi.gov.au/allforms/pdf/1163i.pdf
- Character

You must be of good character to enter Australia. The information you provide at the 'Character Declaration' section of form 157A, ‘Application for a student (temporary) visa’ at: http://www.immi.gov.au/allforms/pdf/157a.pdf generally enables an assessment to be made in respect of your character.

- Health Insurance

You must have acceptable health insurance cover for the period of your intended stay in Australia. To meet this requirement, you should pay for overseas student health cover (OSHC) for yourself and any family members who will live with you in Australia. The OSHC provides medical and hospital insurance. Many education providers now collect the OSHC premium from you and arrange to pay the health insurance cover on your behalf.

If your education provider does not obtain OSHC on your behalf, you should obtain it yourself and provide evidence to the office processing your visa application that you have OSHC. Information on the OSHC (including details of OSHC providers) can be found on the website of the Australian Department of Health and Ageing. Note that student guardians must arrange for overseas visitor health cover (OVHC), not overseas student health cover (OSHC).

You will not need overseas student health cover (OSHC) if you provide evidence that you are a(n):

• 
  unaccompanied student sponsored by AusAID or Defence,
  
• 
  Norwegian student covered by the Norwegian National Insurance Scheme, or
  
• 
  Swedish student covered by either CSN (the Swedish National Board of Student Aid) or by Kammarkollegiet.
  Note: if you are an exchange student for part of your study, you can only be covered by Kammarkollegiet.
  

If you are a Swedish or Norwegian student, you may choose to use OSHC instead of your national scheme.
- Debts to the Australian government

To enter Australia, you must have:

• 
  no outstanding debts to the Commonwealth of Australia, or
  
• 
  made acceptable arrangements to repay any outstanding debts to the Commonwealth of Australia.
  

- Accommodation and general welfare arrangements for students under 18-years-of-age

If you are a student who is under 18, you must show that you will either:

• 
  live in Australia with your parent or legal custodian, or
  
• 
  live in Australia with a relative over 21 years-of-age nominated by your parent or custodian, or
  
• 
  go into care arrangements that have been approved by your education provider.
  

If you will be living with a relative, your nominated relative must:

• 
  be your brother, sister, step-parent, step-brother, step-sister, grandparent, aunt, uncle, niece, nephew, step-grandparent, step-aunt, step-uncle, step-niece or step-nephew,
  
• 
  be aged over 21 years,
  
• 
  have the right to remain in Australia until your visa expires or you turn 18 years-of-age, (whichever happens first), and
  
• 
  show that they are of good character, by providing evidence of a police clearance in the country or countries in which your relative has resided for more than 12 months in the past 10 years after the age of 16.
  
  
  

For information about bringing a relative to Australia as a student guardian see: http://www.immi.gov.au/students/student_guardians/index.htm
Your student visa will require you to maintain these accommodation and general welfare arrangements until your visa expires or you turn 18 years old. If you intend to change your living arrangements at any time while under 18-years-of-age, you must first notify the department.
- Custody arrangements for under 18-year-olds

If you are under 18 years-of-age, you must have permission from all of your parents and/or any persons who can legally determine where you can live, to study in Australia. If any of these people are unable to sign your student visa application on your behalf, you must obtain permission in the form of a statutory declaration by that person to be provided with your student visa application.

Other factors might also be taken in to account that are not mentioned. The Australian immigration authorities will be looking to spot people intent on using the Student visa as a convenient way of slipping in the country without any intention of studying at all. Remember that they have seen it all several times and are not easily hoodwinked. They may ask about:

• 
  your capacity to cover the cost of airfare to Australia, tuition, accommodation, and other general expenses
  
• 
  your level of English language proficiency. If English is not your first language you may be asked to undertake the IELTS English test
  
• 
  your situation in your home country such as personal, financial, employment and other commitments which might prompt you to return home (e.g. military service commitments) or other circumstances which may cause you to become a liability to Australia
  
• 
  your academic record and history in the context of the course that you intend to study
  
• 
  your immigration history i.e. previous compliance with immigration laws and whether you have previously applied for entry into Australia
  
• 
  your capacity to support any accompanying dependent family member for the duration of your stay
  

Applying for a Student visa
If you satisfy the following criteria, you may apply for a student visa online. You must:

• 
  be outside of Australia
  
• 
  be aged 18 years of age or over
  
• 
  be from an Assessment Level 1 country
  
• 
  have an electronic Confirmation of Enrolment (eCOE) for the principal course you wish to undertake, and for any preliminary course(s) (unless you are an AusAID, Defence sponsored or secondary school exchange student)
  
• 
  not apply more than 90 days prior to the commencement of your course(s)
  
• 
  only make an application for yourself, i.e. you must provide information about family unit members in this application but you cannot use this application to apply for a visa for any family unit members.
  

You can do so now at: http://www.immi.gov.au/Services/Pages/student-visa-online-applications.aspx

All other students need to lodge their Student visa application through their local Australian Embassy or Consular Office. The first step is to get a ‘Letter of Offer’ from Australian university that you want to attend and the documentation for the enrolment. You have to fill it in and send it back with your payment. Once this is done the school will send the COE (confirmation of enrolment) letter to the embassy/consulate in your country. You then apply to the same embassy/consulate for a Student visa.

Changing courses

If you want to change to a new course at the same level of qualification, you do not need to apply for a new Student visa unless your current visa is about to expire. However, if your new course will be with a different education provider you will need to undergo another procedure with DIBP to get this approved as you could will be changing the conditions of your initial visa.

If you want to change your level of qualification, you will need to apply for a new Student visa because your visa subclass will have changed. For example, changing from a graduate diploma to a PhD degree.

The ‘no change of provider condition’ must be kept in mind. All initial student visas are granted with the Condition 8206 ‘No Change of Provider’. This means you must remain with your principal (main) education provider for the first 12 months. Where you have been granted a package, you must stay for the first 12 months of the principal (or main) course and for the duration of any prerequisite course/s. However, you may change your course if the new course is:

• 
  at the same level of qualification (for example, a bachelor or masters degree)
  
• 
  of the same duration, and
  
• 
  with the same education provider.
  

To apply for a change of provider within the first 12 months of your study in Australia, you must demonstrate exceptional circumstances justifying the change of your enrolment. Exceptional circumstances can include:

• 
  the provider ceasing operations
  
• 
  an Australian government sponsor considering the change to be in the best interest of the student, and has provided written support
  
• 
  the original provider stating in writing that the course is inappropriate, that is it does not adequately meet the needs of the student
  
• 
  compassionate and compelling circumstances.
  

Bringing family members
You may be able to bring your family members with you to Australia while you study. If your relative seeks to be your guardian then you will want to read: http://www.immi.gov.au/students/student_guardians/index.htm

You are generally eligible to apply to bring family members to Australia if you are assessed as:

• 
  assessment level 1 or 2, or
  
• 
  assessment level 3 or 4 and your course is for more than 12 months.
  

Working while studying
As of April 2008, all initial Student visas were granted with the right to work. Members of a student’s family are also allowed to work, but only after you have commenced your studies in Australia and you are all staying together. By working you will need to obtain a Tax File Number (TFN) which you can obtain through the Australian Tax Office.
Remember that you should try to achieve a healthy balance between studying, working and relaxing. Your extra-curricular work should not affect your main purpose for being in Australia – that of to study and pass your course.

Student Accommodation in Australia
A variety of accommodation options are available to you as student, especially if you are single. Your first point of contact is the International Student Office at your educational institution where you are attending classes. They can provide assistance with finding a place to stay whether it is on the campus itself, sharing a flat or house locally with other students, or a ‘home stay’ arrangement where you live with a local family and pay them an agreed fee. You will see plenty of notice boards around the campus advertising such accommodation opportunities.

When your course of study completes…
You have a few routes open to you once you’ve finished studying. These are:

1. 
   Leave Australia by the time your Student visa expires
   
2. 
   Continue your studies, which means applying for a new student visa
   
3. 
   Attend your graduation ceremony, but should you have an 8534 or 8535 ‘No Further Stay’ condition on your current student visa, then you will need to apply for a visitor visa accompanied by your letter of graduation with your application
   
4. 
   Migrate to Australia under the General Skilled migration program
   

Applying to migrate to Australia once your course successfully completes

The primary applicant must hold a degree, diploma or trade qualification from an Australian educational institution as a result of at least 2 years of full-time study at one institution while physically in Australia. An application for any of the following visas must be lodged within 6 months of completing the Australian qualification. Should you become unlawful (your visa expires) you will not be able to make a valid application for any visa. If you need more time to prepare your permanent visa application, you can apply for the Graduate Skilled Temporary visa which will keep you lawfully in the country.

A) Skilled–Independent Overseas Student

This category is for people who are under 45 years of age, have skills, qualifications, and employability that will contribute to the Australian economy. To apply for this category you must:

• 
  meet the basic requirements
  
• 
  nominate a skilled occupation from the Skilled Occupations list
  
• 
  pass the points test
  
• 
  have a positive skills assessment:
  - in a 60 point skill level occupation, or
  - in a 50 point skill level occupation if you have completed an Australia doctorate.
  

B) Skilled-Independent Regional (Provisional) (SIR)

This category is for skilled people under 45 years of age who wish to live in regional Australia. Applicants who can meet the pass mark for the SIR visa (see above), which is lower than the pass mark for the other general skilled migration visa categories, may be eligible to be granted a 3 year temporary visa. To apply in this category, you must:

• 
  satisfy the basic requirements
  
• 
  nominate a skilled occupation from the Skilled Occupations List
  
• 
  meet the SIR visa pass mark
  
• 
  have a positive skills assessment:
  - in a 60 point skill level occupation, or
  - in a 50 point skill level occupation if you have completed an Australia doctorate
  
• 
  have sponsorship from a state or territory government.
  

C) Skilled–Designated Area Sponsored Overseas Student

This category is for people who have skills and have a relative living in a designated area in Australia who is willing to sponsor them. To apply for this category you must:

• 
  meet the basic requirements
  
• 
  nominate a skilled occupation from the Skilled Occupations List
  
• 
  have a sponsor who lives in a designated area (you or your spouse must be related to the sponsor)
  
• 
  have an assurer who provides an Assurance of Support (AoS).
  

D) Skilled–Australian Sponsored Overseas Student

This category is for people with skills and who have a relative already living in Australia who is willing to sponsor them.

To apply for this category you must:

• 
  meet the basic requirements
  
• 
  nominate a 50 or 60 point skilled occupation from the Skilled Occupations List
  
• 
  pass the points test
  
• 
  have a sponsor (you or your spouse must be related to the sponsor)
  
• 
  have an assurer who provides an Assurance of Support (AoS)
  

It is vital that you lodge your onshore general skilled migration application with all the documents necessary to enable DIBP to assess your application. Lodging a complete results in faster processing times. Applications that are not complete may be refused. Document checklists are available for each onshore general skilled subclass. You need to complete the appropriate checklist and attach it to the front of your application. This will assist you to lodge a complete application and thus facilitate faster processing. DIBP will not provide individual advice to applicants regarding their likelihood of success or confirmation of eligible points allocation.

INSIDER INFO: Do not have to wait until you have graduated to start your application. If you have completed your course (or are about to)you may be eligible to apply sooner.
INSIDER INFO: If you require a sponsor and/or assurer, be aware that securing these can take many months to achieve. Start planning and executing your application’s requirements at least 6 months in advance – when your classmates aren’t.