Student Visas

Students wishing to study in Australia need a student visa. To find out more about obtaining a student visa go to www.immi.gov.au, click on the Finding a Visa button and then on Visa Wizard and follow the prompts. For all courses over 3 months you will need a Confirmation of Enrolment form from the institution with which you intend to study and, unless your country has an arrangement with Australia (like Sweden and Norway ) you will need overseas health cover which costs approximately AUD$348 a year.

When applying for a student visa you will be unlikely to encounter any problems if you make sure you read the instructions carefully and follow them.

As you may know the Australian government gives each country an assessment level rating and if your country is on level 3 or 4, visa applications can take around 3 months. In addition you will have to meet fairly stringent financial requirements. If you are not sure of your country's assessment level, the full list is available on the www.immi.gov.au website.

Finance

To give you an idea what it will cost to live in Sydney, the Australian government has the following guidelines. It is suggested that single students allocate A$12,000 per annum for living costs in Australia. Married students should allocate a further 35% for their spouse, an additional 20% for one child and a further 15% for each additional child.

If you have school age children you will be required to pay full school fees in both government and non government schools. You should allocate a minimum of A$9,000 per annum per child for kindergarten to Year 10 and A$11,000 for Years 11 and 12. School fees in some non government schools will be more than this.

You are allowed to work up to 20 hours a week as long as it does not interfere with your studies. In the holidays you can work full time if you wish.