One of the most popular destinations for students looking for higher education avenues abroad—Australia—attracts thousands of students every year. The top-notch quality of education, valuable networking opportunities with global alum, the best infrastructure, faculty members, post-study work opportunities, and the possibilities of Permanent Residency attracts the most students to the country.
Australia is also a favorite of students because of its diverse, multi-cultural environment, and the fantastic natural ambience. In case you too, are looking for the opportunity to study in Australia, here is a step-by-step guide that takes you through all the things that you have to do to apply for the same.
Step 1: The college and course of your choice
The first obvious thing to do is to go through the list of courses available and select on that interests you the most. This depends on your personal choice, aptitude levels, and also the education level that you are interested in.
Here are some of the most sought-after education streams that are popular with international students:
- Accounting and Finance
- Engineering
- Cookery
- Nursing
- Information Technology
- Hospitality Management
If you are in search of courses that can facilitate your PR pathway in Australia, you can choose from the list below:
- Nursing
- Education & Teaching
- Engineering
- Computer and Information Technology
- Accountancy
Step 2: How to apply
After you are done choosing, the next step is to apply to the college of your choice. If your application is accepted, you have to apply for the conditional offer letter (valid when you don’t yet have an English Test Score). Further, however, if you already have an English test score, you may be able to directly apply for the Unconditional Offer Letter from the Australian education provider.
Next, you have to get the Electronic Confirmation of Enrolment (eCoE), which is evidence of your enrolment in the international study programme. This is essential for student visa applications.
Step 3: English Language Test
An essential step for the Australia Student Visa application is meeting the English language requirements. Taking an English language test is to prove that you are proficient in speaking English in academic environments. A few of the more sought-after English language test providers are PTE Academic (PTE-A), IELTS (International English Language Testing System), Occupational English Test (OET) etc.
Here are the PTE and IELTS requirements for Australia Student Visa:
IELTS
In IELTS, the minimum score in the four skills—Reading, Writing, Listening and Speaking—is 5.5. Based on your score, you get rewarded points for the Australia migration and Permanent Residency. To get started, you can get started with IELTS free mock tests.
PTE Academic
In PTE, to be eligible for Australia Student Visa, you have to score 42 points in the exam.
Both the IELTS and PTE exam results have a validity of 2 years from the day on which the test was conducted.
Alternatively, students can also take the NAATI CCL Test.
Step 4: Appropriate Health Insurance:
After all this, next up, you have to get an adequate OSHC (Overseas Student Health Cover). The OSHC has to be given by an approved health insurance provider. Some of the best names in the field are Bupa, ahm, nib, Medibank, and Allianz Global Assistance.
The country of Australia has entered into a Reciprocal Health Care Agreement (RHCA) with 11 nations, namely: Malta, Italy, Finland, Belgium, Sweden, the UK, US, Republic of Ireland, Norway, Slovenia and Netherlands. If you belong to a country that is not on the list, then getting an Overseas Student Health Cover is mandatory to fulfil the student visa requirement.
However, one thing has to be kept in mind. When you are applying for OSHC from out of Australia, you have to make sure that the health cover starts right from the day you reach Down Under. A lot of students mistakenly assume that the health cover begins right from the day the course starts. Generally, there is a period after the visit until the course begins. This time can range from a week up to a month.
Just make sure that you maintain the OSHC till the time you leave Australia. If you don’t have proper health insurance, you could be refused entry to Australia.
Step 5: Apply for Australia Student Visa
After all of the above steps are done, the following step is to apply for Australia Student Visa (Subclass 500).
If you want to apply for Australia Student Visa, you should possess:
- Health and character requirements
- Appropriate OSHC
- Evidence of sufficient funds
- English language proficiency certificates
- Adequate funds
- Academic Certificates
Conclusion
To conclude, an academic career in Australia is one of the best and bold decisions that one could take. There are several advantages of the same: Quality education and Australia PR are the clinching advantages.If you wish to, you can consult Australia Education Consultants.
