School Student Visa

School Student Visa

School Student Visa

1. Overview of School Visa of Australia
The School Student Visa is Sub Class 571 Visa of Australia. The Sub-Class 571 visa is for the Foreign international students who want to Study in Australia.
You need School Student Visa ( Sub Class 571 ) if you want to study the following Courses in Australia:

  • Secondary school course, including junior and senior secondary
  • An approved secondary school exchange program.?

2. Eligibility for School Student Visa of Australia
You can get School Visa ( Sub Class 571 ) of Australia if,

  • You are enrolled as a student at a primary/Secondary School in your Country
  • You are  participating in a secondary school exchange program.

2.1. Full time Course Acceptation:
You must be accepted for full-time study in a registered course or part of a registered course to be eligible for this visa.
Lodgement Method Proof of Acceptance
Online You must provide the code from your electronic Confirmation of Enrollment.
Post or in person You can provide a copy of one of the following:
• your Confirmation of Enrollment
• Your Letter of Offer.
Note: A registered course is an education or training course offered by an Australian education provider registered on the Commonwealth Register of Institutions and Courses for Overseas Students (CRICOS).
2.2 Genuine temporary entrant requirement:
Your individual circumstances must demonstrate that you genuinely intend to stay in Australia temporarily.
The factors that are considered during assessment of the genuine temporary entrant (GTE) requirement include: your personal circumstances in your home country, your potential circumstances in Australia, the value of the course to your future, your immigration history, and any other matter that is relevant to your intention to remain in Australia temporarily. If you are a minor the intentions of your parent, legal guardian or spouse will also be considered.
The information provided in your application form and supporting documentation will be used to assess the GTE requirement. You may be requested to provide additional information in relation to the factors set out above.

2.3 Expanded Financial Requirements:
You must meet the following financial requirements.
Travel, tuition and living expenses
The table below outlines the amounts in Australian dollars (AUD) that you need access to. These amounts are the minimum required for this visa. They do not necessarily represent the cost of living in Australia.
Expenses Per Person Amount required in AUD
Travel Yourself Return air fare to Australia
Family members One return air fare to Australia per person
Tuition Yourself Course fees
Children aged 5-18 AUD8000 per year
Living Yourself AUD18 610 per year
Partner AUD6515 per year
First child AUD3720 per year
Each other child AUD2790 per year

The department must be satisfied that an applicant, once in Australia, will have genuine access to the funds they claim to possess to cover the travel, tuition and living costs for themselves and their family members.
You must have enough money to pay for travel, tuition and living expenses for yourself, your partner and your dependent children for the duration of your stay in Australia.
You must:
Show proof that you can meet these financial requirements for the first 12 months of your stay in Australia. 
Note: If you have completed 75 percent of your course and are applying for a subsequent student visa, you do not need to show your savings history. ? Declare on your application that you can meet these financial requirements for the remainder of your stay in Australia.

Acceptable sources of income
The money to support you and your family members must come from one or more acceptable sources, which may include:
1. Money deposit with a financial institution held by you or an eligible family member
2. Loan from a financial institution made to you or an eligible family member
3. Loan from your government
4. Your proposed education provider
5. Australian Government or an Australian State or Territory government
6. government of a foreign country
7. provincial or state government of a foreign country that has the written support of the national government of the foreign country
8. Organization gazetted by the Minister
9. Acceptable non-profit organization
10. Multilateral agency.

Examples: United Nations, World Bank or Asian Development Bank
Note: Non-cash assets such as property and shares are not acceptable sources of income. However, non-cash assets may be liquidated or used as collateral on a loan, if they are provided by an acceptable source.?
Note: An eligible family member includes:
1. the applicant
2. the applicant’s partner
3. the applicant’s parents
4. the applicant’s grandparents
5. the applicant’s brothers or sisters
 
• An uncle or aunt of the applicant who is:
1. an Australian citizen, and Australian permanent resident or an eligible New Zealand citizen and
2. usually resident in Australia.

Fully Funded Students
If you are a fully funded student, you must show evidence that the sponsoring agency, government or organisation will cover the cost of:
• travel, tuition and living expenses for yourself and dependent family members accompanying you to Australia
• supporting your dependent family members remaining in your home country, taking into consideration the local standard of living.
Note: If family members later decide to join you in Australia, you must show evidence of extra funds from an acceptable source to cover their travel, tuition and living expenses in Australia.

Prepaid boarding or homestay fees
If you are boarding or have entered into homestay arrangements with your education provider and have prepaid your boarding or homestay fees, the amount you have prepaid can be deducted from the total amount of living costs you must demonstrate to the department.
You will need to show evidence to the department of the boarding or homestay fees as separate from the tuition fees.

Example: A contract or an authorised receipt of payment from your education provider.
Note: Only formal boarding or homestay arrangements will be accepted by the department. Prepayment of private boarding or homestay arrangements or rent will not be deducted from the living cost requirement.
Providing evidence of deposits or loans
You need to show evidence of how the money to fund your studies was accumulated.
If your source of income is a money deposit held in a bank account, you must provide the following evidence:
• pay slips
• bank loan documents
• interest from investments.

If your source of income is a loan, you must provide the following evidence:
• a bank statement showing the amount of available credit
• a statement from the holder of the loan that its purpose is to support your studies.
Note: If your source of income is a home loan with a redraw facility from an Australian financial institution, the funds from the redraw facility may be considered a loan. A home loan with a redraw facility from a non-Australian financial institution may be acceptable, but must be considered on a case-by-case basis.

Financial support from a non-profit organization
A non-profit organisation providing you with financial support must be lawfully established and operating in Australia or overseas. You must show evidence of the organisation’s non-profit status, including:
• statement from the Australian Taxation Office showing organisation’s status
• documents of i
ncorporation as a non-profit organisation.

You must also show evidence that the organisation has sufficient funds or income to support you financially. Evidence may include:
• bank statements
• financial statements.

Supporting family members when studying for less than 12 months
If you are applying to study in Australia for less than 12 months, your family members are not eligible to come with you to Australia. However, you must show that you have enough funds to support your family members in your home country, taking into consideration the standard cost of living in that country.

2.4 Expanded Health Requirements
You must meet certain health requirements. The health examinations you need will depend on your personal circumstances, including your country of citizenship, time spent in another country during the last five years and your intended activities in Australia. The results of your health examinations are generally valid for 12 months.

This applies to you and any dependent family members included in your application.
You are able to organise your health examinations upfront before lodging a visa application.
 
Health insurance
You must have health insurance while in Australia. Health insurance can be provided by obtaining Overseas Student Health Cover (OSHC) which provides medical and hospital insurance. See: Overseas student health cover – Frequently Asked Questions

You can ask your education provider to organise OSHC for you, or you can select an approved OSHC provider yourself and pay the insurance.

Exceptions: You do not need OSHC if you are:
1. A Norwegian student covered by the Norwegian National Insurance Scheme
2. A Swedish student covered by the National Board of Student Aid or by Kammarkollegiet
3. A Belgian student covered under the Reciprocal Health Care Agreement with Australia.

If you are studying at more than one educational provider and both are arranging OSHC, you will have to ensure that there is no gap between policies. This means that as one policy expires the next commences immediately.

OSHC is available for a period of up to five years. If your course exceeds five years in length, then OSHC providers may issue cover for a longer period.

If you have a child born after your arrival in Australia, and you only have a single OSHC policy you must change that to a family policy. If family members join you after your arrival in Australia they will have to demonstrate that they have an OSHC policy for the duration of their visas.

Proof of insurance: When you lodge your application, you must provide a receipt or other proof of your OSHC payment. The OSHC should commence when you arrive in Australia.
 
2.5 Expanded Australian Values Statement
If you are aged 18 years or over, you must declare that you will respect Australian values and obey the laws of Australia. For this visa, the values statement is included in the general declaration section of the application form. When you sign the application form it means you will also be signing the values statement. You will not be required to have read the Life in Australia book, but may do so if you wish.
You are also encouraged to gain an understanding of Australia, its people and their way of life, before applying for this visa.
See: Australian Values – Overview
 
2.6 Expanded English language skills:
Contact your Australian education provider who will advise you of the level of English language you need and the evidence you must provide. If you need English language tuition to meet these requirements, you can also study a preliminary English course for up to 50 weeks.

2.7 Academic record and Age Requirements
All students except exchange students must meet specific academic and age requirements.
If you are applying for your first student visa, you must provide evidence:
that you have successfully completed Year 6 or equivalent
that your age is appropriate for your proposed Year level
 
and one of the following:
that your secondary school course will be at least 16 months in duration
that you successfully completed a recognised secondary course lasting two years outside Australia. The course must have an Australian curriculum and be conducted in English by an Australian provider.

An Appropriate age means that if you are enrolled in:
• Year 12, you will be less than 20 years of age at the start of Year 12
• Year 11, you will be less than 19 years of age at the start of Year 11
• Year 10, you will be less than 18 years of age at the start of Year 10
• Year 9, you will be less than 17 years of age at the start of Year 9
• Year 8, you will be less than 16 years of age at the start of Year 8
• Year 7, you will be less than 15 years of age at the start of Year 8.

If you are in Australia and are applying for a subsequent student visa to study Year 12, you only need to show that you:
• successfully completed Year 11 in Australia, by providing school reports and academic records
• are enrolled in Year 12 in Australia.?

2.8Character Requirements:
You must be of good character to enter Australia. The information you provide on the ‘Character Declaration’ section of your application will be used to assess your character.
See: Character and penal clearance requirements
 
2.9 Expanded Debts to the Australian government:
To enter Australia you must:
• have no outstanding debts to the Australian government or
• have arranged to repay any outstanding debts to the Australian government.

2.10 Expanded Students under 18 years of age
Students under 18 years of age have specific visa requirements.

Parental permission
If you are under 18 years of age, your parents and/or anyone who can legally decide where you can live must give permission for you to study in Australia.
If any of these people cannot sign your student visa application on your behalf, they must sign one of the following:
• a statutory declaration giving their permission. You must submit this declaration with your application.
See: Attorney-General’s Department > Statutory Declarations
• the consent form for children under the age of 18 years
See: Form 1229 – Consent form to grant an Australian visa to a child under the age of 18 years (125KB PDF)

2.11 Accommodation and welfare Arrangements:
If you are under 18 years of age, you must have acceptable arrangements for your accommodation, support and general welfare for the duration of your student visa or until you turn 18 (whichever happens first).
You must show that you will either:

  • live in Australia with your parent or legal custodian
  • live in Australia with a relative over 21 years of age who is nominated by your parent or legal custodian
  • live in Australia under a welfare arrangement that has been approved by your education provider.

2.12 Welfare provided by a Parent or legal custodian
If your parent or legal custodian will be providing welfare for you during your stay in Australia this should be indicated on your application form.
You can arrange to bring a parent or legal custodian to Australia as your carer on a Student Guardian visa. See: Bringing family

2.13 Welfare provided by a relative:
If a relative will be providing welfare for you during your stay in Australia your parents and/or legal custodians will need to give their permission for this arrangement on your application form and your relative must be nominated. See: Form 157N – Nomination of a Student Guardian (171KB PDF)Your nominated relative must be one of the following:

  • Brother or sister
  • Stepbrother or stepsister
  • Step-parent? Grandparent
  • Step-grandparent
  • Aunt or uncle
  • Step-aunt or step-uncle
  • niece or nephew
  • step-niece or step-nephew
  • spouse.

They must also:
• be aged over 21 years of age
• be eligible to remain in Australia until your visa expires or you turn 18 (whichever happens first)
• be of good character.
See: Character and penal clearance requirements

You can also arrange to bring a relative to Australia as your guardian on a Student Guardian visa. See: Bringing family

Welfare provided by an education provider
Your parents and/or legal custodians can give their permission on your application form for your accommodation, support and general welfare arrangements to be provided by your education provider.
If your welfare is being approved by your education provider you will need to submit with your application a signed statement from the provider which confirms the start and end dates of these welfare arrangements. This letter is called a Confirmation of Appropriate Accommodation/Welfare Arrangements (CAAW) letter and if granted, your visa end date will correspond with the welfare dates on the letter.
If you are already in Australia when you lodge an application you need to show evidence of adequate arrangements for welfare when you lodge your student visa application. See: Bringing family
If your welfare arrangements are approved by your education provider you cannot travel to Australia until your welfare arrangements commence. Your welfare arrangements commence on the welfare start date that your education provider has nominated on the CAAW.

Note: Education providers are not obliged to approve friends or other relatives as an accommodation provider for you. A person or entity providing accommodation and welfare must meet the education provider’s requirements. See: Explanatory guide for Standard 5 of the National Code
Change of welfare arrangements

It is a requirement of your visa that appropriate welfare arrangements be maintained during your stay in Australia. If you do not maintain adequate welfare arrangements during your stay in Australia your student visa may be cancelled.

If you intend to change your welfare arrangements at any time you must have written approval for this change. Depending on your circumstances, this approval must come from either your parents/legal custodian or your education provider and the department must be notified.
If you are changing your welfare arrangements from education provider approved arrangements to welfare provided by a relative, you must lodge a completed form 157N with the department. See: Form 157N – Nomination of a Student Guardian (171KB PDF)
If you do not maintain adequate welfare arrangements during your stay in Australia your student visa may be cancelled.
 
3. Documents Required for School Student Visa of Australia:
4. Student Visa Processing Time:
  
Visa Application Type Submitted within Australia Submitted outside Australia
Assessment Level Level 1 or 2 Level 3 or 4 Level 1 Level 2 Level 3 or 4
Students (subclass 570, 571, 572, 573, 574, 575, 576, 580) Note: Student Guardian visa processing times are based on the Assessment Level of the nominating student. 14 days 1 month 14 days 21 days 3 months
Students: permission to work 7 days 7 days n/a

Assessment Levels: Student visa Assessment Levels are determined by the passport you hold and the visa subclass you are applying for.

5. Stay Durration on Student Visa of Australia

6. Extension of Student Visa:
A student visa is a temporary visa |that will let you to come to Australia for a certain time interval to learn at an Australian training {institution|institute} .
You will need to learn the expiry date of your student visa as you should either abandon Australia before it expires , or submit a brand new visa application . If your visa does expire you have to speak to the department without delay . If your visa has expired for more than 28 days an exclusion time period may be imposed which means you cannot return to Australia for three years .

See: Community Status Resolution Service
If you are eligible , you may extend your stay in Australia for reasons such as further study , graduation , a holiday , work or migration . You can only extend your stay in Australia if you do not have a ‘Further Stay Restricted’ condition ( 8534 or 8535 ) on your current student visa . You can find out if you have this condition by looking in your visa grant information or through Visa Entitlement Verification Online ( VEVO ) See : Visa Entitlement Verification Online ( VEVO ) In general , you can only hold one visa at a time . A new visa ( other than a bridging visa ) will generally cease any other visa held and come into effect as soon as it is granted . You should contact the department before lodging a visa application if you have questions about how a new visa would affect your existing visa .  

Options to extend your stay
Reasons for Extending Visa Options
Further study orTo have your PhD thesis assessed. Apply for a new student visa. See: Visa Options
Attend your graduation ceremony orHave a holiday. Apply for a visitor visa. See: Visitors
For work Apply for a work visa. See: Workers
Permanent residence in Australia Apply to become a permanent resident under the General Skilled Migration program. See: General Skilled MigrationPoints tested skilled migration is now applied for through SkillSelect. Note that an Expression of Interest (EOI) is not the same as a visa application. A bridging visa will not be granted after submitting an EOI.


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