People who are considering to move to Australia are usually not aware of where to seek advice from, especially, if they do not have relatives and friends in Australia. Some may ask their travel agents, and some may be referred to education agents. Travel agencies help when applying for visitor visas while education agents promote Australian education and assist in student visa applications.
If you were advised that your only pathway to Australia is to study, it is suggested that you get a second opinion from a Registered Migration Agent (RMA) or an Immigration Lawyer before enrolling for your course of study and before paying your tuition fee.
Here are some handy tips and important information that you should know before you embark on your journey into becoming an international student in Australia.
1. In Australia, it is illegal to give advice or assistance on Australian visa matters if you are not an RMA, an Immigration Lawyer or an exempt person
Exempt persons can be any of the following:
• a nominator, sponsor or close family member of the visa applicant;
• a parliamentarian, a member of a diplomatic mission, consular post or international organisation; and
• a person providing free help to prepare a submission to the Minister.
Note that education agents are not exempt persons and cannot lawfully provide immigration assistance in Australia unless they are also an RMA or a Legal Practitioner.
It is prudent to ask if the person advising you is an RMA or a Legal Practitioner. You can search the name of your adviser on the legal services board’s website if he/she is an Immigration Lawyer and from the Office of Migration Agents Registration Authority (OMARA) website to see if they are an RMA with a current licence.
2. Not all courses lead to a Permanent Residency (PR) visa pathway
Many student visa applicants are promised that they will become permanent residents after completing their course. PR pathways are only available for graduates whose nominated occupations on the skills list and for those who can satisfy all the criteria for PR visas.
3. Not all courses lead to a Graduate Visa
There are only specific courses and qualification levels where international graduates can become eligible for Graduate Visa. The criteria for this visa can be found on Department of Home Affairs website.
4. Not all visitor visa holders can apply for a student visa while they are in Australia
Some applicants are advised to first apply for a visitor visa and are promised that they can then apply for a student visa while in Australia. Note that some visitor visas can be issued a no further stay condition (8503) which means that the visa holder cannot apply for another visa while in Australia.
It is also important to understand that if your visitor visa is refused, it can be difficult to apply for another visitor visa or a student visa depending on the refusal reason/s.
5. Not all student visa holders are guaranteed to find a job once they are in Australia
Student visas come with work rights, but this doesn’t mean that student visa holders can find a job in Australia right away. If you are promised a job, make sure you are issued an employment contract and that you have verified the genuineness of your employment.
6. Providing misleading information or fraudulent documents may lead to a visa refusal and negatively affects your chance of being granted another Australian visa
There are many examples of this but this is the most common one. Some student visa applicants are asked not to show their real marital status on their application as some advisers think that the application will have a higher chance of approval if they show what they are single or have never been married. In the same light, couples are also advised to both study and apply for each of them a student visa separately.
Problems arise when a primary student visa holder (who is married but showed in his/her student visa application that he/she has never been married) decides to apply for a subsequent entrant student visa for his/her spouse. This application will lead to a visa refusal as the spouse of the primary visa applicant declared in his/her student application that he/she was never married.
7. Show money is not just for show
Some student visa applicants are advised to borrow money and put it in their bank account just for the duration when their student visa application is in progress. Note that student visa applicants are required to declare that they have enough funds for their first year of study and stay in Australia. Evidence for this is not always required (depending on the education provider’s risk assessment level and the country of passport of the student visa applicant) but may still be requested for by the Immigration Case Officer while the application is in progress.
