Saturday, December 27, 2014
Thursday, December 25, 2014
Hello guys,
Today I would like to draw your attention towards 'A CHEATING' that I have been witnessing a lot so I thought I should alarm all future international students about it. It's about 'Overseas Student Health Cover ("OSHC") that is a mandatory requirement to get Australian student visa.
Why OSHC is Mandatory for Student Visa:
As you would probably be aware that medical treatment/cost in Australia is very high that is the main reason why Department of Immigration ("DIBP") has made it mandatory for all international students to purchase 'Overseas Student Health Cover ("OSHC") for the entire duration of the course as a part of their visa application.
Who can offer OSHC to international students:
Following 5 companies are approved by DIBP for OSHC;
1. Allianz (Most expensive)
2. Medibank
3. BUPA
4. AHM
5. NIB (Least expensive)
OSHC cost per year varies company to company and is subject to the services that each company offers to students.
How some education consultants/agents are playing with students' unawareness:
It's been well observed that some consultants/agents are showing students the price of Allianz or Medibank (most expensive ones) but when students pay that money to their agents, they get the OSHC from the less expensive company (like NIB or AHM) and lodge the visa application (as all are accepted for visa purposes) without informing student about it. This way, some agents/consultants try to 'earn' some extra money i.e from Rs. 30,000 to Rs. 1,50,000 which is completely unfair with student and his/her parents/sponsor who paid the money.
My advise to new students:
I would like to advise all future students to;
Today I would like to draw your attention towards 'A CHEATING' that I have been witnessing a lot so I thought I should alarm all future international students about it. It's about 'Overseas Student Health Cover ("OSHC") that is a mandatory requirement to get Australian student visa.
Why OSHC is Mandatory for Student Visa:
As you would probably be aware that medical treatment/cost in Australia is very high that is the main reason why Department of Immigration ("DIBP") has made it mandatory for all international students to purchase 'Overseas Student Health Cover ("OSHC") for the entire duration of the course as a part of their visa application.
Who can offer OSHC to international students:
Following 5 companies are approved by DIBP for OSHC;
1. Allianz (Most expensive)
2. Medibank
3. BUPA
4. AHM
5. NIB (Least expensive)
OSHC cost per year varies company to company and is subject to the services that each company offers to students.
How some education consultants/agents are playing with students' unawareness:
It's been well observed that some consultants/agents are showing students the price of Allianz or Medibank (most expensive ones) but when students pay that money to their agents, they get the OSHC from the less expensive company (like NIB or AHM) and lodge the visa application (as all are accepted for visa purposes) without informing student about it. This way, some agents/consultants try to 'earn' some extra money i.e from Rs. 30,000 to Rs. 1,50,000 which is completely unfair with student and his/her parents/sponsor who paid the money.
My advise to new students:
I would like to advise all future students to;
- Either take OSHC directly from your University/College to get assured that you are getting what you are paying for OR
- Ask your consultant/agent to provide you the complete details of the OSHC that s/he is arranging for your visa i.e. OSHC Company name, duration of OSHC, cost/price etc.
- If you purchase OSHC through your University or College, they will provide its complete details on the COE letter that they will issue to you including OSHC Company, OSHC start date and end date.
- If you purchase OSHC through your agent, you can double check the OSHC price very easily from their website.
"STAY INFORMED & DON'T GET CHEATED"
Wednesday, December 24, 2014
There are some most common and frequently asked questions that i get from international students who want to come and study in Australia or from those students who are already in Australia and want to extend their student visa for their further stay in Australia.The questions are;
- I have sufficient amount of funds to live and study in Australia but do I need to show these funds to Visa Officer as well?
- How do I calculate the minimum required funds to get Australian Student Visa?
Well, here I am to assist all of you for the above mentioned questions;
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Students who DO NOT need financial documents for Australian Student Visa:
If you are a student from ANY ONE from the following 2 categories, you are good to go and lodge your student visa application without submitting financial supporting documents with your visa application;
- IF you are a student from Assessment Level 1 country for your desired course (See Assessment Level details here)
- IF you are not from Assessment Level 1 country but you are applying visa under DIBP's Streamlined Visa Processing ("SVP").
Please be advised that there is an exception here, if for example, visa officer specifically requests student to show the financial documents, student must need to provide the documents to Visa Officer. Normally Visa Officer gives 28 days period of time to the student for him/her to arrange.
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Students who NEED financial documents for Australian Student Visa:
If you do not fall in ANY from above mentioned 2 categories, you must satisfy visa officer that you have sufficient funds to live, study and depart from Australia. The funds that you need to show are;
Financial Requirement for Student without Spouse & Kids:
1st year of your living expense in Australia: $18,610 AUD
Return airfare: Usually $3000 - $4000 AUD.
Financial Requirements for Student that has family i.e. Spouse & Kids:
If you have dependents (regardless if they are accompanying with you to Australia or not), you need to show below additional amount in addition to above mentioned financial eligibility criteria;
Tuition fee of school-age kids (from 5 - 18 years old): $8000 each
Spouse living expense: $6,515 AUD
1st child's living expense: $3,720 AUD
Each other child living expenses: $2,790 AUD
NOTE: Please be advised that in cases where student has shown the funds in his country's local currency that fluctuates rapidly, visa officer will consider the date on which visa application was lodged.
Also please be advised that the funds shown above are only 1st year of expenses. If you are planning to live more than an year, you should multiply the living cost with number of years that you want to live.
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My Opinion:
As you would have noticed that there is no fix amount that visa applicant needs to show. . The requirement amount of fund varies as per your individual circumstances and the institute that you choose to study in Australia. Therefore, please calculate your funds carefully before you submit your visa application as if found less than required, Visa Officer may refuse the visa application without giving you the opportunity to provide more financial documents to meet the minimum eligibility criteria. If you have any question about this blog, please feel free to post in the comments below.
