Australia Student Visas

Australia sponsors an overseas student program, which allows non Australian citizens to visit the country for the purposes of study. For obvious reasons, Australian residents are forbidden from applying for the OSP program. Only students who study full-time are eligible for the OSP program, although you may be eligible for special work-related visas if you're simultaneously employed by an Australian company.

You can contact the Australia Department of Education, Science and Training, otherwise known as DEST, for details about which registered courses are deemed acceptable by the Australian government in terms of visa requirements. Moreover, Australia offers special dispensation to students who are refugees from human rights crises states.

Qualifying for an Australian Student Visa

Students who qualify for temporary humanitarian visas may arrange to stay in Australia or its territories without being enrolled full-time. That said, requirements for the special visa programs change rapidly. Moreover, given the erosion of certain Australian immigration rights programs, more and more humanitarian refugees are being forced to apply for temporary status visas.

One way in which some students get around the student visa hassle is to marry or get engaged to a native Australian. Partner visas are easier to acquire, and restrictions tend to be minimal. However, the government has been cracking down on bogus partner visa applications as of late, so you may be required to show ample evidence of a permanent partnership.