To answer the question, what are the benefits of student visa in Australia, there are lots of factors to put into consideration. It is no lesser than truth to accept the fact that Australia is the largest country by area in Oceania and the world’s sixth-largest country. The problem is that the population over there is not large compared to the size of its space. Hence, there is the attending need to accommodate more people in the country.
Given this need and mass patronage it welcomes from all over the world, Australia is ethnically diverse and multicultural, the product of large-scale immigration, with almost half of the population having at least one parent born overseas. Thus, it has a highly developed market economy and one of the highest per capita incomes globally.
In terms of education, Australia has the highest ratio of international students per head of population in the world by a large margin, with 812,000 international students enrolled in the nation’s universities and vocational institutions in 2019.
Accordingly, in 2019, international students represented on average 26.7% of the student bodies of Australian universities. International education therefore represents one of the country’s largest exports and has a pronounced influence on the country’s demographics, with a significant proportion of international students remaining in Australia after graduation on various skill and employment visas.
So, every year Australia offers tuition-free scholarships that give international students uncommon opportunities that further encourage their influx. By this fact, the country gets floods of student visa applications virtually more than Germany and other international countries. Does the Australian student therefore hold any benefits at all?
This is the situation we have to grapple with and then look to providing verifiable facts to the question that has been asked before: what are the benefits of student visa in Australia?
Study and Work Permit
It allows you to study and work in Australia throughout the duration of your course. From 01 July 2023, the working hour cap is reintroduced at an increased rate of 48 hours per fortnight (2 weeks) during your studies, and full-time during your school breaks. The Student Visa is the perfect solution to extend your stay in Australia after a Working Holiday Visa or a Work And Holiday Visa.
Constancy of Price
The current fees in order to apply for a student visa (Subclass 500) are set to $560 AUD. The price is always the same no matter the length of your studies.
Please note that this price may vary depending on the location where you apply for your student visa (Australia or onshore). The Department of Immigration and Border Protection has built a pricing estimator tool to help future applicants to quickly get a price overview of their visa application.
Family Member Inclusion
Your family members and/or your partner can be included when lodging your student visa application. This means, if you are studying, your family may also be able to join you in Australia. For instance, if you are studying at a Master’s level, your partner can even get full work rights for the duration of your visa.
Read Also: What are the Advantages of Studying in Germany?
Long-Term Visa Stay
For those who are new to the concept of student visas – it can last for any duration of time, but it is mostly pegged to the course duration of a program you have picked. So it can be as short as 6 months to as long as 5 to 6 years, depending on your course(s) of study.
The only exception to this would be for children of a certain age applying into an Australian government school – whereupon a visa would be granted for approximately 2 years of study.
Opportunity of Extension Visa
You may apply for a two-year Post-Study Work Visa once you graduate. If you study for two years at a higher education level, you will automatically be entitled* to a two-year Post-Study Work Visa.
From 01 July 2023, post-study work rights have been extended for up to 6 years for international higher education graduates with eligible qualifications in industries with skill shortages. Depending on their studies, those who are bachelor’s degree graduates will be able to stay in Australia for four years, a master’s degree for five years, and those with a PhD degree will be able to stay for six years.
International graduates who hold a valid Temporary Graduate Visa on 1 July 2023 or who apply for a Temporary Graduate Visa after 1 July 2023 will be considered for the two year extension if they graduated from an eligible course from an Australian higher education provider. This means you could have up to six whole years to work full-time in an Australian company; gaining experience working in an Australian environment and if you choose to – seek sponsorship.
