Study in Australia besides being a fantastic life experience is also a good intellectual and professional investment for your future. Australia offers thousand of different courses for international students and is famous for the quality of education in many areas.  To study in Australia, the first thing that must be determined, it is the study time, therefore this will implies in different types of Visa to be requested to the Embassy of Australia in your home country.

Courses with less than 3 months – If the period of study will be less than 3 months, do not require a Student Visa, therefore the Tourist Visa is enough. You it will be able to be enrol in any type of course, either for international students or for Australians. Also you will not have the obligation to assist the lessons.  Many short courses during less than 3 months are available in any Australian city. Some of these courses are in high demand for the Australian market, for example, Barman, House Keeper for Hotels, Waiter, and many others, mainly in the Tourism and the Hospitality industry. Unfortunately with a Tourist Visa, you it cannot work in Australia, unless you are registered in a course with 3 months or more.

Courses with more than 3 months - The Australian department of Immigration require a Student Visa, it is much more expensive, and will involve a more bureaucratic process. The chosen course will last obligatorily 3 months of duration or more, and the frequency to the lessons is controlled by the immigration. If you attend less than 80% of the lessons without medical justification, it will cause immediate cancellation of the Visa. The chosen course has that to be registered and to have been approved for the Australian government as CRICOS (courses regulated for international students). These courses give the right to the student to apply for work legally to a maximum of 20 weekly hours, and full time during the school holidays.  This modality includes students enrolled in government or private High schools, English Courses, Technical or Vocational Courses and University Courses, including Masters and Post-Graduation.

Although courses and schools in Australia have very high standards of education, courses differ a lot between them as in any part of the world. One can be better or worse than other. The Universities courses are the most homogeneous, but they are also distinct in regard of hardship for the students. Universities are obliged to only contract personal with academic background, either for English Courses or any other subject, while the other courses can contract academics or any professional of the market. This does not mean that courses are good only when related to the University, and there are many courses of equal or better quality in any Australian city. The important for the future student, is to spend some time researching about the school. The subjects can be the same, but the reputation, localization, installations and quality of education are important factors when contracting a course and investing such capital (you can check many schools in our Course Guide).

 Another point about study in Australia is who you will go to study with. If you will study English, of course the course will not have Australians in its classroom, they already know English, or they are learning in a public or particular school of Australia, and obviously they would not be in a English School for International students. For the proximity with Asia, the majority of the International students comes from this region, and surpasses in great number the students of other nationalities. The Latinos including Brazilians are the second biggest group, followed by Europeans, Arabs, Indians, and students of other regions, being this ratio equal in any Australian city that offers courses for International students. So, you will be able to make friends from many parts of the world.

There are some schools that concentrate a great number of students from the same nationality, and this can be good or bad, depending on as you face the situation. Some students don’t care, and they even rather have their mates from home country, what it guarantees good socialization, and it minimizes the impact to be in a foreign country. Others prefer to keep certain distance of compatriots and try to get along with more Australians and absorbing faster the English. Another type of students even with mates they try to only communicate in English to practise the language. The only exception is high school education, with most Australians and the number of International students is limited.

If you are in doubt of what course to attend and you have plans to in the future try to apply for permanent residence and the process of immigration in Australia, there are courses and careers that could give you more points for "Skilled Migration". These professions are brought update regularly by the Government, in accordance with the necessity of the Australian market. In one determined year, could be Hair Dressing, Nursing, Chef and many others professions. If would like to know more on these professions sees the site of the Government in www.immi.gov.au/allforms/pdf/1121i.pdf (need to have installed the Adobe Acrobat).

When contracting a course, you better know that in case your visa is denied, the amount  paid  for the course will be refunded less the fees, for example, enrolment fee, homestay fee (if applicable). To get a refund you will need to get the letter from the Embassy so your agent will be able to request the refund, or if applying directly with the school, send by Fax the letter, and a small text in English explaining the occurrence, also giving your bank details so the school can proceed the reimbursement.

Read everything you need to know aboyt study in Australia by choosing the options on the left navigation bar of this page. Come to study in Australia and have the time of your life. Check also our Course Guide to know the Educational institutions that offers English Courses in Australia, Vocational courses, plus Univerversity and Post Graduation Courses in Australia.

Important Notice: yesaustralia.com has changed in January 2007 into a newer and more comprehensive  website  www.portaloceania.com