If you want to study for more than 3 months in Australia, you can directly contact and apply with the school or through an Agent of Education or even with a travel agency that represents an Australian Institution. You may apply from any place or country in which you are living. The operation involves 4 distinct phases which are; the Course, the Visa, the accommodation, and the purchase of the aerial ticket.  These stages will be covered step by step. This is assuming that you are applying by yourself directly with the school, through email. If you use an Agent, then they will be in charge of most part of the process. Universities courses and vocational courses will need extra steps such as the results of an IELTS test and any other specific requirement.

1) Research about your financial situation and possibilities. For this, you must take in account the cost of the course, books, the transport, food, accommodation, the visa and the aerial ticket. Consider also the requirements to get the approval of the student Visa from the Embassy of Australia in relation to your course and country. Normally you need to show A$ 1000 monthly to cover your expenses in Australia apart of the cost of the course and the ticket. The cost of living in each city of Australia (annual & approached) is described in our page of costs.

2) Choose the city and the type of course you want - This step is one of the most important, because once the visa has been emitted, you will not be able to change the course, or the city, only if the institution has branches in other Australian cities.  To change courses you need the authorization of Immigration and it needs to be for important reasons.

3) Decisions about where to stay - if it will be in a homestay (house of Australian family) you must book ahead and when enrolling in a course communicate to the school your intention to stay in a homestay. The school will include in the invoice the value of the Homestay. In case you want to stay in a hostel, you will be able contact them through our Backpacker Hostel Guide and inquire about the price, vacancy etc....

4) Get the Letter of Offer – once the determined course and the city is chosen, you will have to request to the school a letter of offer of vacancy (Letter of Offer). First you will need to fill the form of registration of the school (in their website or through email) with your personal data such as your full name as from passport, address, desired course, duration, if you need transfer from the airport, if you want a homestay etc. After that the school will send you a letter (by fax or email to it) confirming that it has vacancy for you. The invoice will come as an attachment for you to make the payment (they accepted majority of Credit Card, and 100% of them accept remittance or banking transfers). The majority of the schools include in the invoice, the compulsory Health Insurance and the value of the Homestay if applicable.

5) Pay and receive the "COE" - the Confirmation of Enrolment or COE is an official and is the most important document, because with it you then are able to apply for the visa. It is emitted by the institution after receiving the payment confirming that you are registered for the course. Being an official document, it will not be sent by email, but by either Fax or Postage. Therefore, when sending your details to the school for you to get the Letter of Offer you should include a fax number or indicate an alternative to receive it (such as a neighbour). The fax machine has to be on 24 hours in the automatic mode to accept documents any time of the day or night because of the time zone differences. When receiving it, you must check carefully if your name is spelled correctly, and if the dates and course are right. In case it has any mistake such as misspelling your name or dates, you must request to the school to make the appropriate corrections and send it again. All the numbers that appear in the COE must be clearly written.

Note: The school will send one copy of the COE directly to the Embassy and the other one to you.

6) Start the medical examination - a X ray of the Thorax and a medical examination are also requirements for the visa. You will have to choose a registered doctor listed by the Embassy of Australia in your city. In case there is none, contact the Embassy for instructions on how to proceed.

Attention: The examinations have limited validity therefore do not do it too much in advance. A copy will be sent to the Embassy.

Note: the vaccine yellow fever vaccine have to be taken before the departure as is not a requirement just for the Student Visa, but it is for entering Australia.

7) Book the airplane ticket - with your favourite travel agency. Choose the date and make reservations but do not pay it until the confirmation of the Visa. Try to get the Flight date around the same time as the course start date.

8) Apply for the VISA - You it will attach the COE and the Letter of Offer with the form application for Student Visa. The Form application for the Visa is simple to fill and direct, and completed without the need of others. All you have to do is follow the procedure written in the website of the Embassy.

Attention: Please never lie or supply with omitted facts to the Embassy of Australia because they will verify.

Note: Do not send documents with metal clips, as they prefer the plastic ones, avoiding extra problems with metal detectors.

9) Once the visa is issued - Confirm and pay the aerial ticket and the accommodation, in case you decide to stay in a hostel (most of hostels accepts credit cards and booking online).

10) Call your friends and family to tell the good news. Start packing and “welcome to Australia”.

Read more about it in Before Arrival.u