(i) Evidence of Enrolment
One of the important requirements for a student visa application is that you must be accepted for enrolment, to undertake a course, by a Government registered Australian education institution. This is verified by the advice of acceptance from the Australian institution (commonly known as Letter of Offer), which is issued to a student who has been offered enrolment in a full-time course.

(ii) Financial Ability
Sponsor(s) wil

l have to provide documentary evidence of having cash assets ( immediately encashable assets like savings and fixed deposits in banks) held for at least 6 months prior to the pre-visa application date. Sponsor(s) can be the applicant, parents, grandparents, or spouse only ( relatives like brother /sister /uncle /aunt /cousin / family friend are not acceptable).

How much funds have to be shown?
For Masters and Doctorate Courses: Sponsors must provide evidence of cash assets for the first year tuition fee (as on the letter of offer) and living expenses (assumed at A$ 12000 p.a.) and access to additional funds (from acceptable sources) to meet the cost of the remainder of study and stay in Australia.

Commercial loans from Banks and government loans are acceptable.

In case the applicant holds a partial scholarship from an Australian institution or an institution in India ( for example, Educational Trusts), funds to cover the remaining costs must be provided as prescribed above.

Private corporate sponsorship is acceptable subject to certain conditions. However if the company is a family owned business and if one/both parents are directors/partners, it is treated as a parent sponsor.

For Vocational Education and Training (VET), TAFE, Higher Education and School courses, Sponsors must provide evidence of cash assets covering tuition fee and living expenses of the entire duration of the proposed and pre-requisite course (including foundation/ELICOS/Bridging program that precedes the main course).

(iii) English Proficiency
All students have to demonstrate a minimum level of proficiency, measured by an IELTS overall band score of at least 6.0, except those enrolling for a Diploma course (VET) in which case 5.5 is acceptable. Please note that TOEFL score is not acceptable and IELTS is compulsory even if the student has studied in English medium institutions throughout his/her academic career.

(iv) Potential to breach visa conditions
This is an assessment of an individual's current circumstances done by the visa officer by reviewing, for example, the situation in India - your personal and financial commitments that may prompt you to return to your home country.

(v) Other Relevant Matters
These include :

• Immigration links with Australia

• Usefulness of course for career development

• Satisfactory completion of year 12 or relevant undergraduate degree or equivalent.

• Strong links have to be established between past academic/work background and study goals.

Further Processing :
If you are advised that you meet the PVA requirements, you will be asked to undergo further processing. This includes payment of course tuition fee to the Australian educational institution and a medical examination. It is essential that the student and the accompanying dependent(s) meet the Australian Health requirements before a visa may be granted. This involves a medical check-up and an x-ray. Applicants will need to present an original valid passport to identify themselves to the Doctor and Radiologist. In some cases medical results will be referred to Australia and as this process takes 3 - 4 weeks, applicants will need to allow additional time. Usually only medicals where the doctor or radiologist has detected an abnormality will be referred to Australia. Applicants need to take into account postage or courier times also.

Total processing time :
As a general rule, applicants should allow a four (4) to six (6) week timeframe for processing of applications. Factors that may delay this processing time include:

• Medical referral to Australia and the need for any subsequent medical tests;

• Document verification including educational documents, employment references and bank statements; and

• Applications which are incomplete and require the visa office to make contact with the applicant or the applicant’s agent.

Health Insurance :
It is compulsory for all international students to have Overseas Student Health Cover (OSHC) for themselves and their dependents, where applicable, for the duration of the visa. The. premium for OSHC is only to be paid once the PVA requirements have been met. The current premiums for OSHC are A$ 274 for a single person.

Re-entry into Australia :
All Student Visas have a multiple entry facility for the full period of the visa. Students who plan to travel out of, and return to, Australia at any time during their course are advised to check that their visa is valid for return to Australia.