Student VISA

Before you can apply for a student VISA you must be accepted into one of EQUIP Training’s yearlong courses. Because of the different requirements for different countries, we suggest that you write to us before you apply so we can guide you through the process. For general information on student visas see Department of Immigration and Citizenship (DIAC) website.

Step 1

Contact our Academic Administrator  and send the following information: your name, address, phone, fax numbers or email address, your passport country, which course you are applying for.

Step 2

Apply to study at EQUIP using the application form. Download the application form, fill it in and send it to us with the supporting documentation and registration fee.

Step 3

EQUIP will assess your application. If you are eligible EQUIP Training will send you a letter of offer outlining our offer to you in detail, including dates, costs, course content etc.

Step 4

If you are happy with EQUIP’s offer you will need to sign the letter of offer and post a copy back to us.

Step 5

We will arrange a Confirmation of Enrolment certificate. We will post or email this certificate to you. You will then need to use this certificate to apply for your student VISA. You can do this in person at the embassy nominated on your certificate or, in some cases you can apply online at the Department of Immigration and Citizenship. For further details see ‘Applying for a Student Visa‘ on the DIAC website.

Step 6

Arrange for Overseas Student Health Cover for yourself (and your family) for the duration of your stay in Australia. You must have evidence of this before your visa will be granted. EQUIP can arrange this health insurance for you if you wish or you may make your own arrangements.

Depending on which country you are from it can take from 2 weeks to 8 months for the Australian Government to issue a student VISA. So it’s a good idea to get started as soon as you can.

How Difficult is it to Get a Student VISA?

There are different requirements depending on which country you are from.

Each student VISA application is assessed according to an assessment level. The assessment level is determined by the:

• Passport held
• VISA subclass

The assessment levels relate generally to how likely students are to comply with their VISA conditions, based on previous students’ behaviour.

Assessment level 1 represents the lowest assessment level and assessment level 5 the highest. The higher the assessment level, the more evidence you will need to provide to demonstrate your financial capacity, understanding of the English language and other relevant matters.

Note that depending on where you are from you may need to:

• Prove that you have all the finances you will need for your course
• Provide evidence of your competency in English. The International English Language Testing System (IELTS) score we require for study at EQUIP is at least 6.5 overall with a minimum of 6.0 in any band (IELTS website).
• Have a medical check and chest x-ray.

For further details see ‘Applying for a Student Visa‘ on the DIAC website.

VISA subclasses

The VISA subclass is: 573 (Higher Education) for both the Diploma and Graduate Diploma.