Increased fees for Australian student visas a big turn-off
by Harleen Kaur - November 17, 2010
Australia, 17th November: According to a recent comparison of visa rules by John Curtin Institute of Public Policy, Australia is loosing a huge number of potential foreign students to nations like Canada, the UK and the US.
The conditions for the Australian student visas are making the nation extremely uncompetitive in foreign education, findings by the institute maintain.
As per the current requirements for getting Australian student visa, an amount of $144,000 is required in the bank for those wishing to pursue degree courses and this amount happens to be nearly three times the bank funds required for studying degree courses in nations including Canada, the UK and the US.
These funds are required to be present in the bank account in order to provide for the tuition fees as well as living expenditure for a period of three years during their stay in Australia.
And if the potential foreign students wishing to get an Australian student visas hail from China, then the bank money might be held for as much as six continuous months just befor the application date for Australian student visas.
The funds required in the bank account for getting a New Zealand student visa, a Canadian student visa and a UK student visa range happen to be around $23,000 to $25,000 while funds for getting a US student visa are $40,500.
So, the amount required for getting a student visa for any of the above stated four nations is quite less than that for an Australian student visa. And this is the reason why Australia seems to be losing charm among the aspiring foreigners wishing to study in Australian colleges or Australian universities for degree courses.
The cost of Australian student visa is also more than that of the UK, the US, New Zealand and Canada. The present Australian student visa cost is $550 which is nearly $200 higher than that charged in the UK. Moreover, its also higher that the cost charged in New Zealand, the US and Canada which is between $124 and $152.
Meanwhile, the Australian immigration minister Chris Bowen had revealed last week of announcing immigration and international education rules soon.
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