Sponsored Sector: Temporary Visa (Subclass 576) – Assessment Level 2

This visa is designed for international students who are sponsored by AusAID or Defence to study a full-time course of any type in Australia.

This visa is for you if you want to do one of the following:

• apply for your first student visa
• renew your student visa
• apply to join a family member who is in Australia on a student visa.

This visa is designed for international students who are sponsored by AusAID or Defence to study a full-time course of any type in Australia.

What does the visa let me do?

With this visa:

• you can study in Australia until the end of your course
• eligible dependant family members can accompany you to Australia
• when you have commenced your course of study in Australia, you can work up to 20 hours per week while your course is in session and unlimited hours during scheduled course breaks
• your family members can work up to 20 hours per week provided you have commenced your course of study in Australia
  Note: If you have been granted a Student visa before 26 April 2008 you and your dependent family members may need to apply separately for Permission to Work
• your spouse can study in Australia for up to three months
  Note: If your spouse wants to study for more than three months they must apply for their own student visa. The application can be made in Australia

All students on an AusAID or Defence sponsored student visa are assessment level 2.

Before you apply for this visa, you must have applied for and been accepted to study full-time at an educational institution in Australia.

Length of stay

This visa allows you to stay in Australia for the duration of your course. It permits multiple entries to Australia. Dependent family members who come with you to Australia are usually able to stay the same length of time as you, but they cannot stay once you have left the country.

The table below outlines the usual duration for a student visa.

Duration of Course	Duration of Visa
10 months or less	Your visa will usually be granted for one month longer than the duration of your course.
Longer than 10 months	Your visa will usually be granted for two months longer than the duration of your course.
Longer than 10 months and finishing at the end of the academic year	Your visa will usually cease on March 15 of the following year.

Definitions

Eligible family members
Eligible family members include your spouse and you and your spouse’s dependent children.

Spouse
Your spouse is the person you are married to, or in a de facto relationship with. You are in a de facto relationship if you have been living with a person of the opposite sex for at least 12 months, and you have a genuine and exclusive relationship with them.

Dependent child
A dependent child is the natural or adopted child, or step-child, of yourself or your spouse who:

• is not married or engaged to be married or in a de facto relationship
• has not turned 18

Eligibility

Student Eligibility

You must meet specific requirements to be eligible for this visa.

Accepted in full-time study

You must be accepted for full-time study in a course of study or training to be eligible for this visa.

When you lodge your application you must provide a letter from AusAID or Defence indicating their support of your study in Australia.

Financial requirements

You may, in limited circumstances, be asked to show that you have extra funds for family members. This may happen if your scholarship is not enough to support the full living costs of your family members.

If your family members decide not to come with you to Australia, you must prove that you have access to enough funds to support your family members remaining at home, taking into consideration the local standard of living.

If your family members later decide to join you in Australia, you must show that you have extra funds from an acceptable source to cover their living, tuition, school and travel costs in Australia.

Health requirements

You must meet certain health requirements and may need to undergo a health examination. The requirements vary based on:

• your length of stay in Australia
• other health risks in your home country or countries you have visited for more than three months within the last five years.

You can complete your health examination before you lodge your visa application, but no more than six months before your course starts.

Health insurance

You do not need Overseas Student Health Cover if you provide a letter from AusAID or Defence stating that you are an unaccompanied student sponsored by AusAID or Defence.

English language skills

Your education provider will advise you of the level of English you require and the evidence you must provide.

Note: If your education provider requires that you complete ELICOS (English Language Intensive Course for Overseas Students), you may study a maximum of 30 weeks of ELICOS before starting your main course.

Academic record and history

If you are applying for your first student visa, your education provider will advise you of the academic qualifications you require and the evidence you must provide.

If you are applying to renew your student visa, you must provide the following:

• academic transcripts and records of attendance to show that you satisfied the course requirements
• a letter of support from AusAID or Defence.

Character requirements

You must be of good character to enter Australia. The information you provide on the ‘Character Declaration’ section of your application will be used to assess your character.

Debts to the Australian Government

To enter Australia, you must:

• have no outstanding debts to the Australian Government
  or
• have arranged to repay any outstanding debts to the Australian Government.

Students under 18 years of age

You must meet all the above, and the additional eligibility requirements.

Australian Values Statement

If you are aged 18 years or over, you must declare that you will respect Australian values and obey the laws of Australia. For this visa, the values statement is included in the general declaration section of the application form. When you sign the application form it means you will also be signing the values statement. You will not be required to have read the Life in Australia book, but may do so if you wish.

You are also encouraged to gain an understanding of Australia, its people and their way of life, before applying for this visa.

Obligations

Family Member Obligations

You must declare all family members on your application, even if they do not plan to travel with you to Australia. If not they will not be eligible to come as dependants after you have arrived in Australia.

You must also provide proof of your relationship to them, in the form of officially issued birth and marriage certificates.

Your dependant family members must meet the following requirements to be eligible for this visa.

Financial requirements

It is your responsibility to ensure that you have enough money to support your family members while they are in Australia.

Health requirements

Your dependant family members must meet certain health requirements and may need to undergo a health examination. The requirements vary based on:

• length of stay in Australia
• other health risks in home country or countries visited for more than three (3) months within the last five (5) years.

Note: Health examinations can be completed before you lodge your visa application, but no more than six (6) months before your course starts.

Health insurance

Your family members must have health insurance while in Australia. You can include them in your Overseas Student Health Cover, which provides medical and hospital insurance.

Proof of insurance: When you lodge your application, you must provide a receipt or other proof of your health insurance payment covering your family members.

Character requirements

Your family members must be of good character to enter Australia. The information provided on the Character Declaration section of your application, will be used to assess the character of your family members.

Student Obligations

You must uphold your visa conditions while studying and living in Australia or your visa may be cancelled and you may have to leave Australia.

Course enrolment and attendance

You must remain enrolled in a full-time registered course.

Academic results

You must have satisfactory academic results for each term or semester of your course. If your course is shorter than a term or semester, you must have satisfactory academic results for the duration of the course.

Your education provider will advise the department if your results are not satisfactory. The definition of ’satisfactory’ is determined by your education provider.

Providing your home address

You must advise your education provider of your home address within seven days of arriving in Australia. If you change your address during your stay in Australia, you must advise your education provider within seven days.

Note: Your education provider needs your home address so they can contact you if you do not satisfy the requirements of your course. If they cannot contact you, this could result in your student visa being cancelled.

‘No further stay’ condition

Some visas are issued with a ‘no further stay’ condition. This condition means that you cannot apply to stay in Australia beyond the date specified on your visa, except in extremely limited circumstances.

Limited circumstances may include students who want to apply for:

• a student visa with permission to work
• a student visa that is supported by a sponsoring government agency
• a Graduate Temporary Entry - Skilled visa
• a visa to engage Australia’s obligations under the 1951 United Nations convention relating to the status of refugees.

Students Under 18 Years of Age

If you are under 18 years of age you must have written approval to change your accommodation, support and general welfare arrangements. If your parents/legal custodian approved your accommodation, support and general welfare arrangements, you must have their written approval to change these arrangements.

If your education provider approved your accommodation, support and general welfare arrangements, you must have the education provider’s written approval to change these arrangements.

Financial Capacity

You must maintain enough money to pay for travel, tuition and living expenses for yourself, your spouse and your dependent children for the duration of your stay in Australia.

School age family members

Any family members of school age must attend school in Australia.

Health Insurance

You must maintain health insurance for you and your family members while in Australia. Health insurance can be provided by obtaining Overseas Student Health Cover (OSHC) which provides medical and hospital insurance.

Family Member Obligations

Your dependant family members must maintain their visa conditions. A breach of these conditions may result in your visa being cancelled and you may have to leave Australia.

Your family members must:

• remain a member of your family for the duration of their stay in Australia
• have adequate financial support
• maintain adequate health cover
• work no more than 20 hours per week
• attend school if they are of school age.

Important: It is your responsibility to ensure that your family members meet the above conditions.

‘No further stay’ condition

Some visas are issued with a ‘no further stay’ condition. If this condition applies to any of your family members, it means they cannot stay in Australia beyond the date specified on their visa, except in extremely limited circumstances.

Limited circumstances may include family members who want to apply for:

• a student visa with permission to work
• a student visa that is supported by a sponsoring government agency
• a Graduate Temporary Entry - Skilled visa
• a visa to engage Australia’s obligations under the 1951 United Nations convention relating to the status of refugees

AusAID and Defence visa (subclass 576)

Charge Type	Charge Amount
Visa Application Charge	Nil
Permission to work	Nil