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Saturday, October 27, 2007

The two year rule

PLEASE NOTE THAT AS OF 23RD MARCH, 2013, International students can no longer directly apply for PR after studying for two years.

The two year rule is still valid in many situations. However, International students should not be tricked into believing that they can get PR just by studying for two years in a degree which is closely related to a profession on the SOL.

Please see the below links. 

http://www.immi.gov.au/students/knight/faq-post-study-work-arrangements.htm
http://migrationblog.immi.gov.au/2013/01/10/new-post-study-work-arrangements-and-international-students/

__________________________________________

What is the two year rule?


Its very important to understand the two year rule.



The two year study requirement was introduced in July 2003 in recognition of the value of Australian study in equipping visa holders to find skilled employment and settle easily in Australia. The intention of the two year study has always been to ensure that applicants for GSM have a strong foundation of at least two academic years study in Australia. The value arises not only from having an Australian qualification but from having substantial exposure to Australian society and culture.



The Government has amended the Regulations to clarify the two year study requirement in response to some confusion surrounding its interpretation.

From 1 September 2007, to meet the two year study requirement, applicants will have to complete one or more degrees, diplomas or trade qualifications for award by an Australian educational institute as a result of a course or courses:




  1. Registered on the Commonwealth Register of Institutions and Courses for Overseas Students (CRICOS);

  2. Completed as a result of at least two academic years’ study;

  3. Completed in a total of no less than 16 calendar months; and

  4. That the applicant studied in Australia, while holding a visa that allowed study and for which all instruction was conducted in English.

In addition:





  1. Students will not be penalised for changing education providers provided they obtain credit for their previous study and this study was in a CRICOS registered course undertaken in an Australian institute while physically present in Australia and in accordance with any visa conditions.

  2. In line with the National Code 2007, students will also be able to count study undertaken online towards meeting the two year study requirement (up to 25%), if they were in Australia for the duration of that period of study.

These changes benefit students because they allow more flexibility.

What is two academic years?



To demonstrate that you have studied for at least two academic years, you must show that you have completed the equivalent of two years study at 100% of a full-time load. If you are given credit from prior learning it will reduce the amount of study you have completed.



The department will use CRICOS to determine whether a course meets the two year requirement. From 22 October 2007 a course that has a registered duration of 92 weeks will be accepted as a course equating to two academic years of study.

Examples:





  1. If a student completes a full qualification in a course that is registered as 92 weeks, they will have met the two year study requirement.

  2. Where a student completes two eligible qualifications, each related to their nominated occupation, that together total at least 92 weeks registration on CRICOS, they will have met the two year study requirement.

  3. Where a student enrols in a three year full time course, they can be granted recognition of prior learning or credit for up to one year of full-time study and still meet the two year study requirement (as defined above) when they complete the qualification.

  4. Where a course is CRICOS registered for 92 weeks a student enrolled in this course who is given any credit for prior learning will not have completed two academic years of study. In this situation, the applicant would need to have (or complete) an additional eligible qualification related to their nominated occupation in order to have completed, in total, the required two years of academic study.

  5. If a course is CRICOS registered for 92 weeks but a student elects to complete the course through accelerated learning, for example through a summer semester of study, the student is considered to have met the two year study requirement if they complete the course in no less than 16 calendar months.

  6. If a student enrols in a course that would only require 1.5 years to complete full-time but has taken two years to complete, this will not have met the requirement for two years of academic study.



Example 1:
If a course is CRICOS registered for 138 weeks (3 years) and consists of 24 units, 100% of full-time enrolment would equate to 8 units per year. In that course, a student will have completed two academic years when they have successfully completed 16 units. That means a student enrolled in that course can be given credit for prior learning for up to 8 units and still complete two academic years study.


Example 2:
If a course is CRICOS registered for 92 weeks (2 years) and consists of 12 units, 100% of full-time enrolment would equate to 6 units per year. Students would be required to complete all 12 units to meet the two year study requirement.



A student enrolled in this course who is given any credit for prior learning will not have completed two academic years study and may have to complete an additional degree, diploma or trade qualification to meet the two year study requirement.


My case:


I will explain my own example to make things easy for understanding.
You can see the certificate of completion from my university below.





Certificate of completion issued to me by UTS at the end of successfull completion of my degree.



As you can see the certificate shows two things
  1. The start date and the end date, which is from 28th of Feb, 2005 to 18th of July, 2007. A total of 29 months OR 116 weeks.
  2. The other important thing mentioned is the "Normal full time duration" of the course which is 4 semester (2 yrs or 52 weeks).
Although I completed the course in an extra 6 months, the actual duration of the course is 2 yrs, NOT 2.5 yrs.



So when the immigration department opens your case file, it will look at two things



1. The official course duration as listed on the CRICOS website. In my case, my course is 104 weeks.


You can check that by clicking on the link for CRICOS website.



2. The total duration of the course in a full time load as shown by the certificate of completion on the letter issued to you by your university.


I hope I have cleared the doubts of every one by providing my own example.

Kind Regards

Junaid

57 comments:

Anonymous said...

Dear sir,
I have done my Masters in Information Technology,which is a 6 yr integrated course with no reward of a Bachelor degree.I would like to do a 24 month Diploma in IT(web development) from Australia for 2yr education fulfillment.I also want to get PR(permanent residence) on this basis.Will my Masters degree be a hindrance in getting Diploma and PR?

kindly intimate me if you have any information on this.

Yours sincerely,
Saurabh Singh

Junaid Noor said...

@Saurabh

*********************

Dear sir,
I have done my Masters in Information Technology,which is a 6 yr integrated course with no reward of a Bachelor degree.I would like to do a 24 month Diploma in IT(web development) from Australia for 2yr education fulfillment.I also want to get PR(permanent residence) on this basis.Will my Masters degree be a hindrance in getting Diploma and PR?

kindly intimate me if you have any information on this.

Yours sincerely,
Saurabh Singh

****************

Ans 1: No, your masters degree will not be a hindrance in getting admission in a diploma AND it will also not be hindrance in applying for PR as long as you fulfil the pre-requisites.

Kind Regards

Junaid

Anonymous said...

sir,
Thanx for ur kind reply.
Bye,
Saurabh

Abhishek Vora (Atom) said...

Hi Junaid,

Congratulations on posting a wonderful blog which clears many doubts. I have a complex one though. I have completed graduate Certificate in Business (Post graduate 40 CP course for 1 semester = 0.5 years) from Griffith Uni, and I am enrolled into Masters of Human Resource Management with Hons. which is for 3 semesters (1.5 years) This makes it 92 weeks of full time load. However, I am confused wether or not will this be considered.Kindly guide accordingly.

Abhishek Vora.

Junaid Noor said...

@Abhishek

*************************

Hi Junaid,

Congratulations on posting a wonderful blog which clears many doubts. I have a complex one though. I have completed graduate Certificate in Business (Post graduate 40 CP course for 1 semester = 0.5 years) from Griffith Uni, and I am enrolled into Masters of Human Resource Management with Hons. which is for 3 semesters (1.5 years) This makes it 92 weeks of full time load. However, I am confused wether or not will this be considered.Kindly guide accordingly.

Abhishek Vora.


********************

Check the duration of the courses you have done from the CRICOS website.

http://cricos.dest.gov.au

Add up the duration, if it adds up to 92 weeks then you can apply. If it is less then 92 weeks then you cannot apply.

Also, if you have done multiple degrees/diplomas, then all of them must be relevant to each other as well as relevant to the SOL profession you are selecting for PR.

Kind Regards

Junaid

Anonymous said...

Hi Mr Junaid,

I must confess that many of us especially me are highly indebted to you for your blog.God bless you.Please help me
with these questions.

1. I intend to apply to swinburne university for Master of Science (Network system) rated as professional on the acs.org.au
website,but the program is for 78 weeks, not 2 years.Will I still need to do a 6-month course to be able to get 60 points after the program?

2. Will my student visa still be okay to go ahead for the 6-month program if necessary?

3. Also,what is the point for CCNP (cisco certified network professional),and where can I get to know the awarded
points for other certifications.

4. Do I need IELTS to apply for a student visa if it is not required by my school for admission.

My mail address is larrybiodun@yahoo.com.Thank you in advance for your response.

Junaid Noor said...

@^^
*****************

Hi Mr Junaid,

I must confess that many of us especially me are highly indebted to you for your blog.God bless you.Please help me
with these questions.

1. I intend to apply to swinburne university for Master of Science (Network system) rated as professional on the acs.org.au
website,but the program is for 78 weeks, not 2 years.Will I still need to do a 6-month course to be able to get 60 points after the program?

2. Will my student visa still be okay to go ahead for the 6-month program if necessary?

3. Also,what is the point for CCNP (cisco certified network professional),and where can I get to know the awarded
points for other certifications.

4. Do I need IELTS to apply for a student visa if it is not required by my school for admission.

My mail address is larrybiodun@yahoo.com.Thank you in advance for your response.


***********************

1. You need to study an additional 6 months to be eligible apply for a permanent residency visa 885 or 886.

2. No, you will need to renew your student visa as the initial student visa will only be for 1.5 yrs.

3. CCNP dont get you any points for immigration purposes. Work experience in Australia does. You might be able to get an exemption from your university based on your CCNP but then that will reduce the amount of study you have done and you will not be able to apply for PR.

4. If your university doesnt require IELTS, then you dont need to give IELTS however the immigration department requires it in some cases. So check with you university and Australian embassy in your country.

Kind Regards

Junaid

Unknown said...

Dear sir,
i did bcom (3 year course) 2 year in Malaysia and last year i did in Australia. But last semester i had only 2 unit left.
Now i am doing Graduate Diploma of Business (Professional Accounting). which is 1 year.
My question is do i need to do one more semester to apply PR.
Yours sincerely,
Abdul nur khan

Junaid Noor said...

@Nur

***********************

Dear sir,
i did bcom (3 year course) 2 year in Malaysia and last year i did in Australia. But last semester i had only 2 unit left.
Now i am doing Graduate Diploma of Business (Professional Accounting). which is 1 year.
My question is do i need to do one more semester to apply PR.
Yours sincerely,
Abdul nur khan


****************************



I am not very sure about your query.

I would recommend contacting a MARA qualified lawyer who can correctly answer your query.

I am getting confused because you didnt study full time in the last semester. Had you studied full time, then it would have been easy for me to answer.

Please contact Mr Arun Garg , www.auslead.com

He might give you the answer on the phone free of cost.

Please take prior appointment on the phone.

Kind Regards

Junaid

Anna said...

Hi Junaid,
Thanks for the wonderful blog post, it has made things a lot more clear for me! I have a question I was hoping you could help me with.

I am currently studying in Australia and hopefully by the end of the year I will have done my 2 years study, but I do have a gap between the two years. Do you think this is a problem?

I came to Australia in January 2006 and did a 1 year Masters.
In 2007 I was doing a PhD (which I quit). Then beginning of 2008 I started graduate diploma (finish in December).
I would like to apply for permanent residency but my nominated occupation is only 50 points, so first I will try for the graduate temporary visa (485)to get 1 years work experience.

My questions are:
1) Is the one year gap between my two years of study a problem? (since I did not complete the PhD it just looks like a gap).
2)When it comes time to apply for PR is there any requirement about how long ago you finished your studies, if you currently hold a 485 visa? (ie if you are applying straight from student visa I know it has to be within 6 months)

Thanks very much if you can help! :)
Anna

Junaid Noor said...

@Anna

*****************************

Hi Junaid,
Thanks for the wonderful blog post, it has made things a lot more clear for me! I have a question I was hoping you could help me with.

I am currently studying in Australia and hopefully by the end of the year I will have done my 2 years study, but I do have a gap between the two years. Do you think this is a problem?

I came to Australia in January 2006 and did a 1 year Masters.
In 2007 I was doing a PhD (which I quit). Then beginning of 2008 I started graduate diploma (finish in December).
I would like to apply for permanent residency but my nominated occupation is only 50 points, so first I will try for the graduate temporary visa (485)to get 1 years work experience.

My questions are:

1) Is the one year gap between my two years of study a problem? (since I did not complete the PhD it just looks like a gap).

2)When it comes time to apply for PR is there any requirement about how long ago you finished your studies, if you currently hold a 485 visa? (ie if you are applying straight from student visa I know it has to be within 6 months)

Thanks very much if you can help! :)
Anna


*************************

1. No, any gaps between studies do not create a problem. The total amount of COMPLETED studies (not incomplete ones) must be more then 92 weeks.

2. If you apply immediately after completion of your degree, then you have to apply for PR within 6 months of the declaration of your results.

If you prefer to first get a graduate skilled visa 485 and then get a job to get the extra bonus points, then there is no limitation.

Check this link to see the conditions you need to satisfy if you are a holder of a graduate skilled visa.

http://www.immi.gov.au/skilled/general-skilled-migration/885/eligibility-table-grad.htm


Please remember that you need to apply for graduate skilled visa within a specific time. I think it is within 6 months of the release of your results or before expiry or your student visa, which ever comes first.

You can also apply for both graduate skilled visa and PR at the same time and if your PR visa gets rejected you can get graduate skilled visa but that would be a waste of money and time.

Kind Regards

Junaid

Anonymous said...

For "Anonymous", posted on July 24, 2008 9:45 AM.

Quoted from your post:
"1. I intend to apply to swinburne university for Master of Science (Network system) rated as professional on the acs.org.au
website,but the program is for 78 weeks, not 2 years.Will I still need to do a 6-month course to be able to get 60 points after the program?"

Answer:
This information is only correct if you choose to accelerate your course from 2 years to 1.5 years.

CRICOS Course Code: 054543M

CRICOS website:
http://cricos.deewr.gov.au/Course/CourseDetails.aspx?CourseID=54543

Duration (Weeks): 104

Call up the university to confirm.

Hope this helps.

Junaid Noor said...

@Anonymous

*************************

For "Anonymous", posted on July 24, 2008 9:45 AM.

Quoted from your post:
"1. I intend to apply to swinburne university for Master of Science (Network system) rated as professional on the acs.org.au
website,but the program is for 78 weeks, not 2 years.Will I still need to do a 6-month course to be able to get 60 points after the program?"

Answer:
This information is only correct if you choose to accelerate your course from 2 years to 1.5 years.

CRICOS Course Code: 054543M

CRICOS website:
http://cricos.deewr.gov.au/Course/CourseDetails.aspx?CourseID=54543

Duration (Weeks): 104

Call up the university to confirm.

Hope this helps.

**************************


^^

What you are saying would be correct if the person querying was already enrolled in a two years degree. Only then could he accelerate his program from 2 years to 1.5 years.

However, he is only enrolled in 1.5 years course. So he needs to do an additional 6 months to fulfill the two year requirement.

Kind Regards

Junaid

Anonymous said...

Hi There,

I am almost finished my masters in commerce (52 week course).

Therefore i have only studied in australia for about one year.

It seems a bit illogical to do another masters degree or tafe certificate.. What should i do?

Cheers
Anna

Junaid Noor said...

@Anna

***************



Hi There,

I am almost finished my masters in commerce (52 week course).

Therefore i have only studied in australia for about one year.

It seems a bit illogical to do another masters degree or tafe certificate.. What should i do?

Cheers
Anna


******************

If you want to apply for onshore migration, then you have to study for another one year.

Kind Regards

Junaid

Anonymous said...

Hi, Junaid

Its a great help that you are doing for us ........

I am intending in coming to australia next year for my undergrad studies at RMIT. As there are no oncampus accomodation, would you be able to advise me on how i could go about finding a reliable accomodation ? (any reliable online sources that you may know)

Junaid Noor said...

@^^

********************



Hi, Junaid

Its a great help that you are doing for us ........

I am intending in coming to australia next year for my undergrad studies at RMIT. As there are no oncampus accomodation, would you be able to advise me on how i could go about finding a reliable accomodation ? (any reliable online sources that you may know)


*******************

You can use www.domain.com.au and many other Australian housing websites to find accommodation.

You can also use the universities student services to find accommodation.

Also search for "homestay in Australia in google".

Kind Regards

Junaid

Anonymous said...

Hi Junaid, Thanks for the amazing blog you have out here - Really good work.
My problem is that i have enrolled for a 1 year's masters cource in Visual Effects for Film at Australian National Universtiy - so i am not eligible for PR, can i then do another 1 yr Certificate course in Multimedia (from Swinburne) to make it 2 years for the points? or is doing a certificate course after masters not allowed?

Regards,
Kevin

Junaid Noor said...

@Kevin

How can a certificate be of one year?

Any way if there is such a certificate, then NO, doing that certificate will not help you.

You must do another diploma.

Only trade certificates are accepted as counting towards the two year study. What you are doing is not a trade certificate. Its a university certificate.

So do a diploma.

Kind Regards

Junaid

Shiva Sai said...

Hi Junaid,
Your blog has been of great help for people like me who are really helpless & i really applaud you for this.
Iam planning to pursue MIT from LaTrobe.My sole purpose for doing MIT is PR. I have a total work experience of 3 years of which last 1 year is in IT field.The previous 2 years were in the operations field in financial services industry.Am married, so my wife would also be travelling with me. She is a B-tech graduate & she wants to pursue a graduate certificate course in networking or web-technologies. So she would be filing separately for a student-visa. Since its a 6- month course, can she file for a dependent visa after finishing that course?

Can she do it from australia itself or would she have to come back to India?

If so, when should she start the process for that?

Would her australian education qualification or australian work experience be of any support to me for filing PR?

Kindly guide me with these points.

Thanks & Regards
Shiva Sai.

Junaid Noor said...

@Shiva

************************

Since its a 6- month course, can she file for a dependent visa after finishing that course?

Most student visas which are of 6 months duration have a condition of "No further stay" stamped on them.

This means that if your wife also gets a student visa which has the no further stay condition on it, she will not be able to apply for a dependent spouse visa while you, her husband, are on a student visa.

So all depends upon the fact whether your wife gets a visa which has No further stay on it or not.

It would be better if she enrolls in a course which is of 1 year. That way she will not have a no further stay on her visa and then she can apply for a dependent visa.

Other wise, she can always go back and again apply for a dependent spouse visa.


Would her australian education qualification or australian work experience be of any support to me for filing PR?


The primary applicant can claim bonus points for spouse skills If the spouse has been able to obtain skills assessment from the relevant assessing body.

As your wife is an IT professional, she will have to obtain positive skills assessment from ACS, the assessing body for IT professional to be able to get you bonus points for spouse skills.

Kind Regards

Junaid

Anonymous said...

Hi there,

I am currently doing my Masters in IT/Comp. Science by Research. Since I could not fulfill the 2-year-study rule, I am planning to find an extra 6 mths graduate certificate somehow along business+IT.

I try to find and found several of them e.g Melbourne Uni needs at least one and half year to complete. Do you have any other recommendation of any university in Melbourne which offer such short graduate certificate and involves Business+IT?

Please advise. Appreciate alot.

-Fred

Junaid Noor said...

@Fred

How long was your first course?

1.5 yrs?

Plus you need to remember that the rule is that

Each qualification that you have completed and are relying on to meet this requirement must:

* be either a degree, a diploma, or a trade qualification

* have been undertaken at an Australian educational institution in Australia

* have been conducted in English

* be registered on CRICOS

Note: English language proficiency courses cannot be used to meet the two (2) year study requirement.

As you can see there is no mention of a certificate.

So you need to enroll in a diploma, not a certificate as a certificate will not count towards the 2 year requirement.

What you can do is to enroll in a diploma which is normally of one year and get exemptions for 6 months and complete the diploma in 6 months.

But this only applies if you have already studied for 1.5 yrs. If you have only studied for 1 yr then you need to study the full length of another 1 yr diploma.

What ever you study further must be closely related to your previous study and at the same time both of your degrees/diplomas must be closely related to the profession you will chose on the SOL/MODL in the future.


I am unable to comment on which university you should choose.

You should simply choose a diploma in IT which should be closely related to the degree you completed earlier.


This would fulfill the two year requirement.

Kind Regards

Junaid

Anonymous said...

Hi Junaid,

I am doing my masters by research which is only 78 weeks according to CRICOS. I wish to undertake 6 mths ideally of study related to IT e.g Business IT to fulfill the 2 years study (92 weeks).

I am currently based in Melbourne. I have tried ask around for diploma /grad dip but none of it applies for international student like me.

Please advise if you had any suggestion.

Thanks.

Rgrds,
Fred

Junaid Noor said...

@Fred

I am not sure why you cannot find another diploma to study further and fulfill the two year requirement.

Send me an email at sjunaidn at gmail dot com. and I will put you in touch with some one who can recommend a college for you.

Kind Regards

Junaid

Anonymous said...

Hi,

I am Fred again.

I am completing my 1.5 years of research in Masters. I plan to take another Masters but only plan to do early exit point which is 6 months course. This is also known as Graduate Certificate. The overall course has its own CRICOS code.

Is the 6 months course valid to be accounted to my 1.5 years of research in my current masters? Or must it be a Graduate Diploma.

For your information, I am taking research in comp. science. And I plan to do the early exit point in Masters of Business IT.

Please advise. Thanks alot.

Anonymous said...

Hi Junaid
I want to say that this is the best blog that I ever found.
My case is...
I'm 23 years old, I'm from Colombia, and in Sept/2008 i have completed a Bachelor in Business Administration in my country (5 years bachelor).In July/2009 I'm going to start a 24 weeks english course in Australia and then I want to do an Advanced Diploma in Accounting in AICL, because is related to my profession and accounting is a profession that is need it in Australia. In the web page of the program i could read that the course is completed in 78 weeks (Vacations included)so i cant fulfil the 2 years requisite for PR. My questions:

1. I have to show my Diploma of Bachelor in B.A. to complete the requisite in the school to enter directly. ¿The school is going to reduce the numbers of weeks of the Advance Diploma if they know that i am a professional, or, it only apply when I do the recognition of my career in AU?

2. The normal vacations in the middle of the Advance Diploma affects the 2 years requisite?

2. ¿Can I do another Diploma in Marketing or logistic to fulfil the 6 months that I should do to complete the 2 years?

3. ¿Only with TAFE courses could i apply for PR?, I can't apply a master cause the price for international students is too high :(.

Yours sincerely,
Rafael De Avila

Junaid Noor said...

@Fred

Is the 6 months course valid to be accounted to my 1.5 years of research in my current masters? Or must it be a Graduate Diploma.


Yes it must be a graduate diploma.

Kind Regards

Junaid

Junaid Noor said...

@Rafael

1. I have to show my Diploma of Bachelor in B.A. to complete the requisite in the school to enter directly. ¿The school is going to reduce the numbers of weeks of the Advance Diploma if they know that i am a professional, or, it only apply when I do the recognition of my career in AU?


Your question is not very clear. Please state clearly and I will answer.


2. The normal vacations in the middle of the Advance Diploma affects the 2 years requisite?

What matters is the official duration of the course as stated on the CRICOS code. What is the CRICOS code of the course you intend to undertake.

2. ¿Can I do another Diploma in Marketing or logistic to fulfil the 6 months that I should do to complete the 2 years?

Yes you can as long as it is closely related with your previous Australian degree and the profession you choose on SOL.


3. ¿Only with TAFE courses could i apply for PR?, I can't apply a master cause the price for international students is too high :(.

As long as the course is CRICOS certified, you can apply for PR.

Kind Regards

Junaid

Shiva Sai said...

Hi Junaid, This is Shiva again. I am writing for a piece of information.

Me and my wife, both have got offer letters for courses in IT at Melbourne.
I have an offer letter from La Trobe for MIT, and my wife has an offer letter for Graduate Diploma in IT (1yr course) from Swinburne.

We both are planning to apply for Student e-visa separately for February '09 term.

Now, could you please guide us for the following queries:

1) Whether both husband & wife need to show the funds for spouse separately if both are applying for student e-visas at once but for different universities in Australia.

2)And if we apply for student visa separately, how and where on the application form do we mention that we are married and are applying separately as students? Or is there any other way to do it?

3) And third, in case my wife applies as a student dependent along with my student e-visa,
a) Do we have to attend a personal interview in this case? b) And if yes, we both need to attend it or only the dependent has to attend the interview?
c) Also what documents do we need to carry for the interview?

Request your guidance and information on the above mentioned points at the earliest.

Junaid Noor said...

@Shiv Sai

All your questions are answered at the following post

http://immigrate-to-australia.blogspot.com/2008/10/financial-requirements-for-student.html


1) Whether both husband & wife need to show the funds for spouse separately if both are applying for student e-visas at once but for different universities in Australia.

If both of you are applying separately for two separate student visas, then you need to separately show evidence of financial support. Both visa applications are separate and would be dealt separately.

You and your wife would need to show evidence of financial support separately.


2)And if we apply for student visa separately, how and where on the application form do we mention that we are married and are applying separately as students? Or is there any other way to do it?

In that case, the fact that both of you are married doesn't need to be mentioned. Both of you are going as international students.

The only time you would need to mention that you are husband and wife is when one of you apply for a spouse visa.


3) And third, in case my wife applies as a student dependent along with my student e-visa,
a) Do we have to attend a personal interview in this case?


Well that depends upon the visa officer.


c) Also what documents do we need to carry for the interview?

If the visa officer seeks an interview, you would be informed of the documents required.

Normally, there are not interviews.

Kind Regards

Junaid

Shiva Sai said...

Hi Junaid,
Your reply has clarified lots of doubts...Thanks a lot...
Now that me and my wife will file for separate student visas, and shall show separate evidence of financial support for each one.... One more query will solve all my issues...

Query: In my application for visa, after I have produced evidence for my financial support,
a) Will I have to show financial support for the Maintenance funds of AUD 4200/- per yr and misc funds of AUD 2000/- for my WIFE also???

Your advise shall be of immediate help for me as Iam looking to file for visa in a couple of days.

Thanks
Shiva

Junaid Noor said...

@Shiv

The complete list of financial support for a person is given at the following URL

http://www.immi.gov.au/students/students/573-4/financial.htm

So a single international student has to show proof that he/she can meet these financial requirements for the first 36 months of stay in Australia.

As both of you are applying separately for student visas, both of you need to show evidence of support for the first 36 months separately.

Check the web link above which will give you an accurate idea of the expenses involved.

Kind Regards

Junaid

Shiva Sai said...

Hi Junaid,
Thanks a lot for your valuable advise and guidance. Me and my wife shall be filing for separate student visas in a couple of days. Ur suggestions have been very helpful.

We shall contact you for further dependent and PR related assistance and processing as you have mentioned in your recent post.

Thanks once again..

Shiv

Junaid Noor said...

@Shiv

Your welcome.

Kind Regards

Junaid

Anonymous said...

hi junaid,
i get so many valuable information from ur blog.i am now clear about the two year rule.i am doing masters of busineess in professional accounting which is 78 weeks course (cricos registered).so now i have to do another 6 month course.i am leaving in melbourne.i am trying to find 6 month course for accounting(diploma).but there is no 6 month course of accounting(6 month) which is cricos registered.i search through cricos website .most of the courses are 1 yr diploma of accounting.
1.do u know any relevant courses of accounting which is 6 month and cricos registered?
2.i find business management diploma course of 6 month which is cricos registered ;so if i do that course will that be relevant with my accounting subject?will i get 60 point for that?As i said u i am doing masters of business in professional accounting.
3.suppose if there is no accounting course of 6 month if i do diploma after finishing my masters will i get course exemption for that?
4.another question is at 2010 my age will be 29+.so i will loose 5 point for my age for applying for pr.so i want to finish my masters and diploma as soon as possible.i will finish my masters at october2009.so if i enrol in diploma along with continuing my masters will that be possible?can i do two course at a time?
i will be greatfull enough if u answers my queries.thanks for ur time and patience.

kind regards
Tania

Junaid Noor said...

@Tania

You wont find a diploma which is of 6 months.

Most of diplomas are 1 yr courses. Only a certificate is 6 months course.

What you should do is to enroll in a diploma and get 6 months of exemption on the basis of your previous education.

That way, you will do a 1 yr diploma in 6 months.


2.i find business management diploma course of 6 month which is cricos registered ;so if i do that course will that be relevant with my accounting subject?will i get 60 point for that?As i said u i am doing masters of business in professional accounting.

I am really not very clear on the rule of "closely related."

It would be better to do another course which has accounting in its title. Just to be on the safe side.

As I already mentioned, enroll in a 1 yr diploma and get exemptions based on your previous accounting degree.


3.suppose if there is no accounting course of 6 month if i do diploma after finishing my masters will i get course exemption for that?

Well common sense says that you should get exemption. A diploma is normally of 8 subjects. So enroll in a diploma in which you can get at least exemption of 4 subjects and the rest of 4 subjects you can do in one semester.


4.another question is at 2010 my age will be 29+.so i will loose 5 point for my age for applying for pr.so i want to finish my masters and diploma as soon as possible.i will finish my masters at october2009.so if i enrol in diploma along with continuing my masters will that be possible?can i do two course at a time?


Well that is once again a tricky question.

From a DIAC points of view I think DIAC will not allow you to enroll in two courses at the same time. You will have to check that with DIAC.

I am not very sure about that.

Secondly I am also not sure about the 2 yr rule being satisfied in such a scenario.

I would suggest contact Dr Arun Garg www.auslead.com and asking him this question.

First call him and ask for a telephone appointment.

He might be able to answer you on the phone at that very moment.

Inform him that you are in Melbourne. Have your question pre-written clearly to save time and accurately explain what the problem is.

PS: If you loose 5 points, then you can consider visa 886 which has a passing mark of 100 points of get a graduate skilled visa which gives you 18 months of full time work rights. If you an gain work experience during those 18 months, then you can again apply for 885 or 886. So dont panic. There are other ways.

Kind Regards

Junaid

adi said...

Dear Junaid,

i am doing master of accounting now which has 14 units ( based on CRICOS, it is for 104 weeks), and now i am taking 1( one ) unit exemption, so i exactly take 13 of 14 units, but i got confuse whether it is still categorized 2 years full time study ( 92 weeks)??, if yes could u let me know how to calculte to get the answer ??.. i really appreciate for your information, thank you very much


Best regards,
Adi

Junaid Noor said...

@Adi

Check the following post

http://study-n-australia.blogspot.com/2008/10/formula-for-calculating-two-year-study.html

Let me know if you still need help.

Kind Regards

Junaid

Anonymous said...

hi junaid,
Thank you for your nice blog.i m planning to do advance diploma in Accounting in AICL which is a 1.5 year programm.What could be the easiest way for me to meet the two year rule for PR after finishing 1.5 in ad. dip in Accounting?

Junaid Noor said...

@^^

Study in another diploma of one yr but get exemptions based on your previous diploma and do a one yr diploma in 6 months.

Kind Regards

Junaid

Anonymous said...

Hi Junaid,

Thanks for this amazing blog! I have several questions to ask, however:

1) I will be going to study in Melbourne for 1 year (for a 3 year degree in Economics & Finance). I may not have the financial means to study a 1 year diploma after that, so I'm just wondering if there's a timeframe as to when I can fulfill the remaining 1 year of studies? If I return to Australia, say, in 10 years time and study that 1-year diploma, does this still count towards the 2-year requirement?

2) Is it possible to take a completely unrelated diploma, say, Journalism (not too sure if there's a 1 year diploma for this), and have this counted towards the 2-year rule or other PR requirements? I read from your answers to other readers here that we HAVE to take a diploma related to our previous degree/course, why is that so?

Thanks,
Lee

Junaid Noor said...

@Lee

Ans 1: No there is no time frame. You can complete it in any time. The total academic time studied must be at least 92 weeks. This is what the rules are as of today. If you return after 10 yrs, If the rules are still the same then you can apply for immigration.


Is it possible to take a completely unrelated diploma, say, Journalism (not too sure if there's a 1 year diploma for this), and have this counted towards the 2-year rule or other PR requirements?

Ans 2: No. Absolutely NOT. You can only take related courses. Any unrelated course will not be counted towards the two yr rule.


Kind Regards

Junaid

Anonymous said...

Dear junaid,
i appreciate the time you are spending for such a wonderful blog.i have several questions:

1.i am doing masters of professional accounting which is 1.5 yrs.so if i do 6 month graduate diploma in business adminstration will that be relevant to my 2 yr study.

2.at the time of applying for pr if my age is 29 yr 6 month how many points i will get?

Thanks
Lima

Junaid Noor said...

@Lima

1.i am doing masters of professional accounting which is 1.5 yrs.so if i do 6 month graduate diploma in business adminstration will that be relevant to my 2 yr study.

That is the one question I have been unable to answer. How to find whether course A is relevant to course B.

I dont know of any rule or place where I can confirm to you that yes both the courses are related.

You need to check that with some one else.

By the way are you sure this diploma is of 6 months and not 1 yr. Normally all post graduate diplomas are of one yr.



2.at the time of applying for pr if my age is 29 yr 6 month how many points i will get?


Once you strike 29, you can only then get 25 points.

The rule is that if you are 29 or less. That is 28 yrs and 364 days, you can still get 30 points.

But once it becomes 29 yrs and over, you can then only get 25 points.

Kind Regards

Junaid

Anonymous said...

Dear Junaid
Appreciate for your advise for the questions
I have a done my masters in one of the University of Australia in my country, not stay in Australia ,so can I apply Onshore General skill visa ? I submitted onshore General skill application on line on 30 Mar 2008,
still did not hear from them, will it because I applied the wrong visa ?
What shall I do to find out more ?
Thank YOU very much
May

Junaid Noor said...

@May

I have a done my masters in one of the University of Australia in my country, not stay in Australia ,so can I apply Onshore General skill visa ?

Any study undertaken outside Australia is not counted towards the two year rule.

You cannot apply for onshore GSM as one of the pre-requisites for onshore GSM is that you should have studied in an Australian university for at least 2 years while physically present in Australia.


will it because I applied the wrong visa ? What shall I do to find out more ? Thank YOU very much

Well ultimately your application will be rejected as you do not fulfill the criteria for onshore GSM.

You can contact the department for further information.

Kind Regards

Junaid

M. Reyes from the Phils. said...

Hi Juniad,

First of all, thanks so much for your blog about Australian immigration. It is a very big help!

I am planning to study a 1 yr (52 weeks) masters degree program in Australia (related to the IT field).

My question is, can I still apply for the Residence visa (885) even though I just completed 1 year of study, assuming that my points are high enough (I think i scored 155)? Can I do this even though i don't meet the two year rule? Will immigration outrightly refuse my application for PR (885) or will I just lose points for not complying with the 2 yr rule?

thanks a lot!

Junaid Noor said...

@Reyes

Hi Reyes,

One of the pre-requsites for 885 visa is that you have to study for at least 92 weeks in an Australian CRICOS certified course while physically present in Australia.

If you do not fulfill the pre-requisite, no matter how many points you have, you cannot apply for 885 visa.

However, if you are scoring more then 120 points, then why dont you apply for offshore visa 175?

You can apply for 175 visa and then come to study in Australia.

Give me the points break down so that I can see how you have calculated your points to be 155?

Kind Regards

Junaid

Unknown said...

hi junaid,
thank u for starting this blog.it is very helpful.i have got admission in UNSW for masters in telecomm.it is for 1.5yrs but they gave me credit exemption and its nw reduced 2 only for 1yr.m plannin 2 do masters in engineering managment after dat which is also for 1yr.so after completin these 2 degrees will i have enuf points 2 apply for PR?
or shud i go wit la trobe(MIS) which is for 2 yrs??waitin 4 ur reply....

Junaid Noor said...

@Hussain

You will fulfill the two yr rule and be eligible to apply for PR if you complete those two degrees from UNSW.

You can also study from La Trobe in a single degree.

The end result is the same.

Do what you want.

PS: Please note that completing degrees do no get you any points. Its the nomination of a profession on the SOL which gets you points.

Kind Regards

Junaid

Harsh Shah said...

Dear sir,

I'm going to complete my 'Bachelor of Engg (Computer Engg)' degree from India next month. I'm planning to take up Masters in Information Technology or similar course of 2 years duration which has an ACS Accreditation.

I want to know that as soon as i complete my masters degree will i be eligible to apply for PR ? Or does ACS require work experience ? So will i have to file for subclass 485 visa after completing my studies ? I heard that ACS is very strict in giving skills assessment.

Also, instead of studying masters degree in australia can i file for subclass 175 visa after completing my bachelors degree and gaining 1 yr experience in my country-India by getting skills assessment from Engineers Australia instead of ACS, as ACS requires 4 yrs of work experience ?

Please reply soon.

Thank you.

Junaid Noor said...

@Harsh Shah

I want to know that as soon as i complete my masters degree will i be eligible to apply for PR ? Or does ACS require work experience ?ACS does not require work experience for applicants with Australian post graduate qualifications.

You can apply as soon as you get a positive skills assessment from ACS.


Also, instead of studying masters degree in australia can i file for subclass 175 visa after completing my bachelors degree and gaining 1 yr experience in my country-India by getting skills assessment from Engineers Australia instead of ACS, as ACS requires 4 yrs of work experience ?Yes, you can do that which is a much better option and a wiser one too.

If you have an engineering degree then work for one yr, apply for skills assessment and then apply for PR.

Coming to Australia to study in Masters immediately after bachelors is a waste of time and money.

Gain work experience as that is what employers want.

Kind Regards

Junaid

Harsh Shah said...

Thanks for your prompt and fast reply ...

I have 1 more doubt related to your answer of my subclass 175 visa question in my previous post ...

My Indian degree is Bachelor of Engineering (Computer Engineering). How would i get skills assessment from Engineers Australia ? Which occupation from SOL should i nominate ? ACS is designated to assess all computer related occupations according to ASRI (http://www.immi.gov.au/asri/). How would i convince Engineers Australia and DIAC ?

Junaid Noor said...

@Harsh

You simply write your CDRs and send them to engineers Australia.

Engineers Australia then gives you a positive skills assessment in a particular ASCO code.

You then apply for immigration using that ASCO code.

Check the application forms of engineers Australia.

Kind Regards

Junaid

SW said...

Hi Junaid,

I would like to know that can I get PR after completing One Year Diploma or completing 900 Hrs in any discipline (Hotel Management, Sheff etc etc)? Please advice

Regards

SW

Junaid Noor said...

@SW

You need to study for two yrs to be eligible for onshore visa subclass 885/886.

Or you can gain one year work experience in a profession on the SOL, gain positive skills assessment and then apply for offshore visa subclass 175/176.

So to answer your question, you cannot apply for 885/886 if you only study for one year.

And you need to have one year of work experience to be able to apply for offshore visa subcalss 175/176.

Kind Regards

Junaid