Tertiary Fees For Spouse Visa Holder ?

[chareehusbee]

This might be an unusual question in this forum but I can't seem to find any info on it.

I know if you study overseas as an international student on a Student Visa you pay higher fees. Now my co-worker claims that SV-holders are only charged normal local fees for tertiary ed (rather than foreign student fees, which are at least 3 times more!) but are ineligible for student loans (HECS, in Oz). Can anyone confirm this?

Thanks in advance...

[vinny]

See Tertiary education fees in Australia

University and Tertiary Education

International students

[chareehusbee]

See Tertiary education fees in Australia

University and Tertiary Education

International students

Man, you are the link-meister, vinny!

Apparently she's not an international student!

Who is an international student?

In the Australian higher education sector, an ‘overseas student’ is a person who:

* is not an Australian citizen; and

* is enrolled, or will enrol, in a course of study with a higher education provider.

But does not include:

* a person entitled to stay in Australia, or to enter and stay in Australian without any limitation as to time

* a New Zealand citizen, or

* a diplomatic or consular representative of New Zealand, a member of the staff of such a representative or the spouse or dependent relative of such a representative.

[vinny]

What exactly is written on her SV?

[chareehusbee]

What exactly is written on her SV?

It's a provisional one, subclass 309 (double-checking with her, but pretty sure this is what it is from what she's said).

Either way, it makes sense according to what they said that she's not an international student:

* a person entitled to stay in Australia, or to enter and stay in Australian without any limitation as to time

[vinny]

a person entitled to stay in Australia, or to enter and stay in Australian without any limitation as to time

It's the last bit that may be a problem.

Subclass 309 falls under stage 1.

1 Outside Australia Subclass 309 - Spouse (provisional) You and your Australian partner are legally married or you have been in a de facto relationship for at least the entire 12 months prior to your lodging your application

which apparently makes it a provisional (temporary) Spouse visa, so

If you are granted a temporary Spouse visa, you will:

* have permission to travel to and from Australia until a decision is made on your permanent visa application

which may imply a limitation as to time. I don't know. You have to check on this.

See: Part 1: Spouse Visa

[chareehusbee]

I dunno, it sounds like a very pessimistic outlook, but who knows.

So I got the type from her visa:

Provisional resident P620 sub class 309, conditions mig.regs.schedule.2.

[vinny]

Don't despair,

for information on Medicare, as well as other benefits,

See: Living in Australia

[chareehusbee]

Don't despair,

for information on Medicare, as well as other benefits,

See: Living in Australia

It's a bit tricky because of the 309. You're right, what do they mean by "permanent residency"? It might not include the initial 2-year provisional status. I can't find any info at all about whether 309 is or is not considered PR in relation to education. I'll probably have to go talk to some uni's to find out...

[gburns57au]

CH, dont worry....

your reading of it is quite correct....the temp visa will allow her to study...

The permanant visa will automatically be granted after 2 years unless she stuffs up big time. If you check with the education facility that she wants to attend, they should be able to tell you what types of visas are eligible for enrolment and the costs involved.

[chareehusbee]

I know she can study.

The question is, will she be classified as an "international student" (hiked fees) or a "local student" (normal fees) ?

[vinny]

Let us know her education facility's response. I suspect that the worse is hiked fees or having to wait two years for the local student fees. However, English Language Tuition may be free. See Learning English with the Adult Migrant English Program (AMEP).

[chareehusbee]

Let us know her education facility's response. I suspect that the worse is hiked fees or having to wait two years for the local student fees. However, English Language Tuition may be free. See Learning English with the Adult Migrant English Program (AMEP).

Yeah, free 500 hours English tuition for new migrants.

Her English is pretty good already, but it's free, so... and she can meet some people too.

Thanks for the help!

I'll keep y'all posted...

[gburns57au]

I know she can study.

The question is, will she be classified as an "international student" (hiked fees) or a "local student" (normal fees) ?

Sorry CH....my understanding is that she will considered as a local student...because she has a visa to live here and not a students visa...but as I said before a check with the education facility that she wishes to attend will confirm this and the costs.

[chareehusbee]

Sorry CH....my understanding is that she will considered as a local student...because she has a visa to live here and not a students visa...but as I said before a check with the education facility that she wishes to attend will confirm this and the costs.

Yeah that's what I thought. I just haven't found any definite information to confirm it tho.

[gburns57au]

Sorry CH....my understanding is that she will considered as a local student...because she has a visa to live here and not a students visa...but as I said before a check with the education facility that she wishes to attend will confirm this and the costs.

Yeah that's what I thought. I just haven't found any definite information to confirm it tho.

And just as important ....you havent found any to deny it....

[samran]

This link should clarify things. It is a list of all visa classes considered as permanent.

http://www.goingtouni.gov.au/NR/rdonlyres/...aSubclasses.pdf