Lately we receive many questions from people who want to travel to Australia with the family: partner and children. We are not talking about going to Australia on vacation (in which case you apply for a tourist visa for each member of the family and that’s it), we are talking about people who want to live, study in Australia and work.
REMEMBER: anyone who does not have Australian nationality or a residence permit in Australia needs to apply for an Australian visa to enter this country or be included in someone else’s visa.
Although there are several visa options to live, work and study in the antipodes, the most common and easiest way is to obtain Australia student visa. To obtain other types of visas, the help of an immigration agent is necessary, since these are longer and more complicated application processes. From YouTOOProject, we can only help you in the case of a student visa. Let’s go there!
Student visa to travel with the family to Australia
The student visa is designed for people who want to learn the language, study a specialized VET course, a career or a master’s degree and need to combine studies with some work to cover expenses. Therefore, to obtain this visa, the main applicant must enroll in an Australian school and study a course. On CatEight.com, you can search for courses offered by education providers in Australia, New Zealand and Singapore.
If your intention is to travel to Australia with your family and you think that the best option is to apply for a student visa, you should take into account the following aspects:
Applying for the student visa you can include your partner (also applies to same-sex couples). However, the Australian government requires as a requirement that said couple have lived together for at least 12 months and can demonstrate that the relationship is genuine. To verify this, immigration requests evidence such as shared bank accounts, invoices for expenses and services in the name of both, marriage certificate, rental of a house or apartment, and even photos. If you do not meet these requirements or have no way to prove it, your partner will need to apply for their own student visa.
With the student visa, the member who studies can work 20 hours a week during the course and 40 hours a week during the months they are on vacation. The companion may also work 20 hours a week for the entire duration of the visa.
Likewise, the applicant’s children who are minors may be included in the student visa.
Both couples and children may join the applicant’s visa at any time they wish as long as they have declared their family members in their student visa application. It is a highly recommended option: the father or mother first travel to the country to see how the situation is and once settled, they receive the family.
The price of the visa will increase each time a member is added to it. For more information on visa costs, consult this section of the Australian Government website.
Children’s education
One of the essential requirements to be able to include children in any visa and to be able to travel to Australia with the family is to enroll them in an Australian school. The enrollment process and costs of schools vary depending on the state, territory and school.
For foreigners there are no public schools and, whether the school is public or private for Australians, the children of foreigners must pay.
The compulsory school age in the state of Queensland is from 6 years and 6 months. Before that age, the little ones could go to a children’s center optionally. In this link you have all the information.
Only those who are in Australia studying masters and doctorates can have benefits and discounts for their children in schools. For more information on these benefits, visit this page.
The approximate costs of the schools are between AUD250 and AUD500 per week or between AUD15, 000 and AUD30, 000 per year.
Here you will find the prices of public schools (paying for foreigners) in the state of New South Wales.
Demonstrable economic funds
One more requirement to include the partner or our children in a student visa and be able to travel to Australia with the family (or any other visa) is the demonstration of financial funds. It is about demonstrating that you have enough money to support family members during the period that the applicant will be in Australia.
The minimum amount that they will ask to show (must be available at the bank):
- The student has to show that they have AUD1756/month for their support.
- She will also need to prove AUD640/month for partner support.
- For each child, she will have to prove AUD262/month.
Total costs to travel with the family to Australia
The total costs of preparing and organizing a family trip to Australia are very high. You must add and take into account:
- Ticket costs for the whole family.
- Travel insurance for each member. Couples/family health insurance costs about AUD 427 per month.
- The value of the visas.
- Costs of the education of minors.
- The amount of the course to apply for the student visa.
- Demonstrable economic funds (you must have them in the bank for the visa to be approved).
- Living costs in Australia.
In this article we have informed you about how you can come to Australia with your family, the visa we can help you with and the costs you will have.