Visas - 886 2 8725 4250 Fax: 886 2 8789-9560
- Home
- About us
- Visas and migration
- Travelling to Australia
- Services for Australians
- Doing business with Australia
- Study in Australia
- Media
- About Australia
- Australia- Taiwan relationship
- 中文
Studying in Australia
Student Guardian Visa Checklist
International students studying in Australia on a student visa may require a guardian if they are under 18 years of age. There may also be exceptional circumstances where a student over 18 years of age may need a guardian for religious or cultural reasons. The Student Guardian visa is for foreign nationals applying to stay in Australia as the guardian of a student who is studying in Australia.
The information below is designed to assist applicants for Student Guardian visas who will be accompanying Taiwan passport holders studying in Australia.
ELIGIBILITY
To apply for a Student Guardian visa you must:
• be a parent, person who has legal custody, or a relative* of the student for whom you will be guardian
• be at least 21 years of age
• be able to provide accommodation, general welfare and other support to the student.
*To be considered as a relative of the student, you must be related to the student as one of the following:
• spouse
• parent or step-parent
• brother or step-brother
• sister or step-sister
• grandparent or step-grandparent
• grandchild or step-grandchild
• aunt or step-aunt
• uncle or step-uncle
• niece or step-niece
• nephew or step-nephew.
If you are granted this visa, you can:
• live in Australia for the same length of time as the student for whom you are guardian, or until the student turns 18 years of age
• bring dependent children with you to Australia, but only if they are under six years of age and meet specific eligibility requirements
• study in Australia for up to three months
Note: You cannot bring other family members to Australia and you cannot apply for permission to work. If you intend to study for more than 3 months, you must apply for a student visa.
For more detailed information on the eligibility requirements for a Student Guardian visa, you should visit the ‘Student Guardians’ page on the website of the Australian Department of Immigration and Citizenship (DIAC). See: Student Guardians.
VISA CONDITIONS
You must:
• not engage in work
• not engage in study or training for more than three months
• maintain Overseas Visitor Health Cover for yourself and any dependent children living with you in Australia
• must comply with the visa's 'no further stay' condition. This means that you cannot apply for any other visa while you remain in Australia, unless it is one of the following:
* a further student guardian visa
* a visa to engage Australia's obligations under the 1951 UN convention relating to the status of refugees.
• continue to meet the requirements for a student guardian visa.
• live with the student for whom you are the guardian and provide appropriate accommodation, general welfare and other support
• must not leave Australia without the student for whom you are the guardian, unless you provide the Australian Department of Immigration and Citizenship with evidence that:
* there are compassionate or compelling circumstances for you to leave the country
* you have made alternative arrangements for the student's accommodation, general welfare and support until your return.
Note: If the student is less than 18 years of age, these alternative arrangements must be approved by the education provider.
HOW TO APPLY
Applications may be sent by mail, lodged personally or by your representative.
Note: If you wish to lodge your application by mail, and would like to have your passport returned by mail, please download and attach to your application the "Authorisation to use the Taiwan Post domestic express service" form. For further information about this service, please see: Notice regarding passport collection methods.
REQUIRED DOCUMENTS (for Student Guardian visa applicants seeking to accompany a student who is a Taiwan passport holder)
(1) Valid passport.
(2) Completed and signed application form (Form 157G).
(3) One recent passport sized photo.
(4) Visa application charge. Payment of the visa application charge must be in New Taiwan dollars. Australian Visa Services does not accept payment in Australian Dollars. For the current amount and payment methods see Fees.
(5) Completed and signed nomination form (Form 157N). This nomination form must be completed by the student’s parent or legal guardian on behalf of the nominating student.
(6) Original copy of your household register. This must have been obtained within the 3 months immediately prior to the Student Guardian visa application. If this household register does not demonstrate your relationship to the student, you should also provide a Statutory Declaration or Notarised Statement explaining your relationship to the student.
(7) Evidence that you have paid for Overseas Visitor Health Cover (OVHC) for you and for any dependent child included in your application for at least your first year in Australia (or the entire period if the nominating student’s visa validity is for less than 12 months). For more information on OVHC see Overseas Visitor Health Cover.
(8) You must have completed a medical and chest x-ray examination conducted by an Australian panel doctor (refer to list of Taiwan's Panel Doctors). You should undertake any medical examinations you require at least 1 week before you lodge your visa application. These results will be sent directly to Australian Visa Services or the Department of Immigration and Citizenship in Australia.
(9) Police clearance from the countries in which you have lived for 12 months or more (cumulatively) in the past 10 years after the age of 16. You should follow the instructions for obtaining police checks on the DIAC website at Character and Penal Clearance Requirements. You are not required to lodge police clearances with your application if you are the parent or step-parent of the student and you are applying for a stay of less than 12 months.
(10) If the student for whom you will be guardian is undertaking study that is classified as assessment level 2, you must also provide evidence that you have access to sufficient funds to pay for travel to Australia and living expenses for yourself and any dependent children under six years of age funds to support you must come from one or more acceptable sources. For example, documentation must be of liquid assets such as bank deposits and bank statements. These must be original copies current within three months of the date of your application. Where there is more than one bank statement provided, these must show funds available on the same date. Those statements not provided by family members must be accompanied by a statement from the account holder advising that funds are available for your use. For more detailed information about current amounts of travel costs and living expenses, and acceptable sources of funds, see the Department of Immigration and Citizenship website. See: Financial Requirements.
Depending on your circumstances, you may also be requested to provide other documents to assist in the assessment of your application. Your case officer will advise you if any of these documents are required. Such documents may include (but are not limited to) the following:
• Marriage certificate
• Business card
• Military discharge certificate
• Birth certificate
• Details of proposed accommodation
• Health insurance card
• Evidence of funds (bank statement, copy of bank book etc)
• Police Clearance (if required you will need to follow the instructions for obtaining police checks on the DIAC website at Character and Penal Clearance Requirements.
AVERAGE PROCESSING TIME
5 working days. However, some applications may take longer to process. Therefore, you should apply well in advance of your proposed date of travel.
VISA APPLICATION LODGEMENT AND COLLECTION TIMES:
Monday to Friday: 0900 – 1200.
VISA COLLECTION METHODS