JULY 2018 INTAKE

kltm23 · April 2018

Hi @athelene did you lodge your application by yourself or nag-agent ka?

I'm with AECC kase, and just got the full offer letter for June 2018 intake sa Macquarie. Classes start on June 25th and I'm wondering if within timeline pa ko. Thank you!

athelene · April 2018

@kltm23 hi! I lodged my student visa application by myself. If you have all the requirements on hand, try to fill up the application na and lodge them. Yung 3 months recommended time is in case lng na may delay or something on DIBP's end. The sooner you lodge, the less stress you'll feel kasi hindi nagmamadali

kltm23 · April 2018

I've yet to pay the 25% tuition fee pa, I'll do that within the week. Do you mean to advise na I should lodge the application na and not wait for AECC to lodge it for me?

How long pala did it take you to get the visa approval from the time you submitted everything online? @athelene

athelene · April 2018

@kltm23 ah no, agency ka nga pala hehe, sorry. If agency ang maglodge ng visa application mo, I think you should collect the documents or info for your agency para mabilis na once you get your CoE. Kung kumpleto naman na yung documentary requirements mo, coordinate mo nlng sa agency kung ano pa need nila.

From the time I lodged kasi it took mga 3 weeks (1 week for health check results + 2 weeks actually visa application processing). But my case might be different kasi nakascholarship po ako. But I think aabot ka naman kasi more than 2 months pa naman bago yung start ng classes mo. Health check naman mabilis lng sa Manila (1 week sa akin kasi sa Taiwan ako nagpacheck).

anubis · April 2018

@julypearl wla pa rin hanggang ngayon e. moni moni na lang. nababasa q naman dito na 2-3 weeks. bka dito na sa june ang class hahaha

babie · April 2018

hi see you all in australia. approved na ung visa ko.

prayers up sa mga waiting:)

PongAsuncion · April 2018

@kltm23 hi aecc din ako. musta application mo?

PongAsuncion · April 2018

Hi guys.
Subclass 500 here at Grad cert IT/MIT sa UON. Waiting na for Mr. Grant. Nilodge ng agency ko yung visa ko last Tuesday, di counted ung next day kasi ANZAC day. Sobrang kabado na excited. sama nyo naman ako sa prayers nyo. Thanks! kita kits sa australia.

athelene · April 2018

@PongAsuncion Good luck! Praying for you and other student visa applicants~!

julypearl · April 2018

Who’s going to Brisbane this July?

PongAsuncion · April 2018

@athelene Thank you. Kinakabahan ako sa SOP ko, sana maawa ung CO ko. Hehehe. Nasa Australia ka na ba? At what school ka?

athelene · April 2018

@PongAsuncion Basta convincing and confident ka sa SOP, kaya yan!

hehehe Di pa po, sa July pa po ako pupunta sa Australia; University of Sydney po ako.

Au_Vic · April 2018

hi all,

tanong ko lang kung marami pa bang waiting dito ng offer letter from university or school? kasi yung sister ko nagpasa ng application sa RMIT sa Melbourne for July 2018 intake. January 2018 pa namin pinasa ung application through IDP (IDP agent nya) kaso di naasikaso ng RMIT dahil ung Feb intake ung priority. Nung March lang nasimulan iprocess kaso pina revise ung format ng SOP then nung pinasa namin pinarevise ulet kasi need daw ng more explanation. Anu bang meron sa SOP na yan?

Nakaka-frustrate lang kasi talaga. kaya nga kami maaga nagpasa to allow extra time para sa unexpected things pero kinakabahan na ako/kami ng kapatid ko sa timing kasi July na ung class. Wala pa din offer letter. I live in Australia so halos every week na ako natawag sa RMIT to follow up (kapag wala pa din next week, pupuntahan ko na ung RMIT in person kasi sobrang badtrip na ko) ..hehehe

Tapos yung visa processing pa which is ang estimate is 4 weeks daw. I would like to hope na yung case officer nya is mabait at makuha agad ung visa. Kaya sa ngayon di pa kami maka-book ng ticket nya until wala pang visa. Nakaka frustrate talaga ang RMIT.

May naka experience din ba sa inyo ng ganito sa school at student visa application? Ang course pala na kukunin ng sis ko ay Post graduate diploma in early childhood education.

Thanks sa mga magrereply. Kailangan kong kumalma kasi nase-stress na kami ng sis ko lalo na ko...hehe

athelene · April 2018

@Au_Vic Hi, I've written a guideline on how to write GTE (similar to SOP), baka sakali pong makatulong na maintindihan nyo kung ano ang isusulat. I don't know if the processing is slow because of IDP or RMIT; feel ko it's slow due to IDP side because my experience in applying directly to the university (not RMIT) is mabilis naman, around 2 weeks lang may offer letter na. You also have to consider the time for getting the eCoE, since you have to pay the fees indicated in the offer letter before they'll issue you with one. Visa processing is relatively fast naman basta kumpleto ang documents nyo--ang pinakamalaking hurdles talaga ay yung evidence of financial capacity and GTE. Sana yung 4 weeks na quote ng agent ay inclusive of the health exam na hehe. Kung early July ang start ng classes ng July intake, you really need to continue following up with the uni (or IDP since sila ang naghahandle ng application) in order to leave enough time for the visa processing. I would not recommend buying a ticket without the student visa, since you also have to consider orientation week (typ. a week before start of classes) and baka masayang yung airfare kung late lalabas yung visa (huwag naman sana!).

Au_Vic · April 2018

@athelene thanks for your reply. Yes, that's why we do not want to buy tickets first until the visa is approved. Madali naman bumili ng ticket yun nga lang yung logistics ng pagalis ng pinas is mejo di madali. pero positive thinking at prayers lang and wag naman sana pero baka photo finish ung timing namin ok lang basta umabot sa oras.

Yep, authorised representative ako ng sister ko to access her account sa RMIT. We did not know na pde pala direct application, siguro mas mabilis nga kung ganun pero nandito na at nasimulan na kaya tinuloy na namin.

Yep, halos araw2 na ko natawag sa RMIT to follow up kaya nakaka-frustrate at not sure kung efficient din ang IDP. Plano namin is magsubmit ng complete application kasama na medical at police clearance para kpg hinawakan ng case officer decision ready na. I don't think need ng sister ko ng evidence of financial capacity kasi RMIT may exemption ata pero if ever na needed ready naman. Oo, need namin magbayad muna ng fees bago ma-issue ang COE nya which is I'm hoping na ung COE e pde ma-issue straight away as soon as makuha nila payment. Im planning to pay the fees here in Melbourne, nandito kasi ang RMIT so I can go personally to their office to pay in person at sana may ganung option.

Gusto lang kasi namin na hassle free hanggat maari ung process kaya maaga kami nagsubmit di talaga namin inexpect na ganito magiging sitwasyon namin.

sapphires_18 · April 2018

God is so good! My timeline for my student visa.

Dec 16, 2017 - IELTS Examination
Dec 19 - Submitted docs except financial docs, SOP and IELTS to school
Dec 29 - IELTS Results
January 8, 2018 - Received conditional offer from school
March 13 - Submitted financial docs, SOP and IELTS to school (made sure that showmoney is sufficient)
March 16 - Received full offer from school (with incorrect course end date, which we did not notice) ***CHECK ALL THE DETAILS ALWAYS***
March 20 - Paid OSHC via education agent
March 21 - Received the OSHC Policy then forwarded to school
March 22 - Paid tuition fee via Flywire at BPI
March 28 - School informed us that there was a mistake with the course end date, We received the corrected offer letter from school
March 29 - Received Certificate of Enrollment (CoE)
April 2 - Medical Exam at St. Luke's Global City
April 13 - Bought another OSHC Policy and cancelled/refund the previous one
April 17 - Approval of previous policy refund
April 19 - Received the correct OSHC Policy and forwarded to the school
APRIL 20 - Received the ammended CoE
April 21 - Lodgement of Visa
April 28 - Visa Grant

Hope to meet you sa lahat ng nasa Melbourne!

athelene · April 2018

@Au_Vic I'm not sure if may application fee pag sa education agent, pero sa direct application kasi meron hehe. I think at this point if you're worried about logistics of your sister's moving to AU, dun na kayo magfocus habang naghihintay hehe. As you said, mabilis nalang bumili ng plane ticket basta may visa na.

I would recommend you wait for the request for health exam (although alam ko pwede ka na magpacheck beforehand), since they will indicate what kind of health exam you need. May mga health exam kasi na kailangan may blood test, meron din na hindi kailangan (in my case hindi kailangan, medical exam and chest x-ray lang). So sayang naman yung pera kung magbabayad kayo for blood test when hindi naman kailangan.

I would say the next time you follow up with RMIT, itanong mo na kung pwede ba in-person ang payment ng tuition fees or pwedeng bank transfer/cheque and how soon makukuha yung eCoE. Yung sa akin took a bit of time kasi yung scholarship case manager ko yung nagcoordinate with the uni regarding my fee arrangements. According to Document Checklist hindi naman kailangan ng evidence of financial capacity.

While waiting for offer letter, magcanvass na rin kayo for OSHC. The university will usually offer an OSHC sa offer letter, and it's up to you if you want the uni to arrange it for you or if you want to get it from somewhere else (if it's cheaper or better coverage?). As for police clearance, standby lang kayo kasi baka hindi naman hingiin. Sa akin kasi wala naman hiningi; added gastos lang yun kung kukuha kayo when hindi kailangan.

In my case I really applied early for the visa kasi may nababalitaan ako sa forums na maraming nadedelay ang visa grants for students. Just focus on other things while waiting para d masyado mainip hehe. I really suggest you focus your efforts on your sister's moving logistics para maayos siya kahit papaano

athelene · April 2018

@sapphires_18 wow ang dami mo din pinagdaanan para makuha yung visa ah. But at least ok na lahat and may visa na, congrats!

Au_Vic · April 2018

@sapphires_18 congrats! ang bilis ng visa grant 8 days lang. sana ganyan din kabilis yung sa sister ko. Melbourne din xa

julypearl · April 2018

@Au_Vic be positive! I think sa school application na lang ang mahirap. Same with me, I applied also for my school January but got the offer letter 3 weeks after kase inuna pa yung Feb intake. And I almost got rejected too, unknown reason. Buti binawi lang din. Mabilis na lang man ata ngayon ang approval. In my case, I got the visa approval upon lodging. Meron agad grant letter! So, I think your Sis will make it on time.

Au_Vic · April 2018

@athelene yes will work on her moving logistics. thanks for your reply.

Au_Vic · April 2018

@julypearl yep, positive thinking lang talaga. matagal na naming pinaplano ung pag study ng sis ko dito pero this time pa lang natuloy and with prayers everything will be OK.

weird lang talaga ang school nya bakit ang tagal ng result ng application.

sapphires_18 · April 2018

@athelene Hello sis!

Yes, super stressed ko sa incorrect course date na yan but thank God ayos na. Reference rin sa future applicants. Ang sipag mo magreply sa mga queries! Good job!

sapphires_18 · April 2018

@Au_Vic thanks!

Saang campus ung sister mo na RMIT? May dependent yung sister mo? As per my agent, if primary student lang most likely mabilis yung grant pero kapag may dependent or spouse lalo na kapag de facto, it will take time sa approval.

Au_Vic · April 2018

Sa bundoora campus xa. Postgraduate diploma in early childhood education course nya. Yung sister ko lang ang magstudent visa,ung family nya sa pinas lang muna.

I live in Melbourne kaya dito din ung sis ko at sa RMIT lang meron nung course na yun dito sa Victoria kaya dun xa nagapply. Sana nga by next week may offer letter na at maissue na din ung COE. I'll be the one to pay yung fees nya dito sa RMIT hopefully may option na ganun para mabilis at direct na nila makukuha yung deposit para maissue na din agad ung COE.

Sa Melb ka rin ba at RMIT?

sapphires_18 · April 2018

@Au_Vic i see. Yes pwede ikaw magbayad sa school para mas mabilis. CQUniversity

Ilang weeks na ba since application sa school niya?

Au_Vic · April 2018

January pa nya sinubmit pero hindi naasikaso kc priority ung Feb intake. nasimulan lang iassess mga mid march na, may pinaresubmit na document twice di namin maintindihan kung bkt pina resubmit ulet e wala na kami maisip na issue at kumpleto na yung docs.

ung last na revised doc na ipinasa namin is almost 2 weeks ago na. yes, ang plan ko dito ko na bayaran in person sa RMIT tutal nsa Melbourne naman ako. Sbi kasi ni RMIT once na ma-clear ung payment they can issue a COE in minutes so kung makukuha ko ung COE or mairerelease nila minutes after ko magbayad mas ok.

sapphires_18 · April 2018

@Au_Vic awww ang tagal pala. Anyway, ifollow-up niyo lang sila. Mabilis naman na yan once complete requirements and maayos yung GTE for the embassy.

sapphires_18 · April 2018

Question pala sa mga may visa grant na dito na may spouse as dependent under Master's Coursework. As per the work rights of my husband, 40 hours per fortnight lang daw siya pwede magwork unless my course is under Master's Research or Doctorate degree.

However, according to DHA's website, it is indicated that a dependent can work for more than 40 hours per week as long as the primary student is rendering masters degree by COURSEWORK or RESEARCH or Doctorate.

We will ask the embassy tomorrow if the work rights stipulated are correct but I just want to get your opinion as well, baka nagkamali lang sila. Thank you sa mga magrerespond.