Australia
Contact Address and Location of Australia Embassy in Dhaka:
184 Gulshan Avenue, Gulshan-2,
Dhaka 1212, Bangladesh;
Telephone: +880 2 5881 3101 – 05;
Fax: +880 2 5881 1125
Official Website:http://bangladesh.embassy.gov.au/
Contact For Visa Application Centre VFS-Australian
For information on lodging a visa application in Bangladesh, please contact VFS in the first instance, at the following address:
Delta Life Tower (4th Floor),
Plot # 37, Road # 90,
North Avenue,Gulshan 2, Dhaka 1212
Email: info.ausbd@vfshelpline.com
Helpline No: +88 09606777999 (Sunday to Thursday: 08:30am to 04:30pm)
Opening hours
Sunday to Thursday 8:00 am – 4:00 pm (lunch break 12:30 pm – 1:00 pm)
Friday and Saturday Closed.
Embassy Public holidays
01 January Thursday – New Years Day
26 March Thursday – Independence Day
02 April Thursday – Good Friday (in lieu of 03 April)
05 April Sunday – Easter Sunday
14 April Tuesday – Bengali New Year
19 July Sunday – Eid-ul-Fitre*
20 July Monday – Eid-ul-Fitre*
24 September Thursday – Eid-ul-Adha*
27 September Sunday – Eid-ul-Adha*
25 October Sunday – Durga Puja (in lieu of 23 October)
16 December Wednesday – Victory Day
24 December Thursday – Additional DFAT Holiday
27 December Sunday – Christmas Day (in lieu of 25 December)
28 December Monday – Boxing Day (in lieu of 26 December)
What documents will be required?
To be considered for a Student Visa, you must first complete an application form (157W) which is available free of charge either from the Australian High Commission. The application form must be accompanied by the correct application fee, which should be in the form of a bank draft made payable to the Australian High Commission.
It is best to apply through a university representative as the application procedure is quite long and cumbersome. The application fee for a student (temporary) visa can be found from the official High Commission. The fee is subject to change without notice. An application will not be accepted unless it is made in the prescribed form and with the correct fee.
The fee is an immigration service charge and is non refundable irrespective of the outcome of your visa application.
Your application will be assessed on the basis of the following criteria:
a) Evidence of Enrolment
One of the important requirements for a student visa application is that you must be accepted for enrolment, to undertake a course, by a Government registered Australian education institution. This is verified by the advice of acceptance from the Australian institution (commonly known as Letter of Offer), which is issued to a student who has been offered enrolment in a full-time course. You should not pay any part of the course tuition fee prior to the outcome of the PVA.
b) Bona Fides
The bona fides assessment determines whether an applicant is a genuine student who intends to undertake studies in Australia, abide by visa conditions and depart on completion of the course. This involves examining the following:
– academic performance of the applicant;
– relevance of the proposed course of the applicant’s current academic and employment circumstances;
– whether the applicant’s English language skills are adequate for the purposes of the proposed course;
– applicant’s intention to comply with visa conditions and leave Australia at the end of the authorised period of stay
c) Adequate Financial Resources
This involves an assessment of the applicant’s or his/her sponsor’s ability to finance all expenses pertaining to the applicant’s education in Australia. The factors that may be taken into account include:
– Capacity to pay for course tuition fee, return air fares to home country and all expenses (including medical insurance) associated with his/her stay in Australia;
– Applicant’s capacity to repay any loans taken to finance his/her study; and
– if the applicant is married, his/her ability to support any financially-dependent family unit members for the duration of the course.
From 26 April 2008, people granted student visas will automatically receive permission to work with their visa grant. Most student visa holders will no longer need to apply separately in Australia for permission to work.
Time required to issue visa:
As a general rule, applicants should allow a four to six week timeframe for processing of applications. Factors that may delay this processing time include:
– Medical referral to Australia and the need for any subsequent medical tests;
– Document verification including educational documents, employment references and bank statements; and
– Applications which are incomplete and require the visa office to make contact with the applicant or the applicant’s agent.
It is compulsory for all international students to have Overseas Student Health Cover (OSHC) for themselves and their dependents, where applicable, for the duration of the visa. The premium for OSHC is only to be paid once the PVA requirements have been met.
What if my application is not successful?
If you have applied from outside Australia, the decision not to grant you a visa cannot be reviewed by the Migration Review Tribunal. If you have applied in Australia, you may apply to the Migration Review Tribunal for review of the decision not to grant a visa.
