If there’s one question every student enrolled in a foreign university is facing, it is, “will you even be going to university right now?”
And rightfully so, because…. I don’t need to elaborate on what effects the COVID-19 pandemic has had on international travel.
As far as my own experience of this situation was concerned, I strongly believe that, despite all the negativity surrounding international travel right now, it is important to approach visa formalities with mindfulness, alertness and meticulousness. At some point international travel will open, and sooner or later these formalities will pop-up in your to-do list.
The following tips, based on my personal experience, can help make the visa process a breeze:
1) Don’t fill all details in one sitting
The Australian student visa application has 25 pages of questions to be answered. Given that meticulous answer-filling is the way ahead for a successful visa application, it is important that you don’t tire yourself mentally by filling all 25 pages with utmost meticulousness and concentration at once. A Save option exists to save your answers on the visa application- thus you could start the visa application-filling, take a break if you’d like, and then continue filling the unfilled parts of the application later when you wish- a few hours or a few days later.
2) Keep correct documents ready on time
Certain documents like your Genuine Temporary Entrant Statement, and income proofs could take time to prepare or arrange. Thus, it is advisable to take steps to prepare them on time, so that by the time you reach the document-uploading stage, all you have to do is just upload the documents one-by-one. You can definitely upload documents even after submitting the application; but, it is more efficient for you to upload all documents with the visa application itself. This ensures that once the application is submitted, you can do away with the topic of visa application once and for all, and can focus on other things. Trust me, after filling 25 pages of visa information, the last thing you would want to do is scramble to get the documents ready to upload. And be VERY careful about uploading correct documents- once documents are uploaded, you cannot delete them. Take your time to ensure that you are submitting exactly what is needed from you-it’s better than doing the double work of uploading the wrong document first, not being able to delete it from your application, and then submitting the right document.
3) Take insight from seniors
Your university seniors are a good source of insights about the visa application process- it’s a ‘been there, done that’ scenario. Since you belong to the same college, these insights often prepare you for what to expect from the university’s end as far as documents like CoE and OSHC, and assistance regarding the process, are concerned. You could also consult them for any small clarifications or concerns regarding the visa application. Seniors from the same city as you, could also advise you on the medical testing part of the process- which clinic to go, the prices, the duration of testing and other things.
4) Don’t fret over mistakes
Made a mistake in your visa application? Entered any incorrect information? Don’t worry, there’s a mistake correction form available for you to mention the incorrect info and the correct info. Its an easy process, so don’t worry much about the mistake-correction procedure. And as long as the correct info is passed visa the mistake correction form, your application is just as good as a no-mistake application. Just ensure you report the mistake as soon as possible- delays in mistake reporting might delay your visa processing.
Getting a student visa is just one of the numerous important formalities that we are bound to carry out during the course of our lives. Once you finish the student visa application, and get a visa too, I want you to congratulate yourself and be grateful that you could successfully get past one of the most important boundaries between your present life, and a new phase of life aka international student life.
If not anyone, I’m proud of you 😊