Australia is home to some of the best universities in the world. Every year, hundreds of international students apply to these universities to pursue their higher education. However, very few of them successfully get in due to finance-related issues. Our previous articles covered the education loan process for students who have applied to universities and colleges in both the USA and Canada. This article will give our readers the complete picture of the procedures to be followed with respect to the Australia education loan process and other financial criteria to be fulfilled by students before they apply for a student visa to study in Australia.

Or better yet, hear our expert speaker, Damini Mahajan explain the entire procedure by clicking on the video below, which is the 19th episode of Loanflix, a web-series based on education loans and other related topics, developed by our team!

Every year, thousands of Indian students flock abroad to pursue higher education due to a lot of factors. Australia is one of the countries offering a myriad list of higher education courses to international students. Just like their international counterparts, most Indian students borrow an education loan to fund their higher studies in Australia. Students are expected to fulfill certain criteria to have a stress free visa process. Funding is one of the major criteria in the Australia study visa process. So let's take a look at certain important tasks the students need to undertake with respect to Australia education loan.

Nature of funding acceptable to Australian universities

1. What kind of Education loans are given by banks to help fund students' studies in Australia?

By now, you must all be aware of the two kinds of abroad education loans lent in India. Both secured and unsecured education loans are lent to students who wish to fund their higher studies in Australia with the help of education loans. NBFCs lend unsecured loans of up to Rs.30 Lakhs to students who plan to go for higher studies in Australia if students happen to apply for one through us.

2. What kind of education loans are acceptable to the Australian embassy and why?

All students who plan on borrowing an education loan in order to study in Australia need to keep one important point in mind while doing so. If you go through the previous articles listed here, you may observe that we have always stressed on the benefits of borrowing education loans from government banks.

Although students do have the option of approaching NBFCs for education loans, a government bank education loan can be the only saving grace for you when it comes to undergoing a hassle-free visa process to study in Australia.

The Australian embassy majorly favors students who borrow secured education loans from nationalized banks like the SBI and other PSUs. This is because as compared to NBFCs, government banks have proven themselves to be financially reliable and trustworthy, time and again. The Australian embassy needs assurance that students who wish to study in Australia do not have any major financial liabilities. This is the reason why they have set down these rules.

3. What kind of collateral should one pledge while borrowing an education loan for Australia?

The Australian embassy pays close attention to the nature of collateral pledged by students with their respective lending banks. When students mention an education loan borrowed on the basis of a third-party’s assets as collateral, it conveys a message that the student has no solid financial backing. However, it also depends on the university that the student has applied to. If the university has strong rankings and a good reputation, it may so happen that the embassy may overlook this factor during the visa process. However, this is not applicable in all cases. So, ensure that the collateral being pledged is in accordance with the requirements laid down by the lending bank.

Now that you have understood the nature of funding entertained by the embassy, let’s move on to the next important step in the Australia education loan process.

When is an Australia education loan required in the overall process?

Knowing when to apply for an education loan is crucial to the Australia study abroad process. Here’s a brief explanation of the various phases involved in the Australia education loan process.

Phase 1: Applying to universities in Australia

Phase 2: Receiving confirmation of admission from respective universities and arranging for the required funds.

Phase 3: Sending funds and receiving the CoE from respective universities.

Phase 4: Going for the visa process.

Amongst the phases mentioned above, the most important one is when a student has to arrange funds for their tuition fees and living expenses purpose. These funds have to be transferred to the respective account before a student goes ahead for the visa process.

After confirming a student’s admission, universities in Australia issue a Confirmation of Enrolment (CoE) to the respective student. This document is an assurance that the particular student has been accepted into a program by the university.  According to the criteria set by the university, they will only issue a CoE on receiving the proof of payment of tuition fees to the university's account. 

Students need to arrange for the following funds once they receive their admission letter from the particular university and before they apply for a student visa to study in Australia, i.e, in phase 2 of the Australia education loan process:

1. On receiving the admission letter from their respective university, students need to deposit at least one semester’s tuition fees to the university account along with the health insurance charges.
2. Students are also to deposit their one year’s living expenses into a savings account.

It is only after the university receives confirmation of payment of the above funds that they issue the CoE. Now students are required to produce this CoE at the time of their visa process.

So, to put it briefly, it is advised that students apply for an education loan keeping in mind the time required to undertake the above actions. Those who are planning to take an education loan to fund their studies in Australia need the above-mentioned funds before their visa is approved. The loan amount disbursed prior to students’ visa process is called a pre-visa disbursement in the bank’s terms.

As mentioned before, the Australian embassy mainly prefers students who are funding their studies in Australia with the help of education loans taken from public banks only. Public bank officials have a reputation of being in the dark about many policies when it comes to abroad education loans. In most cases, they are not aware of the instructions and policy changes made by embassies and universities abroad.

Hence, when students approach their respective bank officials, they generally hesitate to approve pre-visa disbursements.

The WeMakeScholars team has been at the core of many crucial policy changes made by public banks with respect to education loans. As a result, our financial officers have been successful in helping many students get their pre-visa disbursement within the stipulated time-frame. You may check your eligibility for an education loan here or request a callback from our team in order to avail our services which are free of cost.

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Australia education loan timeline

Generally, it is advised that students arrange for the funds as soon as they receive the admit from their respective universities. The education loan process of government banks in India usually goes on for a duration of 40-60 days post the submission of relevant documents. However, candidates who apply through WeMakeScholars can get theirs processed within 15-20 working days. This is because we have an excellent team that can assist you with the required help during your education loan process.

As mentioned above, secured education loan applicants are generally preferred for a student visa by the Australian embassy and secured loans require students to submit a long list of documents related to collateral. Now it may so happen that students might need time to arrange for certain documents.

The total time taken for a bank to lend your abroad education loan can be summarized in the following manner:

1. Applying for an education loan and arrangement of relevant documents for the same: 1-2 weeks.
2. Mortgage Creation: 2-3 working days post which the loan amount will be disbursed to candidates.
3. Post mortgage creation, the loan amount will be disbursed to the candidate depending on their preferences.

So, to put it briefly, students need to apply for an education loan at least 1.5 months in advance to the actual date when they require funds to be disbursed to study in Australia

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Australian Embassy requirements for Indian students regarding funds

The Australian embassy requires students to deposit their funds in a certain way. Students need to provide the university account details to which the tuition fees and health insurance funds have to be transferred before the loan amount is disbursed by their respective banks.

What happens once the funds are disbursed from the lending bank?

1. On the successful transfer of funds by the bank to the university, students are required to send the payment receipt to their university.
2. After they receive this receipt, the university issues the CoE, which is required for a student visa to study in Australia.
3. The student’s living expenses will be disbursed to a savings account in India, with a ‘Hold’.
4. This means that although this transaction will be reflected in their savings account, the students cannot perform any transactions through this account until they start their course.
5. With this process, the biggest and the trickiest phase of the Australia education loan process comes to an end. The next phase involves the visa interview which will be an easier phase as compared to arranging for funds to finance your higher study in Australia.

Conclusion

Australia is one of the most sought after locations for higher studies by Indian students. Most Indian students fund their higher studies with the help of education loans. However, the Australian embassy has certain criteria regarding funds which are set for international students. One of the major reasons behind this is that the Australian government needs to ensure that immigrants don't end up occupying most of their workforce. With this article, our major aim is to empower every student who wishes to study in Australia with relevant information regarding Australia education loan. Our next article is going to focus on Germany education loan procedures. This article will be covering topics like the blocked account, education loan amounts available for higher studies in Germany, etc. So stay tuned and keep a watch for the same.

Note: WeMakeScholars is an organization funded and supported by the Government of India that focuses on International Education finance. We are associated with 10+ public/Pvt banks/ NBFCs in India and help you get the best abroad education loan matching your profile. As this initiative is under the Digital India campaign, it’s at free of cost. The organization has vast experience dealing with students going to various abroad education destinations like the US, Canada, UK, Australia, Germany, Sweden, Italy, China, France among others.