Australia Immigration Visas

Requirements of Australian education providers

Generally, in order to be able to do any postsecondary education course in Australia a prospective student MUST:

-          be at least 18 years of age. Mature age students with relevant experience are welcome to apply;

-          at least have successfully completed the full secondary school course in their home country. The course completion must be evidenced by the relevant certificate;

-          (for Master Degree course) have completed undergraduate course in their home country equivalent to Australian Bachelor Degree;  

1. The below are minimum requirements for English Language proficiency overseas students have to meet in order to be able to study in Australia at TAFE (Vocational Education) course level:

A minimum IELTS test score of 5.5

The above English Language proficiency must be evidenced by a recently obtained IELTS test certificate (no more than 2 years old). Whereas IELTS General module is generally acceptable by Australian education providers and Immigration Department the IELTS Academic module is more preferable for academic purposes.

2. The below are minimum requirements for English Language proficiency overseas students have to meet in order to be able to study in Australia at Tertiary Education (Bachelor Degree, Master Degree, PhD ) level:

A minimum IELTS score of 6.0 with no individual sub-score below 5.5 is required for all higher education courses.

The above English Language proficiency must be evidenced by a recently obtained IELTS test certificate (no more than 2 years old). Whereas IELTS General module is generally acceptable by Australian education providers and Immigration Department the IELTS Academic module is more preferable for academic purposes.

Attention! Please, note that English proficiency entry requirements for some Uni courses in Australia may be higher than above (for instance, to study medicine, dentistry or law you may be required to have IELTS test score of 7.0 or even higher). You should carefully check entry requirements for your course of choice prior to enrolment.  

 Students from Assessment  Level 1 & 2 countries (Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania) may apply to be enrolled into Vocational Education and Higher Education courses WITHOUT having IELTS test certificate ON CONDITION that they undertake an English preparation course first (General English (GE) course followed by English for Academic Purposes (EAP)). The English preparation course may start from Beginner (Zero) level and continue further on until the student is ready to sit an IELTS test. In other words, a prospective student may come to Australia with no English at all and start mastering their language skills in the English speaking environment until they achieve the IELTS test score required to commence their further studies.

There is no time limit to study English in Australia for the students from Assessment 1 & 2 countries prescribed by law. In general, it takes between 20 and 30 weeks of GE/EAP for the students with intermediate proficiency in English to achieve the required IELTS score. Those students who have their English at zero level may need up to 40 weeks of GE/EAP before they could proceed with their IELTS test in confidence.

If you do not achieve an ‘Upper Intermediate’ level result in your placement test, you may be given the opportunity to defer your studies until the next intake. This will give you the chance to enrol in the GE course and bring your English up to the appropriate level. If you do not have a current IELTS certificate at this level, you may be accepted into English for Academic Purposes (EAP) for a minimum of 10 weeks. Upon successful completion of the EAP course you will be able to commence your Higher Education studies.

Attention! Please, note that the English requirements for student visa purposes may differ from those of Immigration Department. Please, check the DIAC site for the visa criteria applicable to your country`s Assessment Level.

 Students from Assessment Level 3 & 4 countries (Russia, Ukraine, Belarus, etc) can apply for their course in Australia ONLY on the following conditions:

• - for direct entry into a course, you must have an International English Language Testing System (IELTS) score of 6.0 or above;
  - to do a foundation course (but no ELICOS) before your main course, you must have an IELTS score of at least 5.5;
• - to do an ELICOS course before your main course, you must have an IELTS score of at least 5.0. You can study a preliminary English course for up to 30 weeks;

Note: Your IELTS test result must be less than two (2) years old on the date you lodge your application. You can take the Academic or General IELTS test to meet English Language requirements for a student visa. However, please check with your Australian education provider about which test they require for your enrolment.
See: www.ielts.org

 Please, feel free to contact us, should you have any queries or require any additional information. Thank you!