This page includes a range of resources for Inbound students to D9640 including:
- Advice to assist you with your visa application.
- Inbound Student Handbook.
- District Travel Policy
- Travel Permission Form
- First Night and Second Day questions
- Link to calendar of key events
Advice for inbound students to assist with your visa application and entry to Australia:
- All tong-term and short-term inbound students will require a Subclass 500 student visa. You can find out more about the visa and the documents you will require here. Note that waiting times for the visa once submitted can be up to three months (as at April 2024 most visas are being processed in one month). You can view the latest information on waiting times here. Please note that exchange students are in the top priority for processing.
- You do not need a CoE (Certificate of Enrolment) as a youth exchange student. You will instead be provided with an AASES Acceptance form. This is the document you will require to prove you have been accepted into a school for your exchange. You cannot apply for your visa without the AASES Acceptance Form. On the first page of your visa application you will be asked to nominate that you have an AASES form, not a CoE, as below (nominate your own commencement date once you have agreed your flight details with us – please do not book any flights without our approval).
- Secondary high school exchange students are exempt from the visa fee as long as you upload an AASES request rather than a CoE. If you are asked to nominate a visa category, select ‘Secondary exchange (schools sector)’. If you get to the end of the visa application and it is showing a fee owing, you have selected the wrong category, or you have marked ‘yes’ to supplying a CoE.
- We will apply for an AASES Acceptance form on your behalf. You cannot submit your visa application without this. There will be several documents we require in order to request the AASES on your behalf. If at any time we request documents from you, please action these promptly.
- Once we send you your approved AASES Acceptance form from the Queensland or NSW Department of Education you should submit your visa application promptly.
- All students who will be under 18 at the time of travel will be required to submit a Parental Consent Form 1229 as part of their visa application. You can download a copy of the form here.
- All students must answer the ‘Genuine Student Requirement‘ questions as part of their visa application. We recommend that you have your answers prepared so as soon as we send you your AASES Acceptance you can submit your application. If you are unsure how to answer a question please let us know.
- In addition to your travel insurance, all inbound students are also required to take out Australian OSHC (Overseas Student Health Cover) Insurance for the duration of their stay. This provides cover for you while you are in Australia for visits to the doctor and basic medications, similar to our Medicare system for residents. You will need to supply evidence of this as part of your visa application. Simply do a google search for ‘Overseas Student Health Cover’ to find a provider – there are many to choose from! You can also use this website to get quotes from multiple providers – all of the providers available through this website are reputable.
- Note that there are a small number of countries who are exempt from requiring OSHC insurance as Australia has a reciprocal health care arrangement with them. These countries include Belgium, Finland, Italy, Malta, The Netherlands, New Zealand, Ireland, Slovenia, Sweden and the UK. You can read more here about these countries and whether an exemption might apply to you. Please note that for some countries that have an exemption, the exemption does not apply to student visas (Norway, for example).
- We will also send you a official welcome emails from our database that includes the contact details of your host club Youth Exchange Officer (YEO) and Counsellor, your first host family and your Country Coordinator from the D9640 YEP Committee.
Resources for inbound students to read prior to your arrival in Australia:
- D9640 Inbound Student Handbook. This handbook covers (nearly!) everything you need to know about being an Inbound Rotary Youth Exchange Student to D9640 in Australia. Make sure you read it before you arrive. Click here or on the image below to download.
- D9640 Inbound Student Travel Policy: all inbound students must abide by our inbound student travel policy. This includes details for approvals for overnight stays with Rotarians and school friends. Please make sure you and your host family are familiar with this policy. You can view and download the policy here.
- D9640 Inbound Student Travel Permission Form: in some instances you will be required to submit a Travel Approval Form to get permission to travel. This process is to be managed by you, not your host family or counsellor. You can download the form here.
- First Night Questions: your sponsor district should have provided you with some first night questions to run through with each of your host families on the first night you move in. If they didn’t, you can access ours here.
- Second Day questions: we also recommend using these second day questions to run through with your YEO/Counsellor and host family on Day Two, or shortly after you arrive.
- Calendar of events: Make sure you are familiar with all of the upcoming events in our district that you will need to attend. Also make sure that your host family, YEO and counsellor are always aware of the Rotary events you have planned.
