Resources 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.
- Secondary high school students are exempt from the visa fee as long as you select Exchange Student as your student category.
- We will send you a copy of your approved AASES form from the Queensland or NSW Department of Education once we have the confirmed details of your arrival and departure dates. This is the document you will require to prove you have been accepted into a school for your exchange. Note that you do not need a CoE (Certificate of Enrolment) as a youth exchange student, only the AASES Acceptance form.
- We will also send you an official welcome letter that includes the contact details of your host club Youth Exchange Officer (YEO) and Youth Protection Officer (YPO/Counsellor), your first host family and your Country Coordinator from the D9640 YEP Committee.
- 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.
- 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. 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! As an example, here is the OSHC offered by one provider, BUPA.
- 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, Norway, New Zealand, Ireland, Slovenia, Sweden and the UK. You can read more here about these countries and whether an exemption might apply to you.
Resources for inbound students once you have arrived 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. You can download the handbook here.
- D9640 Inbound Student Travel Policy: all inbound students must abide by our inbound student travel policy. You can 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. You can download the form here.
