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Tuition for children on bridging visa

8K views 21 replies 6 participants last post by  LadyRogueRayne 
#1 ·
Seems that I do have another question. I will be paying tuition for my son to go to school here in WA when I file for my 189 skilled visa. However, we will both go on a bridging visa for the skilled visa in September. At that point, will I still have to pay tuition for my son on a bridging visa? Or will he be granted school rights? I understand that I would be granted work rights upon activation of the bridging visa, correct? So would this also extend to my son? He is 17.

I want to be prepared in case I have to pay tuition for longer than a term.

Cheers!
 
#2 ·
For high school it varies from state to state so you will need to check. I know of one state that you need to pay fees on a bridging visa.

At 17 I don't know if he is year 12 or university. If university it will be international fees until he gets the PR.

The bridging visa is for everyone on the visa application.
 
#3 ·
I know WA charges $4000 for children who are on a 457 temporary visa since the government doesn't subsidize the tuition fees. I'm not sure if it's a similar situation for bridging visas or not. You may need to contact the school to see what they say.
 
#4 ·
He is going into year 11, as that's his age group. I know it kind of sucks for him, as he literally just finished year 11 in the US this week. But, it'll give him a leg up and help him earn points towards Uni when he goes, as he wants to be a doctor (proud Mama moment). The school doesn't know and I guess we just wait to see what the bridging visa stipulations are. I'll prepare to pay another term if need be. Better to be safe than sorry, I guess. Here in WA, it is costing me $4600 a term. Talk about OUCH! I just keep saying it's worth it in the long run. :D
 
#7 ·
Just so you are aware and can prepare for it I thought I would just mention how the kids get into university here incase it differs to the US.

It comes from their OP score (the score they get at the end of year 12 based on subject results etc) and each course at the university has what you need to get into the course. So if they say you need OP2 and get OP4 you will not get in. The students put their 3 offers in and then in January (I think or it could be December) then the first round of offers come out and then they either accept or reject the offer. There are 3 rounds.

I think medical is an OP1 from memory.
 
#9 ·
Thank you for that, Mish! Yes, the deputy principal was explaining the process to me, when I met with him to sign my son up at the local high school. I'm sure he'll cover it all again, once my son gets here and we meet with him. That is one of the reasons that he will be in year 11, though he's already completed that year. It is to help him for what he needs for Uni. I'm confident that he can score what he needs. He was one of only 3 students out of over 500 chosen for a pre-med program back in the states. So, this will all be worth it, even having to pay tuition at first, until we get the pr visa.

Thank you for explaining, though! Makes a lot more sense to me now.
 
#11 ·
Have you checked private schools? I had 2 in already then added 2 they just charged me the normal fees.

My eldest is in another private school, they do year 12 subjects in year 10 & 11 so end up with fewer subjects for year 12. They then get much higher ratings for Uni as they only do 3 subjects in actual year 12, this may be something to look at as your son has done year 11 already. (my eldest school not so cheap, cost the same as the 4 others)
 
#12 ·
Yes, I did. But unfortunately, there aren't any private high schools around here. We live in a country town in WA and the only private school is a primary one. That one will be great if my youngest comes, too. The tuition is actually very reasonable. Even if I didn't have to pay tuition for public, I'd probably still go for this as it would give my youngest (year 6) a leg up having a smaller class size and more one-on-one time per student. If there were a private high school, I would definitely be going that route! Right now, tuition for year 11 for overseas students is almost $18,000 per year. That is why I am really hoping that once the bridging visa kicks in for the 189 pr visa, that I won't have to pay tuition from that point. I know that as soon as we get the confirmation of the application, that I can register us for our medicare cards. But not sure if that would also include schooling or not.

Unfortunately, the school isn't any help as they aren't even sure how the tuition will work!
 
#14 ·
What do you mean, they need to register? The school has been aware of him coming here since January and even has his schedule set. Just waiting on his arrival at this point. They told me once I bring him in, then they'll do paperwork and I'd deal with tuition at that point.

Katanning. I'm still learning where everything is. I've been here since Sept. 2015 on an ETA business visa (2 trips to Bali, now taking a 2 week trip to the USA to get my kidlings and bring them back).
 
#16 ·
Cool! Thanks for that, Sky! Hoping the same occurs for my son. If not, have some other options that I'm exploring. :D
 
#18 ·
That's even better to know you're in WA, too. I did look on the TAFE site for tuition fees and it stated that bridging visas incur the same charges as the original visa. However, since with the 189 once the bridging visa takes effect, it grants work rights, right to medicare, etc...then that should also include school rights. So, I'm hoping that once I have that information, that I'll be able to get him in school without paying additional tuition.

Was your child here before the PMV was granted? Or was this afterward? I know he'll have school rights once they grant the 189 visa...but with how long they are seeming to take now, I'm worried that I'll be paying the rest of the school year, instead of just a couple weeks (one term).

Thanks for the info, Sky!
 
#21 ·
Haha, yeah but 11th grade is different than my 5 year old. He wouldn't have even started kindergarten in the US until Aug/Sept so I didn't mind waiting. Good luck with it though! Hopefully you can do payment plans or something as that's a lot of money to come up with, especially after the costs of just getting to Oz!
 
#22 ·
Thanks! :) Actually, when I spoke with TAFE about it (TAFE has taken over tuition from ETI), they did say the school can bill me. And the deputy principal said that once my son gets here, to bring him in, we'll get him enrolled and deal with fees later. Hopefully, they will do a payment plan, as I was advised by TAFE to do. Then, if we can get education rights along with work and medicare rights, then we'll be good. Thanks again for all of your responses!
 
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