Indian Students to Benefit From Australia's E-Visas

The Australian Government, in an attempt to cut down time and cost is encouraging the Indian students to apply online for their visas. Presently, the scheme is in the second stage of three-stage trial. Hence, the applications can be processed only through 19 registered agents in India, who are responsible for evaluating the students and the system. However, if the trial proves successful then the students will be allowed to apply online independently.

At present, all paper applications are processed through New Delhi that leads to backlog of cases. The paper applications require the preliminary approval, before students can get a medical form. Only after the application is received by mail in Delhi and vetted there is the medical form sent to the applicant. Overall, because of the extra steps involved and the time taken to mail documents across the country, the paper application process takes at least 7 to 10 weeks. Conversely, e-visas can be processed within 2 weeks. Moreover, e-visas cost at least Rs.1,000 less than the paper applications.