Introduction
A student visa is issued to an international student who would like to pursue an educational course. It is an endorsement added to the passport held by the student which is issued by the government of the residing country of the student.
Importance of Student Visa
A student visa is further classified by the countries depending on the duration of the course—short-term and long-term. Generally, if a student needs to attend a course which can be completed within six months, then he or she would be issued with a short-term student visa, if not, then he or she would be issued with a long-term student visa.
Students should be enrolled in a qualified university or college of a country in order to obtain its student visa. They will be asked to support their student visa application with the proof of enrolment. A student visa is a non-immigrant visa, and the students are not needed to obtain the citizenship of that country in order to stay there legally.
Eligibility
In order to be eligible to apply for the student visa, the students will have to obtain admission to any of the recognised courses in any of the qualified institutions. Also, they should pay a certain fee to confirm their acceptance. The proof of this must be submitted along with the student visa application, without which the application will not be processed.
Apart from that, the student should meet the educational criteria. For example, if a student is applying for a master’s course, then he or she should have completed a relevant bachelor’s degree or have relevant work experience.
In addition, the students must demonstrate the financial ability of their sponsors (generally parents) to meet all the expenses of their education, and this includes the cost of living as well. This is because the government wants to ensure that foreigners will not depend on public funds, which are exclusively for its citizens.