AUSTRALIA:
Class 4 CoC – Engineer Watchkeeper STCW III/1
🔹University:
Australian Maritime College (AMC), University of Tasmania (UTAS).
Note: University of Tasmania (UTAS) is a world top 2% ranking University.
🔹Course:
Advanced Diploma of Applied Science, Marine Engineering – Leading to AMSA Engineer Watchkeeper STCW III/1 CoC. This is also commonly known as Class 4 CoC in Sri Lanka.
🔹Course start dates:
▪ February
▪ June
They run 2 batches in a year.
🔹Course Duration:
10 months.
🔹Visa duration:
13 – 14 months.
🔹Course Fees:
The course tuition fees vary depending upon whether you have a bachelor’s degree in mechanical / marine engineering or not as it makes you eligible for certain course exemptions:
For Degree students sailing as Trainee Marine Engineer: AU$29,047 approximately.
For non-Degree students sailing as Wiper, Motorman or Fitter: AU$36,005 approximately.
A PDF file giving the individual subject wise cost is there at the end of this message.
The course fees go up by 4% approximately every year. The fees may vary depending upon whether your STCW basic courses are accepted by Australia or not and will also depend upon your academic degree transcript. The final course fees as mentioned in your admission letter are what will apply to you.
To be eligible for Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL), applicants must have completed the STCW advanced courses (AFF, MFA, PSCRB) that comply with the STCW in a country other than Australia so that the basic STCW safety courses do not have to be re-done in Australia. Applicants who have completed an Australian Certificate of Safety Training (COST) are exempt from this requirement.
🔹Health Insurance:
▪ Single student: Au$1,000.
▪ Married couple: Au$4,500
▪ Married couple with a child: Au$5,500.
The insurance rates are set by MEDIBANK, and it may vary a bit depending upon your nationality.
The University admission letter will mention the health insurance cost applicable to you.
🔹Eligibility:
Engine Rating with 36 months of sea time on vessels > 750 KW main engine power.
Trainee Marine Engineer with 9 months of sea time on vessels > 750 KW main engine power.
You should have the following documents as proof of sea time:
▪️ CDC stamps.
▪️C/E testimonials.
▪️ Company Seatime letter also for the full sea time completed.
▪️Accepted Training Record Book (ISF TRB or the Australian TRB).
If you are not sure whether your sea time will be accepted by AMSA, Australia, please apply for AMSA eligibility by filling the AMSA 419 form and sending the relevant documents by courier to AMSA in Australia. The AMSA fees payment is to be done online. If you face any issues in filling out the AMSA 419 smartPDF form, kindly let me know.
AMSA eligibility is advisable but not mandatory for university admissions and visa procedure. Sometimes, the University may ask you to get the AMSA eligibility letter before issuing you an admission letter if they do not feel confident of the sea time documents that you have submitted for admission purpose.
You need to mandatorily have the AMSA eligibility before sitting for the AMSA orals. Students can apply for AMSA eligibility before travelling to Australia or during their stay in Australia as well. The AMSA eligibility processing time is around 6 weeks.
🔹 Seat booking procedure:
Please email or WhatsApp me the following documents for seat booking with AMC, University of Tasmania.
▪ Passport front page and address page.
▪ CDC front page and sea service stamp pages.
▪ STCW basic courses – PST + PSSR + FPFF + EFA.
▪ Company sea time letter of 36 months or 9 months as the case may apply to you.
▪ C/E testimonials of 36 months or 9 months as the case may apply to you.
▪ Class X (O Level), Class XII (A Level) and any other higher Diploma / Degree level school qualification. If submitting your bachelor’s degree in mechanical or marine engineering, please do submit the semester marksheets as well to see course exemptions.
Kindly make separate PDF files with proper file names and send them to me on WhatsApp for e.g. one PDF file for Passport, one PDF file for CDC, one PDF file for CoC, one PDF file for all STCW courses, etc., and so on.
If your family (wife and children) wish to accompany you to Australia, we will need their passport and your marriage certificate as well.
There is no payment to be made to the University for booking your seat.
After submission of all documents, the University will issue you a conditional offer letter in about 3 – 4 weeks’ time.
The conditions mentioned on your offer letter would be the following:
▪ Submission of IELTS Academic or PTE Academic test result. Score required is 6 band overall in IELTS Academic with no score below 5.5. The PTE Academic score required is 50 overall with no sectional score below 42.
▪ Payment of the 1st semester course tuition fees + overseas student health insurance (OSHC) charge.
This payment will normally be made about 1 – 3 months before the course start date. The balance tuition fees for the 2nd semester will be paid about 6 months later whilst the course is ongoing in Australia. The course is divided into 2 semesters. The first semester course fee is paid to get the visa letter issued by the University. The 2nd semester course fees are paid before the start of the 2nd semester in Australia.
🔹 STCW advanced courses (AFF + MFA + PSCRB) and Tanker Courses (Oil, Chemical & Gas):
AMSA, Australia does not accept DG Shipping, India or Sri Lanka DGMS advanced STCW courses as well as tanker courses. So, these courses will have to be mandatorily done in Australia and is included in the course fees.
If you are a student of some other nationality, please email to AMSA at:
quals@amsa.gov.au
or amsaconnect@amsa.gov.au
and check if your country STCW advanced courses and tanker courses are accepted by AMSA or not.
🔹 Total Cost & part-time work in Australia:
For Graduate Engineers holding BE Mechanical or BE Marine Engineering degree.
▪ Tuition Fees: Au$29,047 (approximate fee).
▪ Health insurance: Au$1,000 (mandatory)
▪ AMSA fees: Au$1,000
▪ Living Expenses: Au$1,200 per month (i.e., Au$14,400 per year)
▪ Flight travel: Au$3,000
▪ Miscellaneous: Au$1,000
▪ Visa Medical: Au$50
▪ Visa fees: Au$650
Total: Au$50,147
PART TIME WORK:
Students are allowed to work part-time in Australia during their studies. You can work up to 40 hours every fortnightly during term and full-time during holidays. The minimum wage in Australia is Au$ 23.23 per hour.
Earnings per month: (40×2) x 23 = Au$1,840
Assuming, you worked for 10 months out of 12 months of stay in Australia, your part-time earnings will be: Au$18,400.
Total expense for a student who works part time in Australia and one who does not work part-time in Australia are as given below:
▪ Au$31,747
▪ Au$50,147
If you do not hold a bachelor’s degree in mechanical or marine engineering, your cost will be higher by AU$6,958 as you are not exempted from Mechanics and Thermodynamics subject.
Australia is a very expensive place to study and hence most students will do some part-time work to offset at least their living expenses in Australia.
During vacation time, you can work full time and hence earn 2.5X what a student earns monthly part-time, but we have not considered that additional earnings for calculation purpose.
Your spouse is also allowed to work part-time in Australia.
The cost involved if carrying your wife to Australia is as explained below:
▪ Living Expense: Au$400 per month i.e., Au$4,800 for a year.
▪ Flight ticket: Au$3,000
▪ Health Insurance: Au$3,500
▪ Visa Fees: Au$300
▪ Part time work earning at minimum pay if working 10 out of 12 months in a year: Au$18,400
Net SURPLUS earned by a working spouse will be Au$6,800 after deducting all her expenses.
Approximate net expense for a student and spouse under different conditions are given below:
▶️ Total expense for student is AU$ 50,147 if the student does not work in Australia.
▶️ Total expense for student is AU$ 31,747 if the student works part time in Australia.
▶️ Total expense for student and wife is AU$ 61,747
if none of them work part-time in Australia.
▶️ Total expense for student and wife is Au$24,947 if both of them work part-time in Australia.
Those who do not hold a bachelor’s degree in mechanical or marine engineering, their cost will be higher by AU$6,958 due to not being exempted from Mechanics and Thermodynamics subject.
🔹 Visa processing:
We will be guiding you with the visa procedure.
The visa procedure is totally online now and is similar irrespective of the nationality of the student.
▪ The visa processing time varies from 3 – 6 weeks normally.
▪ The length of visa is for around 14 months.
▪ The breakup of funds that you need to show for your visa is as explained below:
▶️ Tuition Fees: AU$ 29,047 (it is higher for non-BE students by AU$ 6,958)
▶️ Living Expenses: AU$ 24,505
▶️ Health Insurance: AU$ 1,000
▶️ Flight Ticket: AU$ 3,000
Total show money for visa: AU$ 57,552
If you are carrying your wife, the additional visa show money will be as below:
▶️ Living Expense: Au$8,574
▶️ Health Insurance: Au$3,500
▶️ Flight Ticket: Au$3,000
Total extra funds to show for your wife will be Au$15,074
If children are to accompany you, the extra show money will be as below:
▶️ Au$3,670 per child for non-school going children.
▶️ Au$9,661 per school going children.
▶️ Travel cost per child: Au$3,000
▶️ Insurance cost per child: Au$1,000
🔹 Educational Loan / Personal Loan:
As you would see, the amount to show for Australian visa is huge. Hence, most Indian students take loans be it personal loan, educational loan, loan against property, home loan top-up, loan against insurance policies, loan against jewelry, etc. If you wish to apply for an educational loan, please do revert.
The money for visa can be shown as cash in bank account, fixed deposits, or bank loan. You can also show funds held by your parents, in-laws, and own brother / sister.
Any sudden reflection of large amount of money in your bank account will need to be explained with documentary evidence regarding its source as otherwise that can be a ground for visa refusal. It is best to hold any such money which you can’t justify through salary, bank loan or parent’s income for a minimum of 6 months before you show it for the student visa procedure.
🔹 Permanent Residency (PR) in Australia.
The PR for deck officers, engineer officers and Ships Master was stopped in Australia from 31 July 2017. Prior to that many seafarers did the Chief Mates or 2/E CoC from AMC, University of Tasmania and took PR in Australia.
It is not certain when PR for seafarers will start again for Australia as PR for professions is demand-supply based.
Once the seafarers who took PR in Australia move back to shore-based jobs in Australia, one expects that demand will then outstrip supply and seafaring professions will again get included in the shortage occupation list (SoL). It may happen in 1 year or 5 years, that is something nobody can predict. That it will open again is almost a certainty but when it will happen can’t be predicted. As it is over 6 years since PR was stopped for seafarers, it is anticipated that it will reopen in the next 1 – 3 years’ time.
This leaves a student looking to do the Engineer Watchkeeper CoC course from AMC, University of Tasmania with 2 options primarily:
▶️ 1st Option: Finish your CoC course and obtain your Advanced Diploma in Marine Engineering from AMC, UTAS. Come back to your home country and start sailing. Whenever PR starts again for seafarers, apply for it from your home country only. PR processing takes about 6 months, and you will need to contact Australian govt. licensed migration agents who are called as MARA agents.
▶️ 2nd Option: After obtaining your Class 4 Engine CoC and Advanced Diploma in Marine Engineering from the University of Tasmania, proceed to enroll for the Bachelor’s Degree in applied science, Marine Engineering (Year 3 i.e., 2nd Engineers course) from the University of Tasmania. This is a one-year course. You will get the bachelor’s degree in marine engineering but not the 2nd Engineers CoC from AMSA as for 2/E CoC you do not have the necessary sea time as an engineer officer after obtaining your Engineer Watchkeeper Class 4 CoC. Together, the Advanced Diploma in Marine Engineering course and Bachelor’s Degree in Marine Engineering (Year 3) will ensure that you have done 2 years of continuous full-time study in Australia. The rule in Australia is that if you do 2 years of full-time study at degree or above level, you get 2 – 4 years of post-study work visa in Australia. As Tasmania is a regional area, you get 3 – 4 years of post-study work visa if you work in Tasmania.
Look for employment in Tasmania during your post study work visa.
After completing 2+ year of relevant skilled shore-based employment in Tasmania you may become eligible for PR under different occupation category (not seafarer category) depending upon your shore-based job experience in Australia.
Your MARA licensed migration agent who files your documents for PR will check your prior academic qualification and work experience. He will guide you accordingly under which occupation (ANZSCO code) should you file for your PR.
Please note that permanent residency rules keep changing as per the demand supply situation. Hence, you always should look at the Australian government website for any recent change in rules.
For students who hold a bachelor’s degree in mechanical or marine engineering, you can also opt for an MBA course directly with UTAS in Australia as per the details below:
▪ MBA in Maritime Management:
https://www.utas.edu.au/courses/cse/courses/p7h-master-of-business-administration-in-maritime-management
▪ MBA in Global Logistics and Supply Chain Management
https://www.utas.edu.au/courses/cse/courses/p7e-master-of-global-logistics-and-supply-chain-management
I work for the University of Tasmania, Australia and am not a MARA licensed migration (PR) agent. Hence, though I can help you out with admissions and student visa procedures as I am appointed by the University of Tasmania (UTAS) but I cannot file your PR (permanent residency) application.
If you wish to enroll for the CoC course, please send the documents as mentioned earlier and we would also need the following personal information from your end:
▪ Your residential address and postal code.
▪ Any visa refusals for any country in the past.
▪ Travelling alone or with family. If with family, their name and relationship to you.
▪ Any relatives in Australia. If yes, their name, city of residence and relationship to you.
▪Which batch you wish to join: February or June
▪️Your O level (Class X), A level (Class XII) and any Diploma / Degree certificate as well as course start / end date in the MM/YYYY format for the O level, A level and other diploma / degree qualification.
▪Your email address.
If you have any queries, please revert back on phone, email or Whatsapp.
🔹️ https://wa.me/message/2QULIAPZA7JAL1
Thanking you in anticipation.
NOTE: All of our services are rendered free of cost to the prospective applicant as we are directly appointed by the Australian Maritime College (AMC), University of Tasmania (UTAS).