It isn’t easy and cheap if you are planning to move to Australia. I realized how much resources, time, and money go into it.

In this post, let me share with you only how much money I spent, starting from the consultancy fees to the visas.

We are a family of four in this. I didn’t go with the recommendation of my friends to leave my kids behind for 6 months or a year.

I felt depriving my kids of their parental love, and care would be so unfair. Just like you expected, expenses were comparatively more.

Please note that I am not moving to Australia permanently, but to pursue my masters degree in accounting.

Consultancy Fees

I did everything through Yarab Global Education Consultancy located next to the iBest Institute Building.

Nu.15,000 was paid. Considering the workload, and their dedication, I felt it was fairly reasonable.

There are consultants doing it for as low as Nu. 2,000. From my research, I felt comfortable with Yarab and went with it.

Health Screening

The medical screening and submitting the report is one important part of the Australian visa application.

The per-head medical fee is Nu.1,500. But I ended up spending Nu. 9,000, as it had to be done twice for my kids.

Biometric

The biometric assessments and filing them to the Australian government would cost more those days.

I wasn’t sure if I paid a discounted rate. I paid Nu.18,840 for the biometric screening of the four of us.

Health Insurance

It’s one hell of a major expense. Insurance can be either a family package or for an individual (Single Package).

Though I know the former is better with more coverage, I chose the latter after realizing how much more I would spend then.

In total, I paid AU$ 6,120.47, which is Nu. 348,866.61. Since my daughter is below 2 years old, her insurance costs more, around AU$160.

Bank Interests

This is the interest I paid at a lumpsum for an unsecured education loan, which we commonly call ‘show money’.

In accordance with the consultant’s advice, I had to take Nu.5 million for 3 months. The bank charged me Nu.113,200 one-time interest.

First Tuition Fee

Everyone would agree that this is the biggest expense while applying for an Australian student visa from Bhutan.

My course is a Masters of Professional Accounting; a trimester program. From Bhutan, I paid Nu. 876,077.70 as tuition fees and Nu. 4,753.60 as a charge for the bank transfer.

Visa Fee

I didn’t keep a note of individual visa fees. But in total, I paid Nu. 203,698 for four people.

Flight Tickets

I admit that I spent unreasonably high on the ticket. Looking back, I could have postponed the booking of three of them.

It was a festival season. Therefore, I paid Nu.249,577. It would have been crazily high if I opted for a separate seat for my daughter!

Misc. Expenses

We also incur other related minor expenses, which don’t seem significant individually but come in quite an amount in total.

Expenses I incur for buying gifts and cakes for consultancy staff, friends, and hosts in Australia are clubbed under it.

In total, I have spent Nu.22,312.50. However, I haven’t included scanning, printing, faxing, IELTS, etc, in it.

Settlement Fund

This is the money to settle down in Australia. It’s for initial expenses like rental, registration, SIM, fuel, car, training, etc.

I took Nu.2.5M but used Nu.1.5M. We need to survive on this until we get jobs and start earning for basic expenses.

I will let my wife do Certificate III training in PCA, aged care, or child care. It would take at least Nu.250,000. I will not account for now.

Summary

Is it expensive to move to Australia for further studies with families? Hell yeah. Nu.3,061,325.41 isn’t small by any standard.

Would I be able to lower the expense if I don’t bring my kids? You know it. But I can’t leave them, even though I was tempted a few times.

Is it worth it? I can’t tell it. I have just started. How long it’s gonna take me to realize it? I can’t tell it either.

Are you planning to come to Australia? How would your plan be different from mine to reduce your expenses? 

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