After you're selected

Congratulations on being selected! There is still some work to do before you leave. Read every letter from the provider carefully: each one tells you what to do and by when.

1. Read the offer before you accept it

You get an offer letter, and often a contract or agreement. These papers say what the scholarship pays for. They also say what you promise to do in return. Read everything. If something is not clear, ask the provider before you sign.

Check these points:

• What the scholarship pays for (tuition, flights, allowance, health cover) and what it does not pay for.
• The date you must start.
• What happens if you fail a subject or want to change course.
• Your obligations (what you must do) after your studies.

Obligations: coming back home

Many scholarships for Ni-Vanuatu students ask you to come back to Vanuatu after your studies. These are the obligations written for the scholarships on this site:

• ADB–Japan Scholarship Program
  • You must return to Vanuatu and work there for at least two years after your studies.
• Chevening Scholarships (UK)
  • You must return to Vanuatu for at least two years after your scholarship ends.
• Commonwealth Fellowships (United Kingdom)
  • You sign an undertaking to go back to Vanuatu and to your employer after the fellowship.
• Commonwealth Master's Scholarships (UK)
  • You must return home at the end of the award and sign an undertaking to do so. You cannot switch to another UK visa after your studies.
  • No paid work without CSC approval, and you must stay in the UK during the award unless the CSC agrees otherwise.
• Commonwealth Shared Scholarships (United Kingdom)
  • You sign an undertaking to go back to Vanuatu as soon as possible after the scholarship.
• Joint Japan/World Bank Graduate Scholarship Program (JJ/WBGSP)
  • You commit to returning to Vanuatu after your studies to use your skills for its development.
• Manaaki New Zealand Scholarships (tertiary)
  • You must contribute to Vanuatu's social or economic development for at least two years after your studies.
• USP Westpac Scholarship
  • Keep a GPA of 3.5 (B+) or above to keep the scholarship.

Your agreement explains what happens if you do not keep these promises. Read that part carefully. For example, Australia Awards Vanuatu says you must not stay in the country of study after the scholarship. This is against their rules and against immigration law.

2. Your visa

You need a student visa for the country where you will study. Some providers help you, but usually you make the visa application yourself. Australia Awards Vanuatu, for example, says that you prepare and send your own visa application. If your family comes with you, you also make their application. The Australia Awards team can answer your questions.

Apply only on official government websites or at the embassy. Never pay an agent who promises a faster visa.

Australia

The student visa is called subclass 500. The Australian Department of Home Affairs lists these conditions, among others:

• You apply online.
• You are enrolled in a course and have a Confirmation of Enrolment (CoE). Your provider or university gives you this document.
• You have Overseas Student Health Cover (OSHC), a health insurance, unless you are exempt.

New Zealand

Read the student visa pages of Immigration New Zealand. For the Manaaki New Zealand Scholarships (tertiary), the provider says: apply for the visa only after you accept your offer.

United Kingdom

Read the Student visa page on GOV.UK. The Chevening page for Vanuatu says there is no UK visa centre and no TB test in Vanuatu. Selected students must travel to another country for both. Chevening may pay back some of these costs: ask them.

France, New Caledonia and French Polynesia

You apply at the French Embassy in Port Vila. You must make an appointment and go in person. You pay the fee in cash, in vatu. You now need a visa for the French territories in the Pacific too. See Studying in French.

Other countries

Follow the instructions in your offer letter. Contact the embassy or high commission of that country for Vanuatu.

3. Health checks

Many visas need a medical check. Sometimes you also need a chest X-ray or a TB test. A doctor approved by the country where you will study must do it. Some checks are not possible in Vanuatu. Ask your provider early where to go. Book as soon as you know.

4. Before you leave

Use this checklist:

• Passport: it must be valid for your whole stay, and some months after. Check the rules.
• Documents: offer letter, visa, CoE or admission letter, certified copies of your diplomas and transcripts, birth certificate. Keep a scan of each one on your phone and in your email.
• Pre-departure briefing (a meeting before you leave): many providers organise one. Go, and bring your questions.
• Money: find out how and when you receive your allowance. Take enough money for the first weeks. Tell your bank that you are travelling.
• Health: keep your health insurance details. If you take medicine every day, take a letter from your doctor.
• Contacts: the student contact of your provider, the international office of your university, and the Vanuatu High Commission or Embassy in that country (if there is one).
• Housing: know where you will sleep the first nights, and how to get there from the airport.

5. When you arrive

Universities organise welcome weeks (orientation) for international students. Go to every session. You will learn how to enrol, use the library and get help. You will also meet other Pacific students.

If you have problems with money, study or health, or if you feel homesick, tell your provider or university early. Most problems are easier to solve when they are small.