Sending a child abroad to study is one of the biggest financial and emotional commitments a Gujarati family makes, and the visa is the gate everything else waits behind. The UK, Canada, and Australia remain the three most popular English-speaking destinations for Indian students, and while each runs its own system, they all revolve around the same three pillars: proof that a genuine institution has accepted you, proof that you can pay for it, and proof that you are a genuine student who will comply with the rules. Getting a study visa is a high-stakes, detail-heavy process where a small documentation slip can cost a semester. This guide gives students and parents a clear overview of how each country's route works in 2026, and where Explera fits in — we handle the travel, forex, and insurance side, not admissions.
The UK Student visa: CAS, funds, and IHS
The UK's Student visa (the route formerly called Tier 4) starts once a licensed university issues you a CAS — a Confirmation of Acceptance for Studies, a reference number tied to your specific course offer. You then prove you can pay your first year's tuition plus living costs (a set monthly maintenance amount that differs for London and outside London), with the money typically held in an accessible account for a continuous 28-day period. A distinctive UK cost is the Immigration Health Surcharge (IHS), paid upfront as part of the application, which buys you access to the National Health Service for the length of your visa. Most Indian students also sit an approved English test unless exempt. Because the UK visa journey shares so much groundwork with a visitor application, our UK visa guide from Gujarat is useful background reading before you begin, and when you are ready you can review the route on our UK visa page.
The Canada study permit: PAL, GIC, and proof of funds
Canada issues a study permit rather than a "student visa," and the process has tightened notably. Alongside a Letter of Acceptance from a Designated Learning Institution, most applicants now need a Provincial Attestation Letter (PAL) — provincial or territorial confirmation that your spot counts within Canada's capped intake. On funds, Canada raised the cost-of-living requirement, and the popular route to prove it is a Guaranteed Investment Certificate (GIC) from a Canadian bank, alongside evidence for tuition. As of 2026 these rules are evolving quickly, so verify the current PAL and proof-of-funds figures with the official source. If part of your family is also considering a visit while your child studies, our Canada visitor visa guide from Gujarat and the Canada visa page explain the visitor side.
The Australia student visa (subclass 500): CoE, GTE, and OSHC
Australia's Student visa (subclass 500) begins with a Confirmation of Enrolment (CoE) from your institution. Two Australia-specific requirements stand out: you must satisfy the Genuine Student requirement (the successor to the older Genuine Temporary Entrant test), showing through a statement and evidence that your primary purpose is genuine study, and you must hold Overseas Student Health Cover (OSHC) for the full duration of your stay. You will also meet an English-language threshold and demonstrate financial capacity for tuition, living, and travel. Australia has adjusted its financial-capacity figures and student-integrity rules recently, so treat any number as provisional and confirm current settings. Our Australia visitor visa guide from India and the Australia visa page cover the visitor route for family members.
Financial documentation is where applications live or die
Across all three countries, funds are scrutinised harder than almost anything else, and vague or last-minute money is the fastest path to refusal. Officers want to see that the money is genuinely yours, has a clear source (salary, business income, sale of property, an education loan), and has been available rather than parked in your account the week before you applied. Assemble bank statements, loan sanction letters, income-tax returns, and property or fixed-deposit papers into a clean, consistent story, and make sure the figures reconcile with each other. Because so much of the funding often moves as forex once the student is abroad, our forex and money guide for international travel from India explains the LRS limit and the TCS that applies to overseas education remittances.
English tests: which one, and when
All three destinations accept recognised English-language tests, with IELTS the long-standing favourite for Indian students, though PTE Academic and TOEFL are widely accepted and the Occupational English Test features for some healthcare courses. The score you need depends on the institution and course level, not just the visa, so check the specific requirement of your offer letter before booking a test date. Book early — test slots fill up in peak admission seasons — and remember that some universities and pathway programmes offer their own English assessments or exemptions. Your test result usually needs to be valid and recent at the time of both admission and visa lodgement.
Can dependants come along?
Rules on bringing a spouse or children have tightened across the board and now depend heavily on your course. In the UK, dependants are generally restricted to students on postgraduate research programmes or government-sponsored courses, so most taught master's students can no longer bring family. Canada and Australia have their own evolving conditions on spousal work rights and dependant eligibility, often linked to study level. This is a fast-moving, high-stakes area, so confirm the current dependant rules with the official immigration source or a licensed education consultant before you plan around them — do not rely on what was true a year ago.
Where Explera helps — and where it does not
To be clear about our role: Explera is a travel agency, not an admissions or immigration-advice service, so we do not secure university offers, file study-permit applications, or give regulated migration advice. What we do handle is everything around the journey — booking student flights from Gujarat's airports, arranging forex and travel money for the move, sorting the travel insurance that covers the flight and initial days before campus health cover kicks in, and helping parents plan their own visit visas later. If parents want to attend a graduation or settle their child in, our NRI parents family visit visa guide covers that route, and our team at the visa desk in Surat can point you to the right official resources.
Frequently asked questions
Which country is easiest for an Indian student — UK, Canada, or Australia? There is no single easiest; each rewards a well-documented, genuine application with proven funds, and difficulty depends far more on your profile and course than on the country. Verify current rules for each before deciding.
How much bank balance do I need to show? It varies by country, city, and course, and all three have raised their living-cost figures recently, so use the official published amount for your programme rather than an old number. Our forex and money guide explains how that money moves abroad under LRS.
Does Explera file my student visa? No — we handle flights, forex, and insurance for your move, not admissions or immigration filing; for the visa itself, work with the official source or a licensed education consultant, and reach our visa desk for the travel side.
Planning the travel, money, and insurance around a study-abroad move from Surat? Message Explera on WhatsApp or contact our team — we will get the flights, forex, and cover sorted so your family can focus on the admission, and we will always point you to the official immigration source for the visa rules themselves.
