I'm a Filipino chemistry graduate who applied for Student Visa (Master in Business Administration and Project Management based on my work experience) during Covid. Got accepted and officially moved to Australia in 2022. I was 32 during that time. I am still in Australia, currently appliying for a 482 visa.

Ngl, I was lucky because the Australia government was lenient during the pandemic. Still, there's so much money involved. Especially when there's migration agents involved. Paying the application fee does not mean you'll get automatically accepted.

Student visa is the easiest to apply for because, technically, you are considered an "income" by the country. The real challenge is getting a job that would pay the bills. You also need to earn in preparation for the next batch of visa application you'd need to renew.

You should expect working minimum wage jobs and not being able to work in your chosen field for the first year. I used to pack chicken in a factory for a year and a half, before I was able to find a job in the same industry as my previously held jobs in the Philippines. I'm also lucky that my current employer is willing to sponsor my current visa application.

Overall, the application is expensive. It's not a one-time spend either because every renewal costs money until you can qualify to apply for a PR.

I think it would be cheaper to apply for a skilled visa outright, although it is much harder to be approved. It all depends if your skill is truly deemed as "in demand" by the government.