Hi there,

I'm from Ireland and considering doing a masters at the Uni of Melbourne. My dad is from there and my citizenship application will take around 5 months which could be in time for the July intake to apply as an Australian Citizen.

I will be funding the masters on my own so will need to secure a bursary or scholarship of some type before accepting my offer otherwise it just won't be feasible. :(

From a financing perspective, can anyone advise if there is any real benefit to me waiting to apply as a citizen? Are there benefits to applying as a international student?

There seem to be more scholarships and bursaries available to Australian citizens. What other financing options are there?

I would be so so grateful for any guidance on this and look forward to hearing about your experiences!