From Lahore to Melbourne: A Pakistani Student's Real Experience in Australia

This account is shared by a Gohata Global student who completed a Master's in Information Technology at Monash University in Melbourne in 2024. She agreed to share her experience to help other Pakistani students understand what they are actually getting into.

Why Australia?

I chose Australia over the UK primarily because of the post-study work rights. The Temporary Graduate visa meant I could work in Australia in my field for two years after graduation, which was the plan I had built my entire financial model around. I also genuinely wanted to live somewhere different, not a place heavily associated with Pakistan's colonial history, which the UK carries for me in a complicated way. Australia felt genuinely new.

The GTE Statement

My visa application took two months longer than expected because the Department of Home Affairs requested additional information about my GTE, my genuine intention to return to Pakistan after completing my studies. I had made a mistake in my original statement that our counsellor at Gohata had warned me about: I had mentioned wanting to stay in Australia after graduation, which directly contradicts the GTE requirement. We submitted a supplementary statement explaining my career plans in Pakistan and the visa was issued three weeks later. This is exactly why getting the GTE statement right from the beginning is critical.

Melbourne: The First Month

Melbourne is a city of approximately five million people and it is genuinely one of the most liveable places in the world if you have money. As a student, you are constantly aware of the gap between what Melbourne can offer and what your student budget allows. I lived in a shared house in Clayton, near the Monash campus, with two other Pakistani students and one Malaysian student. Our combined monthly rent was AUD 2,400, AUD 600 each. This was cheap by Melbourne standards.

Part-Time Work

I worked 20 hours a week at a Woolworths supermarket from my second month. The work was not glamorous. I was frequently the most academically qualified person in the aisle. But the AUD 24 per hour I earned (including casual loading) covered my rent and food with some left over. The discipline of managing both work and a Master's programme was genuinely formative. My time management skills at 27 are significantly better than they were at 22.

What Actually Surprised Me

How international Australia is. Melbourne has Pakistani communities, mosques, halal supermarkets, Pakistani restaurants (Brunswick has an excellent one), and a social fabric where coming from Lahore is completely unremarkable. I expected to feel foreign. I mostly felt like one of many people from many different places who had chosen to be here, which, I came to understand, is what Australia is.