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Post by Admin on Jul 1, 2024 12:49:06 GMT
SYDNEY -- Australia on Monday more than doubled visa fees for students from overseas, while reducing the time such pupils can remain in the country after graduating, as part of broader moves to curb migration.
Fees will rise from 710 to 1,600 Australian dollars ($474 to $1,070), with the government saying the increased revenues will fund migration and education initiatives announced in the recent budget, such as supporting vocational training and providing fee-free university courses.
The Australian government announced on the 1st that it will double the student visa application fee from July. This is a series of measures to curb the number of immigrants who have increased rapidly after the coronavirus pandemic restrictions were lifted.
Student visa application fees will increase from A$710 to A$1,600 (US$1,068). That's far more expensive than the roughly $185 price tag in the U.S. and the $150 Canadian dollar (about $110 USD) in Canada.
"The changes that come into effect today will help restore the integrity of Australia's international education system and build a fairer, smaller and better immigration system," Home Secretary O'Neill said.
Since the lifting of coronavirus restrictions in 2022, annual immigration numbers have increased to record levels. In response, the government has been tightening requirements for student visas since the end of last year, and in March raised the English proficiency requirement for studying abroad. Additionally, in May, the amount of savings required for international students to obtain a visa was increased.
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Post by Admin on Jul 1, 2024 12:52:05 GMT
Australia had a net gain of 528,000 people from migration in 2022-23, due to an increase in arrivals since Covid restrictions lifted, particularly driven by international students and workers on temporary visas.
May’s budget projects that this number will fall to 260,000 in 2024-25, as the government applies a series of measures to reduce arrivals, including caps on international student numbers.
Rizvi and the chief executive of the International Education Association, Phil Honeywood, both predicted a decrease in applications from prospective students, with Australia’s fees out of kilter with international competitors.
“It’s really poor, short-term thinking,” Rizvi said. “We’re actually shooting ourselves in the foot: the people it will deter will tend to be good students with options.”
Honeywood said the fee increase, on top of a visa crackdown and proposed student caps, equated to “death by 1,000 cuts”.
“Already as a result of the caps announcement we have massive job layoffs happening,” he said, citing losses at IDP Education last month of about 6% of its global workforce.
“Many other providers are terminating employees. This isn’t just a massive hit to the Australian economy but real people with real jobs.”
He added: “It’s nothing to do with quality [of students], it’s all about trying to find a new revenue source to fund the Universities Accord implementation. They’ve taken the easy route.
“Four in 10 visas are now being refused. It becomes a lottery ticket – why would you waste that much money when you have more surety of going to the USA?”
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Post by Admin on Jul 1, 2024 13:16:59 GMT
Most recently Australia has restricted so-called ‘visa hopping’. Visitor visa holders will not be able to apply for student visas within Australia, putting paid to the 36,000 applications received between July 2023 and May 2024.
Plus, to quote the media release from Clare O’Neil, minister for home affairs and cyber security: “Temporary Graduate Visa Holders will not be able to apply for Student Visas whilst onshore. In their recent Graduates in Limbo report, the Grattan Institute found that 32% of Temporary Graduate Visas Holders are returning to study when their visa expires to prolong their stay in Australia.”
In addition, Australian Minister for Education Jason Clare recently told Sky News that a lot of universities, in particular the smaller universities, have advocated for the government to set a level or cap student enrolments for each and every year to mitigate the risk of significant fluctuations. The minister did not reveal which universities had called for this course of action.
As University World News has reported, the Australian government has inserted a proposal for capping international student numbers into its draft International Education and Skills Strategic Framework.
Not only that, but there are also rumours that Australia may be planning to remove some business, management and marketing courses from the Commonwealth Register of Institutions and Courses for Overseas Students.
In December 2023, during his speech at the EduSummit in Sydney, MP Julian Hill announced a significant policy shift: the Australian government is planning to reduce the number of international students enrolled in business, management and marketing courses.
This revelation has sparked intense debate and speculation within the education sector, particularly concerning how this change will be implemented.
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