Australia Tightens Student Visa Applications: New Measures from July 1st
The Australian government is intensifying its efforts to curb visa hopping by international students, with new stringent measures set to take effect from July 1. These changes will impact various temporary visa holders, including those on Temporary Graduate, Visitor, and Maritime Crew visas, who will no longer be permitted to apply for a Student visa while in Australia. This shift is expected to affect thousands of overseas students currently residing in the country.
The primary objective behind these measures is to eliminate visa hopping, where international students extend their stay in Australia on temporary visas indefinitely.
Media Statement: Australian Home Minister
Ending ‘Visa Hopping’ in the Migration System
A key commitment in the Migration Strategy, released last year, was to restrict ‘visa hopping’ – closing loopholes that enable students and other temporary visa holders to continuously extend their stay in Australia, sometimes indefinitely. According to the Migration Strategy, the number of international students staying in Australia on a second or subsequent student visa has surged by over 30 percent, reaching more than 150,000 in 2022–23.
Peter McDonald, a renowned Australian demographer, recently suggested that severely curtailing visa hopping by accepting fewer visa applications from individuals already in the country would better manage population growth than reducing the permanent migration intake.
The government has already taken steps to address this issue by implementing no further stay conditions on visitor visas and through the Genuine Student requirement introduced in March. This requirement has prevented thousands of students from transitioning from one student visa to another unless there is credible course progression. These actions complement more than a dozen other policies aimed at restoring integrity to the international student system, such as ending unrestricted work rights and the former government’s COVID visa.
On July 1, the Albanese Government will further these efforts.
Key Changes Effective July 1
- Visitor Visa Holders: Starting July 1, Visitor Visa holders will no longer be able to apply for Student Visas onshore. The pathway from visitor to student visa has become increasingly common, with over 36,000 applications recorded between July 1, 2023, and the end of May 2024. This measure aims to close a pathway used to bypass the government’s reinforced offshore student visa integrity measures.
- Temporary Graduate Visa Holders: Similarly, Temporary Graduate Visa holders will be prohibited from applying for Student Visas onshore. According to the Grattan Institute’s “Graduates in Limbo” report, 32 percent of Temporary Graduate Visa holders return to study when their visa expires to extend their stay in Australia. This change emphasizes that graduates should either find skilled jobs and become permanent residents or depart the country, avoiding the state of being ‘permanently temporary.’
These modifications support a series of other changes for Temporary Graduate visa holders effective from July 1. These include significantly shorter post-study work rights, reduced age limits from 50 to 35 years, and increased English language requirements implemented in March.
Collectively, these changes aim to reduce net overseas migration, with the government on track to halve net overseas migration by the next financial year.
Quotes Attributable to Minister for Home Affairs and Cyber Security Clare O’Neil
“The migration system we inherited was completely broken, and our goal is to build a smaller, better planned, more strategic migration system that works for Australia.
“Our Migration Strategy outlines a clear plan to close the loopholes in international education and this is the next step in delivering that plan.
“We need a migration system which delivers the skills we need, but doesn’t trade in rorts, loopholes, and exploitation.”
Conclusion
The new measures reflect Australia’s commitment to creating a more structured and fair migration system. By tightening the rules around student visas, the government aims to ensure that international education contributes positively to the country without being exploited as a means to extend temporary stays indefinitely. These changes underscore the importance of maintaining integrity and strategic planning within Australia’s migration policies.
