Australia relaxes its visa rules for international students

Knight Review on Student Visas:

“It’s time to fulfill your dream to study in Australia – as getting visa for studying in Australia will be easier from 2012!”

The revised visa system is proposed to brand Australia as an attractive place to study and work – a desired destination for International students. It means less tiresome process for students and relaxed Financial and English Language requirements to apply visa. The changes in the rule are expected to be implemented early 2012.
Under the new student visa regulations International students will have greater prospect to gain Australian post study work experience for a period of 2 to 4 years, and enjoy better, faster, streamline student visas options.
The new relaxed visa regime will benefit students from countries like India, China, Indonesia, Vietnam, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka.

1. Changes in English language requirement:

Implementation of Alternative English Language Tests for Student Visas other than IELTS

1 Test of English as a Foreign Language internet-based test (TOEFL iBT)
2 Pearson Test of English (PTE) Academic.
3 Cambridge English: Advanced Test CAE (also known as Certificate in Advanced English)

The department will be able to accept test scores from the alternative English Language tests for student visa applications for all countries lodged on or after 5 November 2011.

This is really a boon to the students who wants to pursue their higher education in Australia. Earlier one has to pass IELTS only for their higher education in Australia, now they can apply for Australia with other English Language Tests.

2. Reduction in financial requirements for International Student visa applicants.

The new changes would mean that students will have to show fewer funds in order to obtain the student visa for higher education sector.

The funds are required to be only three months old as against the six-month requirement.”

The new rule will also allow students to be sponsored by any individual against the current legal requirement for Higher education sector. For VET sector that limits the sponsorship to the applicant’s spouse, parents, siblings, grandparents and uncle by meeting certain criterion.

Financial Requirements for the International Student Visa Applicants were reduced in the following way:
• Evidence of funds for VET sector applicants reduced from 36 to 24 months and, if evidence is being presented as a cash deposit, their savings history reduced from 6 to 3 months.
• Evidence of funds for Higher Education sector has reduced from 24 to 18 months.

Now students need to show up to $36,000 less in the bank for applying for a visa.

These changes will increase the Competitiveness of International Educational Sector by reducing the requirement for financial evidence. These changes are going to reduce the fraud financial documentation and make the process easy and genuine for the genuine students.

3. The Genuine Temporary Entrant (GTE) requirement:

It is proposed that student visa applicants must satisfy both a GTE and a Genuine Student to be granted a Visa.
A number of the proposed changes arising from the Strategic Review of the Student Visa Program would relax visa requirements for International Students
o Students will have to meet both the Genuine Student and the Genuine Temporary Entrant requirements.
o Student visa holders who have completed their studies and not obtained a further visa will be required to depart Australia.
o Applications lodged before the commencement of the proposed GTE requirement would be assessed according to the current provisions.

The GTE process will easily identify applicants seeking to exploit the student visa program, for example those, whose main purpose is to work, will have their applications refused.

4. Visa Extension for Higher Degree Research (HDR) students:

All new Post graduate Research (Subclass 574) students’ will be granted six months additional visa period to allow them to complete their interactive marking of a thesis.

Stream lined processing has been implemented for HDR visas. With the new rules these HRD students will be provided with additional 3 or
4 years post study work visa along with unlimited work rights during the study.

Lot more facilities are provided to the International research students . The universities are funded to provide scholarships to these students along with stipends .

6. Streamlined Visa Processing:

It is proposed that the Streamline Visa Processing arrangements will be implemented in the first half of 2012. The proposed implementation date would allow time to consult with Universities on their responsibilities under the arrangements.
Streamlined Visa processing would be available for students who package their non-university course with an eligible university course at the time when the offer of university enrollment is made.

Eligibility for Streamline Visa processing:
1 Bachelor degrees.
2 2 plus 2 (or 3 plus 1) arrangements with partner universities.
3 Masters degrees by coursework.
4 Masters degrees by research.
5 PhDs.

English Language Intensive Courses for Overseas Students (ELICOS) and/or foundation and other preparatory courses, including Vocational Education and Training (VET) courses, which are explicitly packaged with an eligible university course at the time when the offer of enrollment is made.

Semester or yearlong non-award courses at an Australian University as part of their home university’s degree course and/or as part of an agreed student exchange between Universities.

Under the proposed streamlined processing arrangements, Universities could be confident that the majority of their students would have their Visa applications processed quickly. In addition, student Visa applicants applying under the proposed streamlining arrangements would generally have reduced evidentiary requirements and faster process.

A student who pay the university fee ahead and also pay for the home stay , will be required show less financial balances. These applications will be treated as low risk profiles and are given special priority in clearing the applications.

Home Stay Arrangements:

Now the universities are asked to provide the home stay for the students. This process will make the student safer and will be staying close to the university. This is one of the main initiatives taken by the Australian government to check on the safety of the International students. The universities will be taking the responsibility of the safety of the student, when someone is taking university provided home stay.
From 5 November 2011, prepaid fees for formal home stay arrangements through education providers will be treated the same way.

7. Under the new rule all university students will be treated as ‘low risk’.

As the university is taking the responsibility of selecting genuine students on to their shoulders, It will become easy for the department to chose the right student to grant visa. That’s the reason; university students are termed as low risk students in the current legislation. The department is giving priority processing for those students who have pre-paid their university fee and the home stay fee. Students can lodge their application 4 months ahead of their start date of their university.

8. Work Permit for Students:

Students who have studied for a minimum of 2 years will be permitted work for 2 years who completed Bachelors or Masters in Australia and for master by research students can work for 3 years, and PHD students are eligible to get a work permit of 4 years.

9. Students who gain jobs in their relevant field of education have lot of opportunities to get settled in Australia through residency. The new changes will build a good platform for their career and helps them after completion of their academics to gain experience in the same country after studying. These changes will help the genuine students to have an edge over the non genuine students and gain appropriate visa to complete their dreams. Australia encourages the students with preceding professional skills to get settled and to contribute in clearing the skill shortage. There is high possibility for the merit students to get Permanent Residence in Australia and citizenship of Australia , if they are getting placed in the field they have chosen.

In the border perspective, the knight’s review is a positive boon for Indian students and their future career. It is always important to choose the right career pathway than selecting those careers which others choose.

Australia relaxes its visa rules for international students

53 thoughts on “Australia relaxes its visa rules for international students

  1. these rules is too good for those international students which Genuinely want to do higher education in Australia………
    this is very vital step of Australian govt to encourage
    the international students. my best wishes for international students who really want to study in Australia. It is good opportunity……
    thanking u
    Gurpreet singh sandal

    1. Hello Sajjad,
      Doing MD in Australia is possible , but you need to be eligible for that course. It is also going to cost good as their are limited seats. But to advice you better , you need to provide us full information on your requirement. send me your details to dilip@futureinaustralia.com.

  2. when i saw this message, (Australia relax its visa rules for international student) i was not able to even believe my eyes. I am very happy with this message & i can’t explain it with words. I was thinking to apply student visa in australia and i was not able to show $36000 in my account. There was a dream in my mind, to migrate to australia to study,work &enjoy the life style of Australians &see the beauty of the country. Sometimes my dream will come true due to this new changes in visa rules. Thank you

  3. my son finished his masters studies in an australian uni. but have not completed his thesis. his student visa expires on 3 march. initially he intends to apply for pr after finishing his thesis. with the new ruling, how can this be achieved? how can he get a student visa extension first before applying for pr?
    how much is the total cost (no hidden cost) to engage a professional visa agent to process pr application? is there a partial application eg just for legal affairs etc …

    1. Hello Christine,
      We can help your son in getting his student visa extension. Please send his details to dilip@futureinaustralia.com to start the process.

      Name :
      Address:
      Phone number:
      university he is studying:

      once we have the information , we can go further on his application. we can also help him for his pr process.

      with regards

      Dilip nooney

        1. Hello Ahmed,
          As per the new rules you can work 40hr’s / fortnight that is 14 days under the student visa conditions. The limitations is you need to have 80% of attendance in the college you are studying.

          dilip nooney

  4. I want to future study in Australia . I search the commerce study university in ” Charles Darwin University”
    so what is the requriment list. and which intake can apply for.

  5. Thank you Australia for new rules of international students
    I want to know that i applied visit visa for 3 months to Australia last November to visit my sister but it was not accepted.Now i am going to apply student visa via a registered agency.I already got the offer letters.but i am afraid that because of my visit visa rejection i will not able to get the student visa.Is there any possibility to reject my student visa because of that reason?

    1. Hello Anji,
      Based on the reason to reject your visit visa, the possibilities of your student visa rejection will depends. Send us across the rejection letter which you have received during your visit application. We will be able to advice you better.

  6. hi guys i recently got married and now planing to apply for student visa .just wanted to know is that easy to get settled there after completing Ur studies in australia as my aim is to get pr and can i take my wife with me ?

  7. I wanted to pursue my masters from australia. I wanted to know if the 2 years minimum period required for a student to obtain the PSW should be from the same field or it can be from two different fields. For example is it required that we do two year’s masters in the same field or we can go for one year masters in one field and the other year in the other field to obtain the PSW? I am referring to the masters by coursework.

  8. I want to apply for student visa again . my visa is already refused before, they pointed it on my interview bases..i was not ready for the interview, not confident aswell. simply you can say i was not prepared for the interview. but after the interview they given me the pre- visa, and after providing then the coe from the university they refused my visa.. but i wanted to apply again can u plz suggest me..

      1. hello, as i told u before that my student visa was refused can i apply again.i have mailed u my refusal letter also but u have not replied…then, what i did is , i applied online for offer letter, i received the offer letter, the university is saying to pay the fees and after payment they will issue me a Ecoe..

        can u please suggest me that why university has not taken my interview and they have not even asked for the financial document….and if i will pay my fees that means according to new rules in immigration website, i am eligible for streamline processing..

        please help me and guide me for further….Thankyou..

  9. hey guys,i want to study bachelor in nursing so i applied student visa on 16th February but my visa was Refused saying that the applicant is not a genuine and want to stay here but i am not satisfied with the reasons because my intention is to gain good certificate which would be sold all over the countries,hoping to get positive response from you …………….thank u

  10. hello sir at present now im pursuing b.tech final year. and i want to do my masters progaram in austrila. so will u tell me is there any visa interview for get into austrila. and more over to say is can i get the part-time job there to survey my living expences………….so plz give me repy sir

    thanking you.

  11. Hi, I am a student from Singapore studying in Melbourne. I received 1.5 years exemption for my 3 year degree program, which means, I’ll be graduating by end of this year. So I was wondering if I stand a stand a chance to work in Australia after my graduation?

    1. Hello Hakim,
      No you do not get eligible for the 485 application nor for the post study work visa under the current circumstances.

      with regards

      Dilip Nooney

  12. Dear Sir,

    Can I get 1 year student visa for 2 year master degree by research, while showing funds for 1 year living expenses and 1 year tuition fee?? And can I extend my visa again for more 1 year??

  13. my cousin applied for student visa in australia in 2008 in hospitality management. but it was rejected. then he went to london and done diploma in BBA. after returning he again applied for australia for completing the degree course in carrick institute bt it was rejected again.so now is it possible to get australian visa if he applies and how?

  14. Hi there, does online study the Open Universities constitute as study if under a full time study load?
    After two years can I apply for permanant residency?

    1. Hello Eri,
      No the online study or open university study will not give you those additional points for the PR. But you can always lodge your EOI application if you have sufficient points. If you need to get your skills and eligibility assessed. Send your details to info@futureinaustralia.com

      With regards

      Dilip Nooney

  15. Hello sir,
    i got admission in University of Ballarat and i gone threw a consultancy and they are saying that i need to apply for 25lakhs of study loan…
    will the bank give that much of loan??
    and what is the need of showing that much amount , the tuition fee per semester is of only 8,000AUD only…
    so its 16,000$ per year..
    and what about living expenses(travelling, accommodation,food,etc,..) , how much it will be???…

    please let me know soon, waiting for your response…
    thanks in advance….

    1. Hello Naresh,
      The funds which are need to be shown, will depend on whether you are filing under streamlined process or regular process. Under streamlined process you need to show the funds to university and not to the department of immigration. You are requested to show only limited financial documents to the department in response to streamlined process.

      with regards

      Dilip Nooney

  16. hello every one i,m shaz from pakistan i was aply australian student visa in unsw university in may 2012 i have 5.5 band in ielts but the conslate is refused my visa the reason is u r a pakistani nd i,m doubt if u come our country then u,ll not come back in your country after till comlition your study……what is this yaarrr it is right reason
    what u think ?????????????

  17. Hi
    I am planing for MS in Computing(Database management) one year course work, 2013 intake, I have past 1.4 years work experience in reputed IT comp and very good academic profile in my Graduate(BTech). Will i be eligible for PSW or job search? How do things go if i want to work there for an year or two?

    Thank You

  18. Hie.I want to apply for a student visa .i stay in zimbabwe but I would like to do my course at a college.is it possible for me to be granted a visa ,also what are the financial requirements like.thanks

    1. Hello Tanya,
      Yes you can study in Australia in a college. The financial requirements can be advised based on the course you are taking and the IELTS score you have.

      with regards

      Dilip

  19. Hi,

    I want to study in Australia. I come across one information i.e. once I am accepted as a student in Australian university then before applying for student visa, I have to pay one year fee in advance to that institute. And in most institutes, if I am refused to get visa then institute will refund my fee but they will take few percent of my fee i.e. I will not receive the exact amount which I paid. Is it true? Please help me.

    Kind regards

  20. hello i want to ask that me and my wife are willing to apply in australia this august.I see from this page that financial requirements for VET are 36000 AUD for 2 years.so if me and my wife applies for student visa (not a streamlined visa ) how much do i have to show 36000$ + 36000$ + *tution fees* or 36000$ + 13030$ + *tution fees*?? Please advise. thank you

    1. Hello Shiplu,
      Your calculation is wrong. It is 18,600 for the primary applicant and 8000 fro the secondary applicant. I hope now you will get the correct figures.

      with regard

      Dilip

  21. hi.i hv applied for student visa of nz . but i hv returned back to india after two months without completing studies. now i hv done m.sc maths with 68 % marks. if i want to apply for australian student visa then i will get a visa easily or not

    1. Hello Nav,
      The Australian visa will depends on your financial and educational circumstances. It also depends on the course you take .

      with regards

      Dilip

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