Australia greater than doubled the visa charge for worldwide college students on Monday in an obvious try to rein in document migration squeezing the housing market.
As of July 1, worldwide college students could be charged 1,600 Australian {dollars} ($1,068) as a visa charge, raised from AU$710, whereas customer visa holders and college students with non permanent graduate visas are banned from making use of onshore for a pupil visa.
“The changes coming into force today will help restore integrity to our international education system and create a migration system which is fairer, smaller and better able to deliver for Australia,” Home Affairs Minister Clare O’Neil stated in an announcement.
Official knowledge launched in March confirmed web immigration rose 60% to a document 548,800 folks within the yr to Sept. 30, 2023.
The rise in charges makes making use of for a pupil visa for Australia far costlier than in competing international locations just like the U.S. and Canada, the place they price about $185 and 150 Canadian {dollars} ($110) respectively.
The authorities stated it was additionally closing loopholes in visa guidelines that allowed international college students to constantly lengthen their keep in Australia, after the variety of college students on a second or subsequent pupil visa spiked by over 30% to greater than 150,000 in 2022-23.
The newest transfer follows a raft of actions since late final yr to tighten the scholar visa guidelines because the lifting of COVID-19 curbs in 2022 boosted annual migration to document ranges.
English language necessities have been tightened in March, whereas the quantity of financial savings worldwide college students must get a visa was raised in May to AU$29,710 from AU$24,505, the second enhance in about seven months.
Universities Australia CEO Luke Sheehy stated the federal government’s continued coverage stress on the sector would put the nation’s place of power in danger.
“This is not good for our economy or our universities, both of which rely heavily on international student fees,” Sheehy stated in an emailed response.
International training is one in all Australia’s largest export industries and was price AU$36.4 billion to the financial system within the 2022-2023 monetary yr.
Source: www.dailysabah.com