19 Decemember 2024
Attention Australian international students! A new directive, Direction No. 111, Assistant Minister for Citizenship and Multicultural Affairs, Julian Hill, has been issued, prioritising the process for offshore Subclass 500 (Student) visa applications.
The Department of Home Affairs will prioritize applications based on the provider’s prioritisation threshold, with Priority 1-High given to applications associated with providers below this threshold. Once the threshold is reached, applications will default to Priority 2-Standard.
According to the document, the following offshore Subclass 500 (Student) visa applications are given high priority (Priority 1-High):
- Applications from higher education and vocational education and training sectors where new overseas student commencements constitute less than a provider’s prioritisation threshold.
- Applications from:
- School students
- Non-award sector students, including short-term exchange students
- Standalone ELICOS students
- Students enrolled with a TAFE Provider
- Students enrolled in Pilot Training Courses
- Students in postgraduate research courses
- Foreign Affairs Students, Defence Students, and students sponsored by the Commonwealth
- Students with foreign government, Australian Government, and state and territory scholarships that meet the criteria published on the Department of Education website
- Students from the Pacific and Timor-Leste
- Students enrolled in Transnational Education arrangements
- Subsequent entrants where an applicant is a minor (unmarried and under 18 at the time of application)
The immigration department has got rid of prioritising nations as low and high risk. For instance, previously Chinese universities students were seen as low risk because they did not overstay visas, while Indians and Nepalese were seen as high risks because they frequently broke visa conditions. There priorities have been dissolved.
It is difficult to know what this means but according to Australian media it is a way to slow down immigration via universities because once an institution reaches a thresh-hold there is a go-slow mandate. I think the bad news they are talking about targets big market international students (India, China, Nepal) who tend to all go to the same universities, and the same paths. Essentially, state media is criticising the government for finding a back door to reduce immigration because they didn’t have time to pass the legislation before the holiday break.
This might be good news for some students who wish to study in a regional university or a TAFE or ELICOS school, but their country was considered high risk.
According to a document released on announcement from Home Affairs, this prioritisation is not a cap on the number of visas granted but a method to manage processing efficiently. The order of priorities ensures that visa application decisions align with national interests and support the integrity of the visa program.
The release goes on to say that the primary goal of this new direction is to enhance the integrity and sustainability of the international Student visa program and the broader international education sector. It sets clear priorities for processing visa applications, taking into account the economic impact on education providers and the need for operational flexibility to manage surges or integrity concerns
I will elaborate and clarify on this in a later post, as soon as I have more information.
Read more Homeaffairs.gov.au
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