The Department of Home Affairs (DHA) has issued a Student Visa Integrity Alert for Education Providers raising its concerns about emerging risks it has identified in the student visa program. The risks, DHA says, are influencing the behaviour of prospective students and agents “seeking to exploit Australia’s immigration system”.
These risks include:
- Student visa applicants using fraudulent passport details to gain Confirmation of Enrolments (CoEs), particularly in higher education, including targeting the Group of Eight.
- Promotion of changes to Evidence Levels in September that misrepresent the Evidence Level Framework and open the student visa program to non-genuine students.
- Agent incentivisation to drive demand, regardless of supporting documentation or concern for the long-term effect on attrition and retention.
- Although not limited to South Asian markets, the Alert says that these factors are noted in this region which is also showing current growth.
In response, DHA reminds providers of their responsibilities in managing integrity in the student visa program and its expectation that providers are verifying the identity of their applicants.
It also strongly (DHA’s emphasis) recommends that education providers verify all supporting documents, particularly English, financial, and identity documents before issuing CoEs.
A copy of the Student Visa Integrity Alert for Education Providers is available here.
