From 1 July 2024, holders of a Visitor Visa in Australia will not be able to apply for a Student Visa onshore, in new rules announced today by the Minister for Home Affairs, the Hon Claire O’Neil MP.
Temporary Graduate Visa holders will also no longer be able to apply for Student Visas onshore.
According to the Minister, these changes are aimed at restricting visa hopping, “ending the loopholes that allow student and other temporary visa holders to continuously extend their stay in Australia”.
Over 36,000 student visa applications were received by the government from visitors onshore, between 1 July 2023 to the end of May 2024, with the Minister accusing applicants of attempting to “subvert the Government’s strengthened offshore student visa integrity measures”. No additional evidence is provided by the government to support this accusation.
The Grattan Institute found that 32 per cent of Temporary Graduate Visa holders are returning to study when their visa expires (Graduates in Limbo, October 2023). The report suggested that the return to study was to prolong the Temporary Graduate Visa holders time in Australia, and this has been used by the Government as a rationale for its decision that these visa holders will not be able to apply for Student Visas onshore.
One of the justifications given for the broader decision about restricting onshore visa applications raises a question in the minds of TKN. The announcement includes the figures that international students staying on a second or subsequent student visa grew by over 30 per cent, to more than 150,000 in 2022-23.
What the Minister does not make clear, however, is how many of these students were impacted by COVID-19 lockdowns, with visas expiring and new visas being required to complete their studies.
The announcement ends with “the Government is on-track to halve net overseas migration by next financial year”, leaving the international education sector to collective shake its head (again).
