On June 12, 2024, the Australian Government announced new restrictions on Student Visas to prevent ‘visa hopping,’ which will come into effect on July 1, 2024. These changes aim to strengthen the integrity of the Student Visa program.
Affected Visa Holders
The new restrictions will impact various visa holders, including those with:
- Subclass 485 (Temporary Graduate)
- Subclass 600 (Visitor)
- Subclass 601 (Electronic Travel Authority)
- Subclass 602 (Medical Treatment)
- Subclass 651 (eVisitor)
- Subclass 771 (Transit)
- Subclass 988 (Maritime Crew)
- Subclass 995 (Diplomatic Temporary) – primary visa holders only
- Subclass 403 (Temporary Work) International Relations – Domestic Worker (Diplomatic or Consular) stream
- Subclass 426 (Domestic Worker (Temporary) – Diplomatic or Consular)
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Addressing Visa Hopping
The restrictions on Australian Visitor Visa holders aim to address the trend of individuals using this pathway to circumvent offshore student visa integrity measures. Over 36,000 applications were made through this pathway from July 2023 to May 2024.
Temporary Graduate Visa Holders
Temporary Graduate Visa holders will also face restrictions from applying for Student Visas onshore. This change aims to encourage graduates to find skilled jobs or pursue other visa pathways, addressing the issue of ‘permanently temporary’ international students.
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Changes to Post-Study Work Rights
Effective July 1, 2024, post-study work rights will be reduced. For the Graduate Work stream (renamed Post-Vocational Education Work stream), the stay period will be up to 18 months, with Hong Kong or British National Overseas passport holders potentially staying up to 5 years. For the Post-Study Work stream (renamed Post-Higher Education Work stream), the 2-year extension for select degrees will end, with most visa holders allowed up to 3 years, and up to 5 years for Hong Kong and British National Overseas passport holders. Indian nationals may stay up to 4 years under the Australia-India Economic Cooperation and Trade Agreement.
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Age Limit and English Language Requirements
The age limit for both streams will be reduced from 50 to 35 years. Additionally, increased English language requirements, implemented in March, will apply.
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Sustainable Migration Strategy
These changes support the Australian Government’s Migration strategy to bring migration levels to a sustainable level, aiming to halve net overseas migration to 268,000 places in the next financial year, down from 528,000 places in 2022-23.
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