IMMIGRATION NEWS & UPDATES

 

Please refer to the following link for Immigration News & Updates

https://immi.homeaffairs.gov.au/news-media

20 Dec 2024

Changes to onshore Student visa applications from 1 January 2025

https://immi.homeaffairs.gov.au/news-media/archive/article?itemId=1283

From 1 January 2025, the Department of Home Affairs will no longer accept Letters of Offers from individuals applying in Australia for a Student visa. Onshore applicants will be required to include a Confirmation of Enrolment (CoE) at the time of application. The change will only impact applications lodged on or after 1 January 2025. Visa applications lodged before that date using only a Letter of Offer from an education provider are not affected.

Not providing a CoE at the time of application will make an application invalid. Visa decision makers cannot assess an invalid application. An associated Bridging visa cannot be granted where the substantive visa application is not valid.

This change will align the requirements to provide evidence of an intended course of study for both onshore and offshore Student visa applications. Providing a CoE at time of visa application demonstrates a stronger commitment by the student to study at that institution. This will increase certainty for Australia’s international education sector.

There is no change to the alternative forms of evidence of intended course of study for Foreign Affairs, Defence or secondary exchange students.

Visa holders in Australia are responsible for ensuring they maintain a lawful status. If you are intending to study and not able to obtain a CoE before your current visa expires, you will need to either depart Australia or Explore other visa options. However, there are now restrictions to applying for a Student visa while in Australia when holding certain visas. For more information see Ending ‘visa hopping’ in the migration system.

Wednesday, 12 June 2024 Media release

https://minister.homeaffairs.gov.au/ClareONeil/Pages/ending-visa-hopping-migration-system.aspx

Ending ‘visa hopping’ in the migration system

A key commitment in the Migration Strategy, released last year, was to restrict ‘visa hopping’ – ending the loopholes that allow students and other temporary visa holders to continuously extend their stay in Australia, in some cases indefinitely.

As noted in the Migration Strategy, the numbers of international students staying in Australia on a second, or subsequent student visa has grown by over 30 per cent to more than 150,000 in 2022–23.

Peter McDonald, a renowned Australian demographer, recently said that severely curtailing visa hopping by accepting fewer visa applications from people already in the country would better manage population growth than cuts to the permanent migration intake.

The Government has already taken action to address this, by using no further stay conditions on visitor visas and through the Genuine Student requirement implemented in March which has stopped thousands of students from hopping from student visa to student visa unless there is credible course progression. This complements more than a dozen other policies already implemented that are helping restore integrity in the international student system, such as ending unrestricted work rights and the former Government’s COVID visa.

On 1 July 2024, the Albanese Government is taking this a step further.

Firstly, Visitor Visa holders will not be able to apply for Student Visas onshore. The visitor to student pathway has become increasingly prevalent, with over 36,000 applications since 1 July 2023 to the end of May 2024.

This measure closes a pathway that has been used to attempt to subvert the Government’s strengthened offshore student visa integrity measures.

Secondly, Temporary Graduate Visa holders will not be able to apply for Student Visas onshore. In their recent Graduates in Limbo report, the Grattan Institute found that 32 per cent of Temporary Graduate Visa holders are returning to study when their visa expires in order to prolong their stay in Australia.

This change makes it clear that graduates should be finding skilled jobs and becoming permanent residents or departing the country when they are more likely to become ‘permanently temporary’.

These changes support a range of other changes that are being implemented for Temporary Graduate visa holders on 1 July. These include significantly shorter post-study work rights, reduced age limits from 50 to 35 years of age, and increased English language requirements which were implemented in March.

Together, these changes will continue to reduce net overseas migration, with the Government on-track to halve net overseas migration by next financial year.

19 Dec 2024

Ministerial Direction No. 111 (priority for student visa processing)

https://immi.homeaffairs.gov.au/news-media/archive/article?itemId=1282

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CSOL Core Skills Occupational List 3.12.2024

https://immi.homeaffairs.gov.au/news-media/archive/article?itemId=1273

07 Dec 2024

Smoother road to permanent residence for skilled sponsored workers

https://immi.homeaffairs.gov.au/visas/web-evidentiary-tool

Student Visa Document Checklist Tool – 6.12.2024