Photo: Collected
Australia will tighten its visa requirements for foreign students starting on Saturday (23 March) including by introducing new language requirements, and empower the government to "suspend high risk education providers" as net overseas migration reaches a record high, growing 60% in a year, Interior Minister Clare O'Neil said on Thursday (21 March).
In the year ending September 30, 2023, net overseas migration in Australia rose by 206,500 to a record 548,800 people, whereas the natural increase stood at 111,000, the data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics showed.
"This Saturday 23 March, the Government will deliver on key commitments made in the Migration Strategy ... English language requirements for student and graduate visas will be increased to improve the quality of students’ education experience and to reduce potential workplace exploitation," O'Neil said in a statement.
The new regulation raises English language requirements for student visas "from IELTS 5.5 to 6.0 and for graduate visas from IELTS 6.0 to 6.5"
Also, a new "Genuine Student Test," aimed at further cracking down "on international students looking to come to Australia primarily to work, rather than study," will be introduced. Students will be asked about their "study intentions," "economic circumstances," and for a declaration "that they understand what it means to be a genuine student."
Moreover, the government will increase the implementation of "no further stay" conditions for visitor visas and will be granted "the ability to suspend high risk education providers from recruiting international students."
Messenger/Mumu
