Groups Look Forward To 2011 Student Visa Review

Australian Student Visa - One of the most important immigration information for Australia that people planning to move into the country need to know is all about its educational system.

Last year, the Australian student visa program was one of the most talked about among the numerous immigration programs being handled by the Department of immigration and Citizenship. Indeed, the changes that the department has made on the program had a significant effect in the foreign student community. Thus, many incoming students from other countries are hoping that this year would be a good one to enroll in Australia.

It should be noted that the DIAC actually began implementing the changes in the student visa program since late 2009. However, it was during last year when the more major ones started to take effect. One of these major changes was the reorganization of the courses that can be granted visas under the program. The reorganization was a result of the revamp made in the related skilled migration program.

As there are a lot of foreign students enrolled in many of the courses that were removed, they have no choice but to return home to their countries. This has resulted in a significant drop in the number of enrollments in many tertiary institutions. In particular, the Indian foreign student population dropped from more than 100,000 to just around 29,000, the biggest drop during that year.

Another cause for the drop in the number of foreign students was the new set of requirements implemented for the program. One of these requirements is an increased level of English proficiency but, as many of these students come from non-English speaking countries, this certainly has become quite a problem for them. There is also the issue of increased financial requirements for student visa applicants.

Aside from the students themselves, the education industry has also been concerned about the effects of these changes into their business. As it is, these educational institutions derive a large part of their income from foreign students. The significant drop in the number of enrollments last year has certainly had and effect on them.

Thus, both these groups were relieved to learn that the DIAC will be conducting a review of the changes that they implemented last year. The announcement actually came in the midst of clamor coming from these groups to reverse these changes.

According to department officials, they are conducting the review in order to not only address the concerns of both groups, but also to assess which of these changes have indeed worked as they had hoped for. The department also said that this would be an opportunity for them to determine what kind of changes can still be done in the program.

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Foreign Students Feel The Effect Of Visa Changes

In Australia, student visa changes have caused quite a stir lately. Indeed, when the Department of Immigration and Citizenship announced early last year that they will be making changes to the student migration program, many predicted that it will have drastic effects. Now, it seems that all their worries are starting to come true.

It can be recalled the the DIAC started implementing the changes in an effort to align the student program with the new thrust of the Australian government for immigration. Here, the department decided to reorganize the list of courses that are eligible for visa application. In order to make way for more higher level courses, the DIAC removed around a hundred vocational courses from the list. The department also opted to impose a tougher set qualifications for those applying for a student visa

Upon the announcement of the new rules, many foreign students in the country protested, as they argue that these new rules are severely limiting their chance of entering the country. Many experts have also added that the new rules are likely to affect would be student visa applicants. And as it turns out, the number of applications has in fact started to decline, following the enactment of the new immigration setup.

In the last few months alone, the number of foreign students for the month of September has dropped by around 9 percent from the period last year. The drop is considered by many to be very significant, as the Australian foreign student industry has shown remarkable growth in the past decade.

And with that, it is not only the students who are getting worried about the way the foreign student program is going. The schools themselves are worried, mainly because they would be losing a major source of income. As it is,many of the tertiary education schools in the country count on foreign students for their main source of revenue.

To make matters worse, the foreign education sector has to deal with other problems. One of these is the competition posed by other countries in the foreign student market. In particular, both the United States and Britain are pushing hard to attract more foreign students into their fold.

Thus, many in the Australian foreign student sector are now clamoring for the government to remedy the situation. For their part, government officials have said that they are now trying to work closely with school heads in order to determine ways to attract more students. They have also said that they are considering a review of the current program to better assess what needs to be done more.

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