New Review Set For Australian Student Visa

With all the new jobs in Australia now available, a lot of people are now wanting to move into the country. And one of the groups that are trying their luck are the countless of foreign students that are wishing to land a good job after they graduate. However, with all the new rules and regulations being implemented int the Australia student visa program, this has become quite more difficult.

As can be recalled, the Department of Immigration and Citizenship began implementing the changes in the student visa program since early last year. Here, some of the major ones were that were done focused on the qualifications needed to get a visa. In particular, English proficiency was given special attention for foreign student applicants.

According to immigration officials, these moves are necessary in order to give out visas to those students that truly deserve these and also to ensure that quality of the student visa program. However, as expected, many people in the foreign student community have voiced their opposition to the changes. According to them, these have unfairly limited their chances of being able to study in the country.

And as it turns out, it was not only the students themselves who are airing their concerns against the changes that w4ere being implemented by the DIAC. School officials have also said that they are also affected by the changes. They pointed out that, because of these changes, many students coming from abroad are now having second thoughts on whether they should continue studying in the country. This, in turn has caused foreign enrollments in the various tertiary education institutions to drop. Thus, these schools have joined the students in calling for a review of these new rules.

In response, the Federal government said that they will be conducting a review of the current student visa program rules. The announcement was made amidst clamors from the foreign student industry to address the current situation. Officials from the department said that they will conduct the review in order to determine the areas that needs to be improved and to also address the concerns aired by the foreign student population. Immigration officials also said that the move is to better focus the program.

Upon hearing about the announcement, the move was greatly welcomed by the foreign student community. According to students, this one was a long thing coming, but is nevertheless worth all the effort. They also added the review will hopefully be in their favor and will pave the way for increasing their chances of working in the country.

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Foreign Students Brace For Changes In The Points System

With all the changes in Australia, education experts are now saying that these would have a big effect on the country's foreign student industry. Indeed, the initial changes that were implemented by the Department of Immigration and Citizenship on the student migration last year have had a noticeable effect on the country's foreign student community.

Now, many international students are gearing up for the new changes that the department has announced. According to the department, these changes will take effect in in July of next year. One of the biggest of changes is the revision of the points system for the general skilled migration program. The points system is used to assess the qualification of an applicant for the visa.

Here, the department said that they have emphasized on English proficiency as a major part of the points assessment. Immigration officials noted that many of the passers of the previous assessments actually have below average English language skills. The department said that, since Australia is an English speaking country, this is crucial if they want to be able to easily find a job in the country.

With that, the DIAC said that they will be giving additional points for those showing remarkable proficiency in the language. For instance, those that will be able to get a rating of “superior” in the International English Language Test System exams will automatically be awarded 20 points in the assessment. On the other hand, points will also be given to those which possess higher educational credentials, such as bachelor's degrees or doctorates.

Meanwhile, the department said that it will not award points anymore based on the kind of work that the applicant is applying for. This, according to the department, is necessary in order to give all applicants equal opportunity. On the other hand, work experience will still be awarded points, depending on the amount.

The department have also said that they have now increased the pass mark for the assessment to 65 points.

As it is, many students will certainly not like the new points system. For one, those coming from non-English speaking countries will certainly find this new emphasis to be a hard one to follow. On the other hand, the increased focus on higher level qualifications, means that many students have no choice but to go for them if they want to work in Australia after they graduate. Nevertheless, Australian officials are confident that these moves are necessary for them to get the workers that the country needs.

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Schools Take Action Against Visa Changes

With all the things happening in Australia, student visa applications have become quite harder to go through for many. And with a set of new changes being announced by the department, it will likely get even tougher. These have gotten a lot of groups to be worried.

It can be recalled that the Department of Immigration and Citizenship started to implement the changes in the student migration program since early last year. Many of these changes were intended to better focus the attention of the program into getting more highly skilled workers in the country. The DIAC also said that these were intended to find the best suited workers.

This is also the thrust of the recent changes that the department announced. In here, the points assessment system was also heavily revised in order to put more emphasis on on certain skills that the department has recognized to be very important. The qualifications were also made to be much tougher in order to better regulate the flow of immigrants.

However, from the get go, many foreign students have already voiced their opposition to the new changes. According to them, these new rules will limited their chances of being able to study in the country severely. Some students have also argued that the new rules are somewhat discriminating of them.

But it was not only the students who have voiced their arguments against the changes in student visa program. The schools themselves have also cried out against the new changes. What they are saying is that, because of the changes, many of their current foreign students have decided not to continue with their enrollment. And since a lot of these schools rely heavily on these international students for their income, their loss is definitely going to be huge.

Thus, they have joined international students groups in asking for the repeal of the changes. And one school has actually taken the plea further. Kelly College, an information technology school in Brisbane has announced that it was suing the Australian government over the changes in the student migration program. School officials said that the changes have had a drastic effect on their ability to generate income.

For its part, the Australian government has welcomed the suit. This, they say, will help a lot in clarifying all the issues with regards to the changes in the student migration program. However, immigration officials remained adamant that these are necessary and that they will continue to implement it.

How everything would be resolved is something a lot of people are waiting to find out.

DIAC Introduces Biometrics To Student Visa

With all the changes in the australia student migration program, many overseas students in Australia are now worried that their chances of settling in the country will be greatly affected. Indeed, the student program was one of the hardest hit in the changes that the Department of Immigration and Citizenship implemented since last year. And it seems that there is yet more to come for foreign students in the country.

It can be recalled that the DIAC begun implementing changes in the student migration program since early last year. Here, one of the biggest changes was the reorganization of the list of courses that are eligible to get a visa. As part of the government's effort to get more professi8onals into the country, the department has decided to review the list and remove lower level positions in order to accommodate more higher level ones.

The department has also decided to revise the qualifications needed to secure a student visa. One of the areas that they have emphasized for this one is English proficiency. Immigration officials noted that many of the previous applicants who were granted student visas actually have less rhan average English communication skills. This, the officials said, will likely cause problems to them later on.

As expected, many of the foreign students in the country voiced their opposition to the rules. According to them, these will severely block their chance of studying in the country. Experts also said that the changes will have a detrimental effect on the foreign student industry, ass enrollment numbers are likely to drop on this one. However, the department is adamant that this is necessary in order to meet the country's needs.

Now, the DIAC has rolled out a set of new changes for the student program. One of the most hotly debated of these is the proposed inclusion of biometric scans for student visa application. It should be noted that including biometric data in visas being issued is not actually a new one, as it was first implemented early this year on select visa types. And since the initial implementation was a success, the department has decided to put it as standard in all visa types.

However, many student visa holders are still worried about the effects of this. One of their biggest concerns is that these might be used to secretly monitor their presence in the country. But the department assured the foreign student community that this will be used only for identification purposes. They also said that it will also give them added security.

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More Worries For International Students In Australia

With all the changes that have been happening lately, foreign students in Australia are now concerned that their chances of moving into the country are getting slimmer. Indeed, the changes that that have been implemented by the Department of Immigration and Citizenship on the student migration program. But as it turns out, there are still a lot of things that overseas students have to deal with.

Australia student visa - After graduation from high school, Australian students

have the option of either continuing their studies in order 

to get a college degree, or going into vocational courses, 

which involve more work related training.

It can be recalled that the DIAC started implementing these changes since early last year. The single biggest change here was the reorganization of the list of courses available for a visa. Here, the department decided to drop around a hundred vocational courses from the list to make way for more higher level ones, which the DIAC said is currently what the country needs. Though, many foreign students aired their opposition, the department remained adamant with their decision.

Aside from this, the DIAC have also changed the overall qualifications for getting a student visa. Again, the department has said that this move is necessary in order to discern which applicants are best suited for getting a visa. Here, immigration officials put emphasis on the importance of English proficiency in the student visa, with it getting a larger part in the points assessment. However along with this, the department have also increased the marks necessary to pass the English proficiency exams.

Just this month, the DIAC announced additional changes to be done in the program. One of this is the introduction of biometric scans for those wishing to get a student visa. Biometric scans, which gather details such as fingerprints and iris patterns, were first introduced by the department early this year in two visa types. This have since been expanded to include all of the visa types being issued by the DIAC. While there isn't really much effect coming out from this, except maybe a slightly higher visa fee, there are groups that are worried that it might send a negative message.

But it is not only visa application that foreign students are worrying about. Many of them are now concerned that the price of education in the country may be well beyond their reach. According to the latest figures, studying in some of Australia's top universities now cost around AU$ 30,000 on average. And the recent growing strength of the Australian dollar is actually adding more to the problem. Thus, many of them are now opting to move to cheaper schools in other countries.

But the Australian government said that they are working on improving the situation of foreign students. They have also launched a huge effort to attract more students into the country.


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Australian Government Unveils Plans To Help Foreign Students

One of the biggest news that hit the Australian education scene in the last two years are the changes made in the country's student migration program. The Department of Immigration and Citizenship said that these changes are necessary in order to meet the country's needs. However, while the DIAC is confident about the outcome of the changes, many groups are still concerned about the negative effects of these changes.

It should be noted that the DIAC has started revising the student migration program since last year. Here, one of the biggest changes that the department has instituted was the reorganization of the courses that are valid for a student visa. The new listing focused more on higher level courses, which the department says is what the country currently needs.

However, from the get go, many groups have pointed out that this will likely created a lot of negative effects on Australia's foreign student industry. Indeed, upon the commencement of the new rules for the student migration program, the number of foreign student enrollments in the universities and colleges have shown a significant drop. The Monash University, for instance, projects that it is likely that the number of its foreign students will drop by almost 10 percent for next year's term. The drop is said to be due to a lot of foreign students opting to either head back home or move to other countries.

Because of the sudden drop of foreign student enrollments, many schools now fear that their incomes will also go down. Thus, they have clamored for the government to act on the matter. For its part, the Australian government has recently released a plan aimed at helping not only schools but also the foreign students themselves.

One of the main thrusts of the strategy is to promote better interaction between international students and the communities that they are currently staying. This way, officials hope it will bolster the welfare and protection of students. On the other hand, the government also plans to set up an International Student Consultative Committee by the first half of next year. The said committee will oversee the consultation with the foreign student community on policies.

However, some experts say that, while the strategy is indeed promising, it is still not enough. They said that there are still a lot of issues, such as security, that needs to be dealt with in order to regain the thrust of many foreign students. But the government assured them that they are now handling these matters.

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