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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