Changes In The Student Visa And Their Effects

With the changes being made in the Australian student visa program, many foreign are now wondering whether it is worth it to continue their plans to study here. Some, has in fact, already decided to drop the chance altogether. And these turn of events are now worrying not only school officials, but also many immigration officials.

It can be noted that the revamp of the student migration have actually begun early last year, when the Department of Immigration and Citizenship (DIAC) announced that it will be revising the skilled occupation list to make way for more higher level professions. A lot of the positions that where removed were of the vocational kind.

And since many foreign students are taking up these vocational course, a lot of them were heavily affected by the move. It should be noted that the main reason behind these students taking up vocational courses is because these are the easiest ones with which to get a permanent residency visa in the old system. Many of those who were affected were left with no choice but to forgo their applications and return back to their home countries.

And it seems that this was not the only problem that would be going in the way of many foreign students. At the same time last year, the DIAC also announced that changes would be implemented to the foreign student program itself. Some of the biggest changes were made with regards to qualifications for the program. One of this was the increase in the needed funds that a student needed to present first before being granted a visa, which was upped from the previous amount of AU$ 12,000 to AU$ 18,000. Stricter rules were also implemented with regards to qualifications, now with a greater emphasis on English proficiency.

As it turns out, while these changes were intended to sort out the most qualified among foreigners to be granted a student visa, these also had the negative effect of shying many potential students from applying. A lot of them argued that the new rules are seriously limiting their chances of getting into the country. Thus, they have now begun to seek out alternative countries, like the US or Britain, to study in.

According to government officials, they were well aware of these likely consequences. But they said that these moves are necessary in order to get the right kind of people in the country. Thus, they said that they will remain firm with their decision. However, immigration officials assured foreign students that those who want to take up vocational courses are still very much welcomed into the country, provided that they meet the requirements.

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Australia's Best Universities

The great quality of education in Australia is often considered as one of the biggest reasons why a lot foreign students flock to the country yearly. Indeed, Australia has been ranked as one of the top destinations when it comes to education. Thus, a lot of people consider it a once in a lifetime chance to be able to study here.

And of all the educational institutions in the country, Australian universities occupy a high rank in terms of prestige. Thus, being given a chance to study in them is considered a great honor. And so for the hopefuls out there, here some of the top universities in the country where you can try your luck to get in.

Australian National University
Ranked the highest among Australia's universities, the ANU is one of the institutions that has the largest population of foreign students in the the country. The ANU was established in 1946 through an act by the Australian parliament, the only one in existence in the country.

The ANU maintains several colleges in its Canberra campus, including the prestigious College of Law. The university also maintains several research schools that are aimed to furthering technology development. One of the university's most notable alumni is current Prime Minister Kevin Rudd.
University Of Melbourne
The University of Melbourne is Australia's second oldest university, having been founded in 1853. the university is also the second largest research organization in the country after the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization.(CSIRO). Thus, it is considered as one of the top schools when it comes to the fields of engineering and medicine.

Being one of the largest in the country, the University of Melbourne maintains several schools in its main campus in the Victorian capital. Aside from that, there are also several institutions around the state that are under the direct supervision of the university. And being a research center, UM also manages several departments that work with other research institutions on various projects.
Monash University
Monash is the largest university in Australia, with a current enrollment of around 39,000 undergraduates and about 16,000 students taking up post graduate studies. The university is the second oldest in the state after the above mentioned University of Melbourne. The university has eight campuses in total, six located within the state of Victoria and one each in Malaysia and South Africa. It also maintains a research center in Italy and a graduate research school in India.

Monash prides itself at being one of the leading research institution in the country. As such, it has continuously sought to get new technology for such a purpose. One of these is the Australian Synchrotron, the first one in the country, which began operation in 2007. The equipment allows researchers at Monash to study matter on a molecular level.

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