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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