Australia has declared plans to tighten its study visa regulations starting from March 23, 2024. Following its decision, the new Genuine Student (GS) requirement for student visas will replace the existing Genuine Temporary Entrant (GTE) requirement. This change, which comes in the wake of Canada and the United Kingdom imposing restrictions, was announced on December 11, 2023 and will take effect for visa applications submitted after March 23, 2024.
In the current scenario, the Genuine Temporary Entrant (GTE) statement, which is required for showing intent to study and return home, will be substituted by the GS requirement.
As per the new rules, the IELTS score for a Temporary Graduate visa will be increased from 6.0 to 6.5, and for a student visa from 5.5 to 6.0. Moreover, the validity of the English language test will be reduced to one year.
A new genuine student test will now evaluate all the international students applying for visas, and with a focus on their intention to study in Australia. Student applications that fall in the high-risk category will face greater scrutiny. In addition to that, the savings requirement for student visa eligibility has been raised to around $24,500.
As per available data based on media reports, Australia had 100,009 Indian students in 2022 which is a significant jump from previous years. Experts are raising concerns about the potential impact of the changed visa rules on Indian students’ acceptance rates.
The official notification stated that the GS requirement will assess the student’s genuine intent to study in Australia using a wide range of criteria such as course progression, immigration history, and visa compliance. This change is expected to verify whether students genuinely intend to continue their studies in Australia.
Australia’s decision to tighten study visa requirements seems to be part of a bigger trend of countries revisiting their immigration policies.
Lately, the UK too has made changes to its student visas and work permits. Under the new regulations, dependent restrictions for the large majority of postgraduate students have become more stringent. Earlier, many postgraduate students could bring dependents on their student visas. However, this privilege will be extended to only postgraduate research programmes beginning in January 2024. Additionally, it was announced in July 2023, students will be limited in their ability to switch directly from student visas to work visas prior to completing their studies.The new visa rules reflect a shift in immigration policies, affecting international student mobility for education and employment opportunities.