Australian immigration revokes almost 11,000 ‘non-genuine’ students visas
The Department of Home Affairs typically cancels between 8,000 and 9,000 student visas annually, however according to a report in The Australian (subscription required), based on the latest figures released for the year ending June 2015, there was a 30% increase in the number of cancellations.
With International Education coming in as Australia’s fourth largest export industry overall and the largest services export ahead of tourism, maintaining a strong reputation for quality is important.
The Government says it will introduce a single framework for student visa risk assessment in June 2016. The most significant changes to the framework are:
- the reduction in the number of student visa sub-classes from the current eight to two; and
- the introduction of a single immigration risk framework under which all international students will be assessed, regardless of their programme of study
Chief Executive of the International Education Association of Australia, Phil Honeywood, said: “A key reason for ditching the current streamlined visa procedures is that too many low-quality education providers have been gaming the system, and this has meant students have been attracted to enrolling in such providers as an easy visa pathway to Australia.”