Australia is welcoming students back from around the globe and have announced certain concessions to make Australia a preferred destination for the international students.
Key points
- International Students arriving between 19th Jan 2022 and 19 March 2022 can get a refund of their visa fee.
- Students coming to Australia can work without waiting for their course to start
- Online studies count towards graduate visa
Nasir Nawaz, a registered migration agent at ‘The Migration', says that the pandemic has had a huge impact of the mental and financial wellbeing of international students, which as a result affected their studies.
International border restrictions meant that students and other temporary visa holders were unable to re-enter the country once they left, this meant that many visas got expired, Nasir explains.
International students are Australia's largest services export sector. Source: Getty Images
“Whoever was staying in their home country, they were stuck there. Many visas got expired and they knew nothing about their future after that,” he added.
Visa fee waiver
In December 2021 Australia reopened its borders to fully vaccinated international students and announced a visa fee waiver. Students arriving between 19th Jan 2022 and 19 March 2022 can get a refund of their visa fee.
They will be able to up until 31 December 2022.
Students were among the first to be allowed to enter Australia. Source: AAP
Temporary relaxation of student visa work limits
(work rights) on the student visa means that one cannot work before the commencement of their course. But currently, international students coming to Australia can work more than 40 hours per fortnight without waiting for their course to start, explains Nasir.
However, this is a temporary arrangement and will be reviewed by the Government in April 2022.
Imran Khan completed a bachelor’s degree in medicine and surgery from China. He was not able to come to Australia due to the border restrictions and was forced to deferre his studies until March 2022. Imran recently arrived in Australia to pursue his master’s in public health.
He appreciates the relaxation of work rules for the newly arrived students in the country saying this is "a great step by the government which allows students to work before their course starts."
Online studies count towards graduate visa
Before the pandemic, it was necessary to have on-campus education to obtain a graduate visa subclass 485, but now online studies undertaken outside Australia also count towards applying for the , says Nasir Nawaz.
Now online studies and on campus studies can be considered for graduate visa and to satisfy the conditions for the graduate visa. So, this is the new normal.
International students line up for coaches after arriving at Sydney Airport in Sydney, Monday, December 6, 2021. Source: AAP/Bianca De Marchi
'Universities should offer fee reduction'
While the government has relaxed student visa conditions, Nasir says that the universities too need to consider reducing their fees to encourage the return of international students. He believes that online studies, for example, must have less fee comparatively.
Muzammil Rizwan Khan from Step Up Profession is of the opinion that reduced university fees can encourage the international students to choose Australia over other developed countries to pursue their studies.
All travellers need to comply with requirements in the state or territory of arrival, and any other states or territories they plan to travel to.