Permit restrictions not deterring Australian student visa applicants
July 22 2009 by Mark Johnstone
Foreign students applying for Australian visas
Tougher restrictions on the terms of permanent residency have not deterred foreign students from applying to study in Australian universities, according to a report.
However, Australian student visa holders should be equipped with skills that are relevant to their home countries, as they are now less likely to be granted visas to remain living and working in Australia, says Monash University demographer Bob Birrell.
Between 2005 and 2008 the number of international students enrolling in vocation courses in Australia rose 180 per cent. Birrell claims that many of these Australian visa applicants may have been hoping for permanent residency once they have graduated, which may not always be possible.
Birrell explains, "there is now a huge overhang of former overseas students looking for permanent residence - just at a time when their chances of achieving it has diminished.”
Under new rules, student visa holders who have graduated from Australian universities are only granted Australian work visas if they have a skill on the critical skills list. However, these new restrictions are not deterring people from wanting to study in Australia. The number of students enrolling from abroad has risen 20% since March 2009, compared to the same three-month-period a year ago.
Birrell’s report predicts that some 40,000 working visa applications will be made by international students between 2008 and 2009.
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