Australia announced on Monday that it had over doubled the cost of a visa for students from other countries. This is just one more step the government has taken to control record migration, which has put further strain on the country’s already tight housing market.
The cost of an international student visa increased from A$710 to A$1,600 ($1,068) from July 1. Students with temporary graduate visas and holders of guest visas are not permitted to apply for student visas in person.
Home Affairs Minister Clare O’Neil said in a statement, “The changes coming into force today will help restore integrity to our international education system, and create a migration system which is fairer, smaller, and better able to deliver for Australia,”
In the year ending September 30, 2023, net immigration increased by 60% to a record 548,800 persons, according to official data issued in March.
Due to the increase in expenses, obtaining a student visa for Australia is now significantly more costly than in other nations, such as the United States and Canada, where the cost is roughly $185 and C$150 ($110), respectively.
The number of students in Australia on second or subsequent student visas increased by more than 30% to more than 150,000 in 2022–2023; consequently, the government announced that it was also eliminating loopholes in visa regulations that permitted international students to constantly prolong their stay in Australia.
The most recent action is one of a series of measures taken since late last year to tighten the regulations pertaining to student visas, as the lifting of COVID-19 limits in 2022 increased yearly migration to record levels.
The standards for English language proficiency were strengthened in March, and in May, the minimum savings required for international students to obtain a visa was increased to A$29,710 ($19,823) from A$24,505, marking the second increase in about seven months.
CEO of Universities Australia Luke Sheehy warned that the nation’s strong position would be jeopardized by the government’s ongoing policy pressure on the industry.
Sheehy responded via email, saying, “This is not good for our economy or our universities, both of which rely heavily on international student fees.”
Australia’s largest export sector is international education, which contributed A$36.4 billion to the country’s GDP in the 2022–2023 fiscal year.
