Australia Tightens International Student Visa Requirements | Complete Details
The Australian government has declared that, as of Saturday, March 23, 2024, the nation would implement more stringent immigration regulations for international students.
The government will have the authority to stop education providers from hiring foreign students if they consistently violate the laws, and starting on Saturday, English language proficiency standards for student and graduate visas will be raised.
Due to the country’s rapid population growth, which has put pressure on the already competitive rental market, the announcement was made on Thursday, March 21, 2024.
What is the current English language requirement in Australia?
Students at the undergraduate level:
If you have taken an English course in your previous secondary education that is comparable to an Australian Year 12 level, you can fulfill the English entry criteria (scoring requirements also apply).
Graduate Students:
If you have successfully finished a year of full-time study at an institution where English is the language of teaching, communication, and evaluation for all elements of study for the whole educational institution, you can satisfy the English entry criteria.
Documentary proof in the form of an official letter from the organization where the study was conducted may be needed.
The registrar of the institution (or another designated individual of the institution) must write and sign this paper.
A Closer Look at Australia’s Tighter Student Visa Regulations
After the COVID-19 epidemic brought severe border controls and prevented foreign workers and students from entering the country for over two years, Australia increased its annual migration numbers in 2022 to assist businesses in hiring personnel to cover shortages.
However, the nation has declared that it would start implementing stricter visa regulations for international students this week after official data revealed that migration reached a new high, which is expected to make the already competitive rental market much worse.
Data provided by the Australian Bureau of Statistics on Thursday, according to Reuters, revealed that net immigration increased by 60% to a record 548,800 in the year ending September 30, 2023, surpassing the 518,000 individuals in the year ending June 2023.
In the year ending in September of last year, Australia’s total population increased by 2.5%, the quickest rate ever recorded, to reach 26.8 million.
What is the New Visa Rule in Australia?
More visiting visas will be subject to “no further stay” requirements, and a new “genuine student test” will be implemented to further target foreign students who want to go to Australia primarily for employment.
In a statement, Home Affairs Minister Clare O’Neil said, “The actions this weekend will continue to drive migration levels down while delivering on our commitments in the migration strategy to fix the broken system we inherited.”
What Nigerians Should Know About Australia’s New Visa Rule
Students from China, India, and the Philippines were the main drivers of the record migration and the ensuing population growth. This has reduced wage pressures and increased the labor supply, but it has made the already tight housing market worse.
As of right now, Nigerians can study in Australia as international students without taking the TOEFL or IELTS English proficiency exams.
This is due to the fact that students whose undergraduate studies were taught in English are exempt from submitting these documents to Australian universities.
However, as Nigeria seeks to lower its migrant population, Nigerians will also be subject to the new authentic student test.
We so urge potential students to start studying for standardized English proficiency exams like the Cambridge ETS, IELTS, or TOEFL.
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