Tougher Australian student visa rules criticized

Australia, 8th November: The new stricter Australian student visa norms have invited increased criticism from John Brumby, the Victorian Premier.

Lashing out against the Australian student visa crackdown, Mr. Brumby said that the attractiveness of Victoria as a preferred education destination among international students has suffered immense damage due to the decision of Australian government.

And the increasing Australian currency along with higher competition has complicated things for Victoria.

Nonetheless, Mr. Brumby maintained that the number of foreign students pursuing study courses in various fields is still more than any other Australian state and that reaffirms the strength and existing opportunities in Victoria and its increasing links in Asia.

The politician called for some changes in Australian student visa rules to invite more and more foreign students to immigrate to Australia through Australian student visas.

He asserted that there is still much room for making adjustments in the immigration rules for foreign students.

The new Australian immigration rules had increased the funds required for qualifying to apply for Australian student visas. Hence, this new requirement is discouraging many foreign students to look for other options for studying abroad.

The reduced number of foreign students coming to Australia through Australian student visas has affected Australian universities that have a higher reliance on foreign student fees. This has compelled them to make huge cuts in their budgets. 

Victoria’s international education sector happens to be the state’s largest export industry worth $5.8 billion. There have been reports of huge job losses due to the crackdown on the Victoria’s private college sector following stricter Australian immigration rules and higher national currency.

And in a bid to attract more foreign students, many private colleges in the state have considerably reduced the annual fees for one-year diploma courses to $3500 from the earlier $8500.

The changes in Australian student visa rules have been handled badly, claimed Ted Baillieu, another Victorian politician and an opposition leader.

The issue of introducing new tougher Australian visa rules for international students needs immediate review from Australian government.

The main aim of Australian student visa crackdown was to curb exploitation of foreign students by a few fake colleges in Australia but the changes seem to have affected many of the legitimate educational institutes in Australia.