Practical improvements to Australia’s student visa framework take effect tomorrow.
The simplified student visa framework (SSVF) includes a reduction in the number of student visa subclasses from eight to two (one student visa and a student guardian visa) and the introduction of a simplified single immigration risk framework for all international students.
The Department of Immigration and Border Protection’s First Assistant Secretary, Immigration and Citizenship Policy Division, David Wilden, said student visa settings are an important part of Australia’s international education strategy.
“The value of our international education sector – Australia’s third-largest export industry and our largest services export – was estimated to exceed AUS$19 billion in 2014–15,” he said. “The recently released National Strategy for International Education acknowledges the Department’s role in supporting international mobility through administration of the student visa programme.”
The SSVF will mean a broader, simpler and fairer framework for genuine international students and Australian education providers.
The Department of Immigration and Border believe that a visa framework that is simpler to navigate and that provides a more targeted approach to immigration integrity will reduce red tape and improve productivity and international competitiveness.
Under the SSVF, students will no longer be subject to the complexity of the current process. Instead students will apply online for a single student visa subclass and be assessed under a single immigration risk framework.
Online application is in line with the Department’s policy to increase digital services and helps simplify the application process.
Article by David Fuller