Australian Government Closes Student Visa Loopholes

According to a release from the Minister for Immigration and Citizenship, Chris Evans, a number of tough new measures to crack down on student immigration will ensure that only genuine students will be accepted to study in Australia.

In an address to the American chamber of Commerce in Perth, Senator Evans claimed that the measures would further strengthen the integrity of the Australian Student Visaprogram.

"This latest round of changes strikes the right balance between making the visa applicationprocess easier for genuine students while imposing additional checks on those who may seek to abuse the system," said the senator.

The latest measures include:

• changes to the assessment of students studying more than one course,
• increased powers to cancel visas and
• streamlining the processing of postgraduate students.

The minister also said that changes had been made to the migration regulations to strengthen the visa cancellation guidelines, preventing international students from deferring or suspending their studies for non-genuine reasons.

"International students who are genuinely experiencing difficult circumstances will still be able to take temporary leave from their studies," Senator Evans said.

Also, the application process for postgraduate student applicants has been streamlined, allowing applicants to lodge their visa applications online using the eVisa facility. This change is aimed at speeding up processing of visa applications for postgraduate students.

According to Senator Evans, this measure has been introduced due to "the low level of fraud and high level of compliance with visa conditions in the sector".

In a media release, the Minister states that "these measures will support a student visa program that facilitates the entry of genuine international students to Australia to study full-time".

If you are interested in Australian Visas, contact Migration Expert for information and advice on which visa is best suited to you. You can also try our visa eligibility assessment to see if you are eligible to apply for a visa to Australia.

Australian Government Changes Business Skills Migration Program

The Australian Department of Immigration and Citizenship (DIAC) have announced changes to the Business Skills Migration program. Applicants wishing to migrate under this program will need to meet increased visa thresholds from 19 April 2010.

According to a spokesman for DIAC, the changes were made with the aims of:

• increasing the contribution of business migrants to Australia's economy,
• creating more jobs for Australians and
• improving visa integrity.

As part of the changes, applicants will need to own a greater amount of net assets in order to qualify for a business visa. This change is designed to account for the increased cost of living in Australia since original limits were set.

Business owners will also be required to demonstrate that they own a substantial or controlling interest in a business. This change will require a greater investment in business activity from business owners. However, this change will not apply to applicants for a permanent onshore business owner visa and who have purchased a business in Australia prior to April 19, 2010.

Senior managers of businesses overseas will no longer be able to apply for a state/territory sponsored business owner (subclass 163) visa, but Highly skilled senior managers of overseas businesses may still be eligible to apply for the provisionalsenior executive visas (subclasses 161 and 164) or for employer sponsored visaoptions.

The changes apply to new applications, effective April 19.