Australia has decided to end visa hopping for foreigners in the country who hold visitor and temporary graduate visas.
Starting July 1, 2024, Australia will no longer permit those who hold visitor and temporary graduate visas to continuously extend their stay in the country by by applying for a student visa while onshore, VisaGuide.World reports.
Announcing the news, the Australian Minister for Home Affairs, Clare O’Neil, said that the news rules aim to restrict visa hoping and, at the same time, close the loopholes that have been permitting some groups of foreigners to remain in Australia for indefinite periods, in some cases.
The migration system we inherited was completely broken, and our goal is to build a smaller, better planned, more strategic migration system that works for Australia. Our Migration Strategy outlines a clear plan to close the loopholes in international education, and this is the next step in delivering that plan.
It was further explained that by tightening the current rules, the government wants to ensure that visas are being granted to genuine students who aim to receive qualifications in Australia and then contribute to its economic growth.
What Will Exactly Change on July 1?
Starting July 1, foreigners who hold a Visitor Visa will not be allowed to apply for a Student Visa onshore. Instead, visitor visa applicants who intend to pursue their studies in Australia will have to apply for a Student Visa from their home country.
The pathway from visitor to student visa has become very prevalent in the last year, with Australia recording more than 36,000 applications from July 1, 2023, until May of this year.
In order to end the practice of hopping from one visa to another while in the territory of Australia, the Albanese government said that strengthening this measure is necessary.
In addition, starting July 1, Australia will no longer permit Temporary Graduate Visa holders to apply for a Student Visa onshore.
A report has shown that around 32 percent of Temporary Graduate Visa holders return to Australia to study when their visa expires to prolong their stay in the country.
To put an end to this practice, the government stressed that Temporary Graduate Visa holders should leave Australia or find skilled jobs and become permanent residents in the country.
This change makes it clear that graduates should be finding skilled jobs and becoming permanent residents, or departing the country when they are more likely to become ‘permanently temporary’.
These changes, among other things, aim to reduce overseas migration to the country and put into place a migration system that delivers the skills that Australia needs but does not trade loopholes and exploitation.