Waiting times for some Iranian doctoral candidates to see if they can study in Australia, in some cases have surpassed two years.
Extended waiting times have resulted from unclear visa processes, VisaGuide.World reports.
More than 100 Iranian students on social media have expressed their concerns about the system. They said that they are subject to waiting times from six to 29 months to receive a visa decision on their application, according to a report from Times Higher Education.
A representative of the group, identified as Ebtesam to the Times Higher Education said that there is no clear or consistent pattern concerning visa approval or visa processing times.
Ebtesam said that two visa applicants with the same conditions can receive their visas at completely different times, one within a week and the other after over a year.
We have no clear way to track or follow up on our visa status. Each of us has contacted the Australian immigration department multiple times…but the only response we receive is that we must wait and that no further information is available.
Longer visa waiting times for doctoral candidates from Iran and other countries were mainly noted before the spread of the Coronavirus pandemic. In spite of the fact that visa approvals marked an increase in early 2023, Ebtesam said that processing times for visa applicants from Iran have not improved in the past few years.
A Home Affairs spokesperson said that the government recognizes the importance of postgraduate research to the economic prosperity of Australia, however, he didn’t explain the reason for this long visa waiting times.
“Visas were considered on an individual basis and could not be granted until the department is satisfied all requirements have been met”.
Australian Study Visa Requirements for Iranians
Iranian doctoral candidates are subject to visa requirements when planning to head to Australia.
In order to enter Australia legally they must first obtain a Student Visa (subclass 500). This type of visa allows them to stay in the country for up to five years.
Australia also offers other study and training visas for international students and parents or guardians of underage foreign students.
Other visa categories that foreigners can choose to study or for training purposes in Australia are also Training visa (subclass 407), as well as Student Guardian Visa (Subclass 590).
Each year, Australian authorities receive a large number of applications from foreign nationals interested in benefiting from one of the visa categories mentioned above.