Australia makes changes in student visa programme

Updated on: Friday, November 11, 2011

With a view to attracting more students for pursuing higher studies, Australia has effected some changes in its student visa programme that is expected to improve the processing time.

The changes, which came into force from November 5, are focussed on improving the competitiveness of Australia's international education sector and the integrity of the visa programme.
 
The changes have been made after a stragetic review of the visa programme, an official release said. 

Under the new rules, student visa applicants will need to include a confirmation of enrolment (COE) issued by their intended education provider, as part of their student visa applications.
 
"This will improve processing time as students will no longer need to wait for a Pre-visa Assessment (PVA) letter to be issued by the Department of Immigration and Citizenship (DIAC) before arranging their COE," the release said.
 
Changes have also been made to reduce the financial requirements for Assessment Level (AL) 3 and 4 students.
 
"A reduction in the period of funds to be shown upfront with a visa application should make obtaining a student visa to Australia more competitive with other popular study destinations," it said.
 
Australia's High Commissioner to India Peter Varghese said the changes will make Australia a "more attractive" study destination for high quality students from India.

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