Genuine students needn’t worry about Australia’s new migration strategy, experts say
Australia’s new Migration Strategy has created quite a stir but experts believe that it will not adversely impact the chances of ‘genuine’ applicants
Amidst the hullaballoo after the Australian government released its latest Migration Strategy on December 11, 2023, questions are being tossed around about the impact of the proclaimed 8 key actions and over 25 new policy commitments and areas for future immigration reform.
Will it mean reduced chances of migrating to Australia? Will the Permanent Resident program be toughened enough to make room only for highly skilled workers? Will it adversely affect the chances of Indian students enrolling in Australian universities?
With nearly 120,000 Indian students enrolled in Australia (as of August 2023), all eyes are on the fate of Indian students aspiring to study in Australian universities.
The first reassurance came from the Australian High Commissioner Philip Green who said that commitments agreed between India and Australia under the Australia-India Economic Cooperation and Trade Agreement (ECTA) will be upheld under the new Migration Strategy.
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“This means that Indian graduates will continue to be eligible to stay on a Temporary Graduate Visa for two years for a bachelor's degree, three years for the completion of a Master's degree and four years for the completion of a PhD,” Green had said soon after the release of the Migration Strategy.
What is ECTA and how will it protect the Indian students when the new Australian immigration reforms are actually implemented?
The ECTA that came into force on December 29, 2022, categorically states that “Under the agreement, Indian students will be offered post-study work visa. After completing their programme, students enrolled in diploma programmes will be able to apply for visas valid for up to 18 months. Similar to this, students seeking bachelor’s degrees can now apply for up to two years of post-study work visas, while those pursuing master’s or doctoral degrees can apply for up to four years. So, they will be able to work in Australia for up to four years. More than 1 lakh Indian students will get the benefit of post-study work visa under the agreement over the next 1-4 years,” the ECTA states.
“The new Migration Strategy will not adversely impact the future of Indian students in Australia. However, as part of the reforms, Australia will crack down on non-genuine international students and rules about language have been made more stringent. International students are now required to score at least 6 on the International English Language Tests System (IELTS). Closer scrutiny of documents will certainly lead to higher rejection rates. The government has announced a $19 million investment into the Home Affairs student visa integrity unit. Hence, genuine students need not worry about their prospects of studying in Australia,” says Mamta Shekhawat, Founder, gradding.com, an overseas study platform with offices in Udaipur & Jaipur (Rajasthan).
Though the exact number of annual student intake has not been clarified, it could be halved by 2025. But Shekhawat believes that if the students are prepared well and their ‘risk assessment’ is foolproof, their visas will be approved.
“The stringent measures for international students were already evident in the last quarter when scrutiny of documents was much more than from the time when the Australian universities had opened their doors to international students after the end of the Covid pandemic. However, it is important to note that international students contribute hugely to the destination country’s exchequer, hence no country can afford to completely shut its doors on international students,” adds Shekhawat, who has so far guided nearly two lakh students to achieve their study abroad goals.
The Spring 2024 session is round the bend, will the Migration Strategy impact the students already enrolled in for the upcoming academic year?
“No,” says Mohammed Feezam, Marketing Director, Melbourne-headquartered Aives Australia (aivesaustralia.com), an immigration firm licensed by the Australian government’s office of Migration Agents Registration Authority (MARA).
“The Australian government has not yet announced when the amended rules will get into effect, hence, Indian students who already have confirmed admission need not worry,” adds Fazeem who emphasises that the Strategy aims to scuttle the attempts of ‘fake’ students who enter the country on the pretext of education but immediately hop to low-skilled jobs that hugely impacts the local economy & employment opportunities.
But what’s the best way to approach the admission process?
“Always go through MARA agents,” say brothers Rasheed Backer & Hiyas Backer, both MARA agents of AivesAustralia.com. “Not many know but only registered migration agents, legal practitioners and exempt persons can lawfully provide immigration assistance in Australia. It is a legal requirement under the Migration Act 1958 for migration agents to be registered with the Office of the Migration Agents Registration Authority (OMARA) in order to provide immigration assistance in Australia,” adds Backer, who straddles between Dubai & India offices in Kochi & Bengaluru.
“You do not have to use a registered migration agent to apply for a visa. But you may need the professional help of a registered migration agent, especially if your case is complex. Registered migration agents know how to prepare and submit a visa application for the best chance of success. Their work can make it easier and faster for the Department to assess your application,” the official website of MARA states.
What about professionals planning to move to Australia for work? Will those numbers also go down?
“The Migration Strategy is targeting temporary skilled migration to address skills needs and promote worker mobility. A new Skills in Demand visa with three targeted pathways, and visa settings that encourage migrant worker mobility in the labour market is in the offing. The new commitments include: A new Specialist Skills Pathway will make it easier for Australia to attract highly skilled workers, for example in the technology or green energy industries and a Core Skills Pathway to meet targeted workforce needs, with a simpler, regularly updated occupation list for the skills Australia needs. However, there will be more clarity only after the migrant cap is announced,” adds Fazeem who thinks that the new rules will streamline the labour market testing and visa processing.
