Student Visa Checks Strengthened for some countries

On 20 August 2009, the Department of Immigration announced the strengthening of checks on student visa application to prevent fraud and ensure student have the financial capacity to live and stay in Australia.

As one of the measures to strengthen integrity, the department will be strengthening checks around parts of the student visa case load in India, Mauritius, Nepal, Brazil, Zimbabwe and Pakistan.

What are these measures?

The measures implemented with immediate effect include:

  • upgrading the interview program to confirm the genuineness of the applicant and to check financial capacity
  • removing or restricting eVisa access for some agents where there is evidence of fraud or inactivity
  • restricting access to eVisa for some segments of the case load if analysis demonstrates restricted access would allow for better control.

The purpose of undertaking these measures is to ensure genuine students receive high quality education and enjoy their experience in Australia. These measure build on work already conducted across the Student visa program to combat fraud.

This approach is consistent with other countries that receive large numbers of student visa applications.

All Student visa applicants are subject to standard immigration checks which include health, character and security checks. In addition, all applicants for a Student visa must show that they have a genuine intention to enter Australia for the purpose of study. The evidence required to meet this requirement varies according to the level of immigration risk of the visa applicant, which is determined based on objective data. All Student visa applicants must meet certain financial, English language proficiency and other requirements (including educational attainment).

The department routinely seeks further information to verify the evidence provided with visa applications. The precise checks to be undertaken will be determined on a case by case basis. This will include face to face, or phone interviews for some applicants.

Will these checks lead to processing delays?

Prospective students are encouraged to apply well before their intended course commences in Australia and to ensure their application is complete. Incomplete applications without all relevant documents can cause delays in processing an application. For students applying through eVisa from outside Australia, they can lodge their application up to three months before their course commences. For students lodging paper visa applications, they can lodge up to four months before their course commences.


No comments:

Post a Comment

Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.