New visa regulations for students welcomed

The new policy will see an increase in the flow of students, says UNSW VC Prof. Fred Hilmer

With the Australian government easing visa norms, the flow of students from overseas, including India, is expected to increase, the vice chancellor of the University of New South Wales, said on a tour of India recently. He also expects greater cooperation with universities and institutes in India.
“We are very delighted with the new visa regulations,” Vice Chancellor Fred Hilmer told IANS after the recent announcement on the new visa norms. “The new policy will see an increase in the flow of students.”
Hilmer, who was in India for the first alumni meet of the university in India, says the earlier regime was not competitive with other countries.

“We felt visa requirements in Australia were not in competition with other countries. It took too long, and the cost was too high,” he said.

Australia had tightened the visa regime, stating that many students came to the country to settle down by taking admissions in non-skilled vocational courses like cookery and hair-cutting.
The number of students going to Australia also went down significantly earlier this year following news of attacks on Indian students and the tough immigration policies. According to Australian government figures, the numbers fell by almost 50 percent in January.
The vice chancellor said the attacks were a matter of the past and were not necessarily racial.
“We had no problems in the universities; it was in some vocational colleges. But the publicity was damaging. Now that is behind us and the atmosphere in Australia is friendly and safe,” he said.

“I don’t see racial bias. Australia is an immigrant country; we have people from different nationalities,” he added.
Citing an example of diversity, Hilmer said: “We have a park in front of our library, and the only statue in that park is of (Mahatma) Gandhi. You won’t have that if we were racial. We identify people on the basis of their work.”
Today the UNSW has 20 MoUs with Indian universities.

“I’ve met on this trip the VCs of Delhi University, Jawaharlal Nehru University and National Law University. We are looking forward to how we can get in student- and research-based collaborations,” Hilmer said.
The UNSW is known for its courses in engineering, management, medicine and science. Out of an approximate 40,000 students, around 400 are Indian.
The university has some student exchange programs and is looking forward to forging more ties. Some of the premier institutes being looked at are the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) Bangalore, and IIM Ahmedabad.

The university is now focussing on attracting more students from India through exchange programs and research collaborations with Indian institutes.

Under the new visa rules, the financial requirement for student visas will be eased and applicants will need around A$36,000 Australian less.
Post-study work visas will allow students to remain in Australia for two to four years after their course ends, depending on their level of qualification.

Visa norms relaxed to woo more students

Worried by continuing slide in the international students’ numbers, the Australian government has decided to relax visa norms further.
The decision has coincided with former New South Wales minister Michael Knight’s report that calls for loosening the onerous immigration requirements for international students.
The government has accepted all 41 recommendations made by the ‘Knight Review’. These include similar assessment level for all international students regardless of their country of passport. The students would also need to show A$36,000 less to get Australian student visa.
The rising Australian dollar and global financial crisis have dealt a serious blow to the universities and vocational education colleges in the country as international students, especially from India and China, have started shunning Australia.
“The university and vocational education sectors have been concerned for some time that the visa system was making them uncompetitive in what is stiff competition among provider nations,” Tertiary Education Minister Chris Evans said recently.
“They were wanting to make sure our visa system was allowing them to compete on an equal basis,” the minister added.
The changes proposed by the Labor government include a more streamlined visa process for international students coming down under for higher studies. This would mean easing financial criteria. International students are now required to prove they have sufficient funds to finance their studies and living expenses in Australia upfront.
The proposed changes would also see introduction of a new work visa for international students. There are speculations that this work visa could be something similar to the ones offered by Canada and New Zealand to international students once they have finished their studies.
The post-studies work visa is likely to be of two to four years’ validity depending upon the level of studies completed by the international student in Australia.
While the financial requirements would be relaxed considerably, the onus would be on the student to establish they are genuine students and have plans to return to their home country after finishing the studies.
“It’s not enough to be genuine about your studies and have no intention of going home, nor is it enough to be genuine about going home but not serious about your studies,” Michael Knight said while speaking in a press conference in Canberra.
The assessment levels which decide financial requirements for various countries have been the major impediment for students from countries like India and China as they are classified as “high risk” countries. The higher assessment levels also mean students have to show much more funds in the bank accounts before student visa could be issued.
“Our consultations found that the financial requirements for student visas were too onerous, so we are reducing the financial requirements for some applicants, with students now needing around $36,000 less in the bank when applying for a visa,” Immigration Minister Chris Bowen said in a statement accompanying the report’s release.

Faster, easier Australian visas for students: Peter Varghese

Australia has made the visa process for international students more swift.
The move, which will benefit Indian students among others, was welcomed by Australian High Commissioner Peter Varghese.
International students pursuing bachelor’s degree or higher will now be treated as low risk applicants, regardless of their country of origin, the Australian high commission in New Delhi said.
“This will mean less onerous financial and documentary requirements for students in this category,” it said.
Varghese said the changes were significant and would result in easier and faster visas for Indian students in a range of Australian university courses.
Students undertaking vocational courses, including those with private education providers, would continue to be assessed at higher levels, though financial requirements will be reduced for these students.
These changes will be progressively implemented from late 2011, with the full complement of changes expected to be finalised in the first half of 2012.

From IANS reports