SYDNEY: Australia said
on Monday it had more
than doubled the visa fee
for international students,
the latest move by the gov-
ernment to rein in record
migration that has intensi-
fied pressure on an already
tight housing market.
From July 1, the inter-
national student visa fee
has risen to A$1,600
($1,068) from A$710,
while visitor visa holders
and students with tempo-
rary graduate visas are
banned from applying
onshore for a student visa.
The changes coming
into force today will help
restore integrity to our
international
system, and create
migration system which is
fairer, smaller and better
able to deliver for
Australia,” Home Affairs
Minister Clare 0’Neil said
in a statement.
education
Official data released in
March showed net immi-
gration rose 60 per cent to
record 548,800 people in
the year to Sept 30, 2023.
The rise in fees makes
applying for a student visa
for Australia far more
expensive than in compet-
ing countries like the US
and Canada, where they
cost about $185 and $110
respectively.
The government said it
was also closing loopholes
in visa rules that allowed
foreign students to contin-
uously extend their stay in
Australia, after the num-
ber of students on a second
or subsequent student visa
spiked by over 30pc to
nore than 150, 000 last
year.
The latest move follows a raft of actions since late
last year to tighten the stu-
dent visa rules as the lift-
ing of Covid curbs in 2022
boosted annual migration
to record levels.
English language
requirements were tight-
ened in March, while the
amount of savings interna-
tional students need to get
a visa was raised in May to
A$29,710 ($19,823) from
A$24,505, the second
increase in about seven
months._Reuters
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