Simplified Student Visa Framework from 1 July 2016

From 1 July 2016, the application process for student visas will be streamlined and simplified – the Department of Immigration refers to this as the Simplified Student Visa Framework (SSVF).

The main changes are the following:

• No more student visa subclasses; there will be obly one student visa subclass 500;
• all students can lodge their student visa application onshore – providing they do not hold certain types of prohibited visas
• English and financial requirements for Student Visas are simplified
• Changes to the 8202 “Maintain Enrolment” visa condition

Introduction of New Student Subclass 500 Visa – Simplified Student Visa Framework 

There used to be 7 student visa subclasses 570, 571, 572, 573, 574, 575 and 576 up to 1^st of July 2016. The subclass used to depend on the type of course you are completing – school, English language, vocational education, higher education or PhD. The student subclasses will be closed to new applications from 1 July 2016.

These will be replaced by a single subclass 500 visa. This will mean criteria will be more straightforward to understand for applicants, and applications will be lodged online in most cases.

Onshore Lodgments for All Students

Under the previous legislation, it used to be only possible to lodge a student visa application from within Australia where:

• You currently hold a student visa; or
• You are at the lowest risk level (Assessment Level 1)

Unless you are in one of the above situations, you had to demonstrate “exceptional circumstances” to lodge onshore.

From 1 July 2016, it is possible to apply onshore for a student visa providing you hold a substantive visa. This will make it much more straightforward to transition onto a student visa from a working holiday, Graduate Temporary Subclass 485 visa, Partner Visa or even a visitor visa without needing to depart Australia.

Simplification of English and Financial Requirements

The Assessment Level framework and Streamlined Visa Processing arrangements (SVP) will be abandoned. Instead the risk level depends on the risk level of the country of passport and the education provider.

If your provider and/or passport level are considered low risk, then it will be possible to lodge your student visa application without evidence of English and financial resources.

English Requirement

Unless you are considered “low risk” you would need to show evidence of your English language ability.

The following applicants will be exempt from English Language testing:

• Hold a passport from the UK, USA, Canada, NZ or Ireland
• Enrolled in an ELICOS course, school or post-graduate research course
• Foreign affairs, defence or secondary exchange students
• Completed Senior Secondary Certificate of Education in Australia
• Substantially completed a Cert IV or higher in Australia
• Completed 5 years of study in English medium in Australia, Canada, NZ, South Africa, Ireland, UK or USA

If English testing is required, the level required will depend on whether the course is packaged with an ELICOS course as follows:

* The paper-based TOEFL is only accepted if taken in certain countries.

Financial Requirement

If you are not considered “low risk” you would need to show evidence of your financial capacity as follows:

• Travel Expenses
• Living costs for the first 12 months of your stay in Australia
• Course fees for the first 12 months of study
• Income level of your parents or spouse

Living costs would be as follows for a 12 month period:

• $19,830: main applicant
• $6,940: partner or spouse
• $2,970: for each dependent child
• $8,000: schooling costs for dependent children

You can show funds by showing evidence of one of the following:

• Deposits with a bank or financial institution
• Loan from a financial institution or government
• Scholarship

There is no restriction in terms of who can provide financial support, and this is quite different to the current student visa framework.

Income Requirement

The income requirement is quite different to the current student visa framework. Your spouse or your parents will need to show official Government documentation of their income, which has been issued in the 12 months prior to application.

The minimum income required is as follows:

• $60,000: single applicant
• $70,000: applicant with dependents

This could be difficult to establish if you are from a country with low per capita income levels.

Genuine Temporary Entrant

The Department of Immigration will retain the “Genuine Temporary Entrant” requirement in its current form – this gives Immigration the discretion to request documentation if they have concerns. This may require applicants to explain how the course is relevant to their background and why they have chosen to study in Australia. Immigration has the discretion to refuse the application if they are not convinced that only a temporary stay is intended.

Changes to 8202 “Maintain Enrolment” Condition

Students currently can only study courses in the sector allowed by the type of student visa they hold. For instance, a student on a 572 visa can study any course in the vocational sector. This would allow a student who obtained a visa to study an advanced diploma to swap to a Certificate IV for instance.

From 1 July, condition 8202 will be changed to prohibit students swapping to a lower course. Students can only study at the same AQF level or higher. For instance, an advanced diploma is at AQF level 6. Students can only study at AQF 6 or higher. In particular, a student who swapped to a Certificate IV (AQF level 4) would be in breach of their visa.

Conclusion

The Simplified Student Visa Framework should make the application process for low risk students a lot more straightforward. In particular the following will be very beneficial:

• Simplified visa arrangements making the process easier to understand
• Lower documentary requirements for low risk students
• Onshore lodgment for most applicants

For education providers, there is a huge advantage in maintaining a low risk rating under the new system. This would mean that students are exempt from providing evidence of financial status and English language ability and making it far easier for students to obtain visas to study in Australia.

Where required, the new income requirement could pose issues for applicants from countries with low-income levels.

In addition, the Department of Immigration retains the discretion to ask for evidence of finances and English language ability if they have some concerns, and in all cases, the genuine temporary entrant requirement still applies.

References

Department of Immigration – New student visa framework

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