02, Nov 2011

The Australian Immigration Department has cancelled nearly 15,066 student visas of foreign nationals, including Indians, for breaching visa conditions. That figure marked a 37 percent spike from the previous year.

About 3,624 students are facing deportation for flunking subjects or missing classes and a further 2,235 students who quit their original courses and were working illegally have forfeited their visas.

Reports suggest that Indian students have been hit the hardest whereas Chinese students fared better as they were less likely to be studying for a trade. Among the students whose visas were cancelled, one in every five international students was Chinese, while one in every six was Indian. The majority of international students were placed in New South Wales and Victoria.

As per the new rules, university graduates will have the right to work in Australia only for two years after completing their graduation, while vocational training students are required to wait on a second tranche of changes, due next year, to find out where they stand.

Statistics reveal that of the 332,709 international students in Australia in June, more than half were studying at a university. One third of them were on vocational training visas studying diploma courses.

The eight kinds of Australian student visas issued by the Immigration Department include vocational training, university, English language courses, or school education visas. To qualify for these visas students must be enrolled in a course and show they can pay tuition and living costs and meet health and English language tests. The department’s annual report reveals that 8,309 visas became invalid in the past year because of nonrenewal before the date of expiry.