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The upper limit of the 485 age application was lowered to 35 years old, and it was criticized for discrimination!"It is more appropriate to change to 40 years old, and it is likely that it will not affect those who have already enrolled?" Study permits from China increased by 46%!
Entering 2024, the reform of the 500 study permit and the 485 international student graduation work permit will be implemented, some will be in early 2024, and some will be in mid-2024, and the specific time of implementation has not been determined.
Of course, after the announcement of the new policy at the end of last year, it caused a lot of controversy.
For example, the upper age limit for 485 applications has been lowered from 50 to 35 years old.
There are currently around 23,500 PhD students enrolled, 40% of whom were over 30 years old when they started their degrees. The new policy is also particularly disadvantageous for female international students who are studying for a master's degree, as they are more likely to start their master's degree at an older age for work and family reasons.
Professor Ly Tran of Deakin University's School of Education said the change in age requirements would mean that a large number of PhD students would not be eligible for the 485 visa and therefore miss out on permanent migration, even though they are one of the most desirable potential migrants. Australia is competing for global talent, with major study destination countries such as Canada, the United Kingdom, the United States, China and Japan actively using international education to support their economies.
"Other policies aim to improve Australia's attractiveness to research talent, as well as the need to utilise high-quality graduates to help meet labour demand and support economic growth. And the change in the 485 age limit is contradictory to other policies. ”
A master's student over the age of 35 said that getting a paid job after graduation was one of his top considerations when choosing Australia as a Xi destination, and now his plans have been seriously disrupted.
Our "old friend" immigration expert Abul Rizvi said that the annual limit of 50 years old is too high, and the age limit for most skilled immigrants is 45 years old, which means that it is difficult to get permanent residence if you are really old enough to study abroad. But for doctoral students, 35 years old is indeed too low.
He believes that the upper age limit that should be set should be so that applicants will not be seriously delayed in applying for skilled immigration because of age, so he thinks that 40 years old is more reasonable, and this boundary will allow applicants to have time to graduate, gain relevant work experience, and then apply for permanent residence before the age of 45.
At the same time, he agrees that the new (age) rules are unlikely to apply to students who are already enrolled because they have the explicit authority to apply for 485 at the time of admission. "Otherwise, it will be very complicated from the legal is administrative. ”
In response to the MIA Registered Migration Agents Association, the USCIS said that PhDs only account for a very small percentage of the total number of international students, and most PhDs do not need to use 485.
However, as the example given in the article, this policy affects not only doctoral students, but also older master's students, and perhaps the most disadvantageous. As Abul Rizvi said, change may be needed, but can the specific settings and implementation be more realistic? Hopefully, things will be reversed, at least to achieve what he thinks is unlikely to apply to students who have already started Xi school.
The Labor Party's tightening of the 485 international student graduation work permit may not be as much, and they have reiterated again and again that the main purpose is to reduce the NOM by restricting the temporary visa. International students are a larger group than overseas graduates.
In November 2023, the number of study visa holders in Australia began to decline. From the peak of 664178 in September to 612099 in November, there were nearly 50,000 fewer people.
This is "due to" USCIS's estimation that the speed of study visa processing has slowed down, but the number of approvals is less than in the same period in 2022. In November, there were 3,000 fewer overseas visas, equivalent to a decrease of 11.7%. Note that this does not mean that the approval rate is 11.7% lower, but that the number of approvals is lower.
As can be seen from the chart below, the number of new overseas submissions in November was still quite large, with overseas study visa applications from China and Vietnam increasing by 46% and 39% respectively. The largest decreases were recorded in applications from Nepal and Colombia.
Abul Rizvi also commented on the recent approval rate of study permits, and one of the reasons behind the decrease in the approval rate is that the immigration bureau has become more stringent in processing applications from certain regions and countries.
The number of domestic applications was 12,408 in November, a decrease of about 2,000 compared to 2022, but the overall approval rate decreased from 99.6% to 90.1%. This is also related to the government's policy of cracking down on domestic transfer or continuous renewal of study visas.
Starting in the second half of 2023, the study visa process has become stricter, especially for overseas applications, and the materials should be prepared as completely as possible, so don't think that the study visa is very simple. At the same time, but what is more prominent is that the trial is very slow, from last week to this week, the study visa is piled up, from August to November submission, and if it is submitted in August/September, it is equivalent to waiting for 3-4 months, which is outrageous enough.
It is expected that in a period of time, the 500 study visa may maintain such a more confused state, and those who want to study abroad in the second half of 2024 can apply right now!
A collection of 500 student visas under this two weeks
From the end of 2023 to the beginning of 2024, some prestigious schools offer