The new Student visa framework was introduced from 1 July 2016 to simplify student visa arrangements. The number of Student visas was reduced from seven to two (Student and Student Guardian).
The new Subclass 500 Student visa operates on a modified risk assessment framework which takes into consideration the nationality of the applicant and the education provider. The Department of Home Affairs (DHA) is not releasing information on these risk levels on the basis it considers this will maintain integrity in the program. The goal is to streamline low risk applications while identifying and closely scrutinising applications which present greater risk. Immigration’s catchphrase for this approach is ‘positive risk assessment’.
Low risk applicants have streamlined evidentiary requirements such as the removal to demonstrate English language ability and evidence of financial capacity to cover living expenses. Some low risk applications will be decided by automated systems, resulting in decisions for low risk applicants being made within 24 hours. High risk applicants will continue to be closely scrutinised and a higher standard of documents must be provided in support of the visa application.
The new Student visa also allows for a much wider range of circumstances for onshore applications. Previously only low risk (Assessment Level 1) or existing Student visa holders could apply onshore. Under the new system most visa classes qualify for an onshore Student visa application.
DIBP has maintained the ‘Genuine Temporary Entrant’ criterion in the new Subclass 500 Student visa framework. This criterion states that only people seeking to reside temporarily in Australia are eligible for the Student visa and people seeking permanent migration to Australia do not meet the criterion for grant. The Genuine Temporary Entrant requirement is, in fact, a profound irony at the heart of the system which is largely driven by people seeking to establish a long-term future in Australia. The system continues to allow people who have arrived in Australia on Student visas to subsequently apply for further visas provided they meet the criteria for approval, and even encourages them to do so by providing a pathway – in some circumstances – to the Subclass 485 Graduate visa.
