The Department of Immigration and Border Protection has recently raised serious concerns about the large number of student visa cancellations for breach of Condition 8516.
An operation conducted by the DIBP sent 1000 x ‘Intention to Consider Cancellation Notices’ and of these around 750 x were cancelled ultimately.
If you are on a student visa and are looking to change your courses you should look consider these circumstances before making a decision.
The Department’s targeted ‘course hopping’ students in the following categories:
Higher Education Sector visa (subclass 573) holders granted their visas under the streamlined visa processing provisions (requiring less scrutiny) who, shortly after arrival in Australia, then applied for and were refused Vocational Education and Training Sector visas (subclass 572) (non-streamlined visa processing that requires more scrutiny);
Student visa holders who have not acted on advice from the department to abide by the requirements of their Student visas;
Student visa holders who, upon arrival in Australia, have changed to a course of study that has no correlation to the course of study for which their Student visa was granted. For example, a Student visa holder intends to study for a Bachelor of Engineering, and then changes to a cookery course of study.
Student course hoppers who have an adverse immigration history.
Under the Department’s discretionary framework students with genuine intention to study relevant courses will be given an opportunity to explain their circumstances and hence the decision not to cancel in approximately 250 of the 1000 cases.
It should also be noted that of more than 4,000 students identified in breach of condition 8516, the Department only took action against those students considered high risk and within the categories outlined above.
Further information about changing course is available on the Department’s website http://www.border.gov.au/Trav/Stud/More/Changing-courses
