July 01, (THEWILL) – The Australian government has increased its visa fee for international students from A$710 to A$1,600.
In a statement on Monday, Home Affairs Minister, Clare O’Neil, said the hike is directed to restore integrity to the international education system and create a migration system that is fairer, smaller and better able to deliver for Australia.
“From July 1, the international student visa fee has risen to A$1,600 ($1,068) from A$710, while visitor visa holders and students with temporary graduate visas are banned from applying onshore for a student visa.
“The changes coming into force today will help restore integrity to our international education system and create a migration system that is fairer, smaller, and better able to deliver for Australia”, O’Neil said.
The government said it was also closing loopholes in visa rules that allowed foreign students to continuously extend their stay in Australia after the number of students on a second or subsequent student visa spiked by over 30% to more than 150,000 in 2022–2023.
International education is one of Australia’s largest export industries and was worth A$36.4 billion to the economy in the 2022-2023 financial year.
Official data released in March showed net immigration rose 60% to a record 548,800 people in the year to September 30, 2023.
English language requirements were tightened in March, while the amount of savings international students need to get a visa was raised in May to A$29,710 ($19,823) from A$24,505, the second increase in about seven months.
The new fee hike makes applying for a student visa for Australia far more expensive than in competing countries like the U.S. and Canada, where they cost about $185 and C$150 ($110), respectively.
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