Australia Tightens Student Visa Rules, Language Requirements Tightened This Weekend

Australian visa illustration. (Wikimedia Commons/Top-Gman3304)

JAKARTA - Australian authorities will start enforcing stricter visa rules for foreign students this week, as official data shows migration again hit a record high, likely to further worsen an already tight rental market.

From Saturday, English language requirements for student and postgraduate visas will be increased, while the government will gain the power to suspend education providers from recruiting international students if they repeatedly break the rules.

"This weekend's actions will continue to reduce migration levels while delivering on our commitment in the migration strategy, to repair the broken system we inherited," said Home Affairs Minister Clare O'Neil in a statement, reported by Reuters, March 21.

A new "native student test" will be introduced to further crack down on international students who come to Australia primarily to work. Meanwhile, the application of the "no overstay" provision will be applied to more visitor visas.

The move follows a series of measures last year that capped COVID-era concessions introduced by the previous administration, including unlimited working hours for international students. The government at the time said rules would be tightened for students, which could halve the number of migrants within two years.

Australia is known to increase its annual migration numbers in 2022, to help businesses recruit staff to fill labor shortages after the COVID-19 pandemic necessitated strict border controls, and banned students and foreign workers from leaving for almost two years.

However, the sudden influx of foreign workers and students has exacerbated pressure on an already tight rental market.

Data released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics on Thursday showed net immigration rose 60 percent to a record 548,800 people in the year to September 30, 2023, higher than the 518,000 people in the year ending June 2023.

Overall, Australia's population increased 2.5 percent, the fastest rate ever recorded, to 26.8 million people in the year to last September.

This record migration, driven by students from India, China, and the Philippines, has expanded the labor supply and restrained wage pressures. However, this exacerbates an already tight housing market where rental vacancies are at record lows and rising construction costs are limiting new supply.

O'Neil said government actions since September had led to a decline in migration levels, with recent international student visa grants down by 35 percent compared to the previous year.