Australia is going to start letting international students in again. Now, this is something similar to what we here at Study-Abroad.org have already reported. However, the story has further developed, so we know more now than we used to.
Here are the changes that are coming to the Australian higher education sector regarding international students:
- International students will be able to file a further student visa application for free if they could not complete their studies within their original visa validity date due to COVID-19 measures.
- Students holding visas for Australia that are currently studying online outside of Australia due to COVID-19 will be allowed to count that time for a post-graduation work permit.
- Graduates who held a student visa will be allowed to apply for a post-graduation work permit from outside of Australia if they are unable to return due to temporary COVID-19 restrictions.
- Applicants who still need to meet their English-language requirements will be granted more time to complete them, if COVID-19 impacted their access to services that were helping them learn.
Australia has taken measures farther than most other countries have because a large portion of their economy depends on international students. In addition, a large portion of their overall higher education sector depends on international students as well.
In fact, international students contribute Australian $40 billion to the economy at large and help support 250,000 jobs in the country.
What does it mean for you?
At this point, you might be wondering what this means for you.
The answer is pretty simple: Australia might be a really good country to consider going to study in. They are really rolling out the red carpet for international students wanting to come to the country in a much more meaningful way than almost any other country.
And if you are a student that already attends an Australian university, there is even better news for you: just when you thought it was going to be harder to get your graduation credit hours earned and your post-graduation work permit, Australia made it a lot easier for you.
We here at Study Abroad are always happy to give you good news, and Australia has provided a lot of it today. So, until next time, good luck and happy university hunting!
