Govt toughens checks on student visas

The federal government has strengthened measures aimed at cracking down on abuse of
the student visa program.
Authorities have been given increased powers to cancel visas while rules governing
the assessment of students studying more than one course have also been
strengthened.
Addressing the American Chamber of Commerce in Perth, Immigration Minister Chris
Evans said the changes strike the right balance between making the visa process
easier for genuine students while imposing additional checks on those who may seek
to abuse the system.
Students studying more than one course will now be required to meet a higher level
of risk assessment within their package of courses.
"This measure will help reduce fraud by ensuring students are not able to select
courses they do not intend to complete, simply to receive a more favourable risk
assessment level," Senator Evans said.
Changes have also been made to migration regulations to strengthen the visa
cancellation guidelines where a student is found to have deferred or suspended their
studies for non-genuine reasons.
"International students who are genuinely experiencing difficult circumstances will
still be able to take temporary leave from their studies," Senator Evans said.
"However, my department now has an improved capacity to verify students' claims
where there are not compassionate or compelling reasons for deferral or suspension."
There are also new rules aimed at streamlining visa requirements for prospective
postgraduate students from all countries.
"This will enable postgraduate research sector applicants to lodge applications
using the eVisa facility and support growth in this sector," Senator Evans said.
"This decision is based on the low level of fraud and high level of compliance with
visa conditions in the sector."