Sydney, Australia – Announcing a significant policy shift to restrict ‘visa hopping’, the Australian government has announced a pathway close for Temporary Graduate visa(subclass 485) holders to apply for another student visa onshore from 1 July 2024. ‘Visitor Visa holders will not be able to apply for Student Visas onshore’ media release by Minister for Home Affairs and Cyber Security, Clare O’Neil reads. She further mentioned that this announcement is part of a broader strategy to overhaul the migration system.
The current visa regime allows temporary visa holders, including international students, to extend their stay in Australia simply by applying for different visas, including subsequent student visas. According to the government, this has contributed to an unsustainable increase in the number of individuals remaining in the country without progressing towards permanent residency or skilled employment.
Minister O’Neil cited renowned demographer Peter McDonald, who said, “Severely curtailing visa hopping by accepting fewer visa applications from people already in the country would better manage population growth than cuts to the permanent migration intake.”
From 1 July, those on Temporary Graduate Visa holders will face new restrictions to ensure they either secure skilled jobs and progress towards Australian permanent residency or return to their countries. Rather than making their Australian stay ‘permanently temporary.’ Minister O’Neil highlighted that these changes are essential to maintain the integrity of the international student system and managing population growth more effectively.
“The migration system we inherited was completely broken, and our goal is to build a smaller, better planned, more strategic migration system that works for Australia,” O’Neil stated.
No Temporary Graduate visa for 35-plus
The government has changed multiple policies for Temporary Graduate Visas, stopping visa hopping and changing the age requirement to apply for the visa. After new changes, international students would get shorter post-graduate working rights, and the age limit has been reduced from 50 to 35 years to apply for a visa. Most significantly, the government changed the English language requirement to apply for a Temporary Graduate visa.
New changes directly address findings from the Grattan Institute’s “Graduates in Limbo” report, which highlighted that 32% of Temporary Graduate Visa holders returned to study upon visa expiration to prolong their stay and work in Australia.
Together with these reforms, the government aimed to halve net overseas migration by the next financial year.
“We need a migration system which delivers the skills we need but doesn’t trade in rorts, loopholes and exploitation”, Minister O’Neil said.
