Australian study visa application made simpler from July 2017

Australia now has a new visa system in place for incoming international students – the Simplified Student Visa Framework (SSVF), reports Times of India.

The SSVF takes effect from July 1, 2017, where there will only be a single Student visa (subclass 500), regardless of the applicant’s chosen course of study.

Previously, there were seven types of Australian student visas – 570, 571, 572, 573, 574, 575 and 576 – which depended on the applicant’s level of study, whether it is high school, higher education, vocational education, English language or PhD.

Congratulations to Smart Study #JaswinderjitSingh Pannu##MandeepKaur# and #ShivaSharma#
Got 3 Australian Student Visa in 1 day!!!!!!!!!!! pic.twitter.com/vnT2idXfW6

— SmartStudy (@SmartStudy3) June 23, 2017

“The changes are made to simplify the student visa framework for the students,” says Gagan, an education counsellor at overseas education consultancy Edwise.

The number of the student visa subclasses has been reduced to two, from eight previously. They are the student visa (subclass 500) and the new Student Guardian visa (subclass 590).

A single immigration risk framework will now apply to all international students.

Manpreet Kaur, an education consultant at IDP, an organisation for international student placement services, says:

“The SSVF is intended to replace the existing SVF arrangements.”

“Under SSVF, the combined immigration risk outcomes of the student’s education provider and citizenship will be used to guide the level of documentation relating to financial capacity and English language proficiency.”

Students and their guardians must now apply for their visas online by creating an account on ImmiAccount, the “front door” to the online services provided by the Australian government’s Department of Immigration and Border Protection’s website.

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