1.1.5 Students

Objective

This component aims to develop and administer visa arrangements that will assist growth of the education and tourism industries through the entry to Australia of genuine full-time students.

Description

The student visa program contains a range of visa categories that broadly reflect the different education sectors. Students must study in a course registered on the Commonwealth Register of Institutions and Courses for Overseas Students.

The Student Guardian (subclass 580) visa is available for individuals travelling to care for minors studying in Australia. The AusAID and Defence Sector (subclass 576) visa also exists for students sponsored by those Australian Government agencies.

Student applications are assessed according to the immigration risk demonstrated by each education sector and country. The risk level is determined on the basis of factors such as fraud and visa non-compliance. It is represented by the assessment level that applies to each sector and country. Assessment Level 1 represents the lowest immigration risk, while Assessment Level 5 represents the highest risk. A lower assessment level means fewer requirements to be granted a student visa.

Table 25 and Figure 11 show the top ten countries for student visa grants in 2007–08. Table 26 shows total student visas by subclass.

Performance

Key indicators of the effectiveness of the student visa program include:

• high visa approval rates
• processing times that meet service standards
• high levels of compliance with visa requirements
• improvements to client service, including an increase in the use of eVisa.

Table 23: Total student visa grants (onshore and offshore)

Visa statistics	2006–07	2007–08	Percentage change
Offshore grants	167 129	198 417	18.72%
Onshore grants1	61 463	79 767	29.78%
Total	228 592	278 184	21.69%

1. This figure does not include Permission to Work visa grants or Student Guardian visa grants.

Table 24: Total student visas granted by citizenship for the top ten countries 2006–07

Citizenship	Visas
People’s Republic of China	38 466
India	34 146
Republic of Korea	18 557
United States of America	9 973
Malaysia	9 496
Thailand	9 479
Japan	8 876
Brazil	8 220
Indonesia	7 534
Hong Kong	7 724
Total	152 471
Total visa grants	228 592

Table 25: Total student visas granted by citizenship for the top ten countries 2007–08

Citizenship	Visas
People’s Republic of China	49 763
India	47 639
Republic of Korea	19 350
Thailand	11 576
Brazil	11 096
Malaysia	10 661
Nepal	10 247
United States of America	9 969
Indonesia	8 246
Japan	7 669
Total	186 216
Total visa grants	278 184

Figure 11: Student visa grants—top ten countries

Table 26: Total student visas granted by subclass

Category	2006–07	2007–08	Percentage change
Independent ELICOS1	30 115	30 545	1.43%
Schools	16 224	16 976	4.64%
Vocational Education and Training	43 404	68 382	57.55%
Higher Education	110 821	130 127	17.42%
Postgraduate Research	5 810	6 935	19.36%
Non-Award	17 616	20 698	17.50%
AusAID/Defence	4 602	4 521	–1.76%
Total	228 592	278 184	21.69%

1. English Language Intensive Course for Overseas Students.

Table 27: Student visas—performance information

Measures	Results
	2005–06	2006–07	2007–08
Quality
Percentage of students who become unlawful remains low or decreases as a proportion of student visas expiring in that program year	0.53%	1.32%	0.99%
Percentage of student visas cancelled for non-attendance or for not meeting course requirements remains low or decreases as a proportion of the total number of student visas in place in the program year	0.26%	0.48%	0.41%
Percentage of applications finalised within service standard	70.29%	67.08%	72.23%
Quantity
310 000 student visa applications finalised1	215 486	255 931	313 566

1. From April 2008, the department streamlined its student visa processing to automatically allow part-time work rights to all applicants granted a student visa. This removed the previous requirement for new student visa holders to apply for another student visa that would provide permission to work. The number of student visa applications providing permission to work was 139 692 for 2007–08. In 2006–07, the figure was 105 840 while in 2005–06, 85 182 student visa applications providing permission to work were finalised. The number will decrease significantly in future years as the number of students that are automatically granted part-time work rights with their initial student visa increases.

Table 28: Number of people on student visas in Australia

Program year	30 September	31 December	31 March	30 June
2002–03	176 405	109 024	184 732	171 619
2003–04	193 546	120 602	203 123	177 292
2004–05	207 914	132 278	211 515	190 400
2005–06	222 216	150 560	232 147	208 038
2006–07	242 668	176 268	266 302	248 814
2007–08	294 658	222 942	327 188	317 897

Note: The data has been extracted at the end of each quarter of each program year from 2001–02 to 2006–07 and shows the fluctuations in each quarter due to student peak periods.

Figure 12: Student visa holders in Australia as at 30 June each year, 2003–08

Table 29: Number of students in Australia as at 30 June each year, 2006–08, by citizenship

Citizenship	2006	2007	2008
People’s Republic of China	43 938	51 291	65 411
India	23 609	39 051	65 558
Republic of Korea	17 492	20 084	22 028
Malaysia	12 153	13 047	14 920
Thailand	8 528	9 723	11 539
Nepal	1 352	4 897	11 335
Indonesia	10 052	10 428	10 911
Vietnam	4 367	5 765	9 292
Hong Kong	7 169	7 895	8 278
Japan	8 978	8 184	7 122

Note: This stock data provides a ‘snapshot’ of the estimated number of overseas students in Australia at 30 June each year.

The department granted 278 184 student visas in 2007–08. This was an increase of 21.69 per cent from 228 592 in 2006–07.

This figure does not include visas providing permission to work. The department granted 139 692 Permission to Work visas in 2007–08, an increase of 32 per cent from 2006–07.

From 26 April 2008, the two-step application process for permission to work for student visas was streamlined to become a one-step process. While the work rights themselves have not changed, this will eliminate the need for onshore applications for permission to work, reducing the administrative burden and red tape for both students and the department.

At 30 June 2008, there were 317 897 people in Australia on student visas, a 27.7 per cent increase on the previous year. During academic term time (on 31 March 2008) figures showed there was a record number of 327 188 student visa holders in Australia, a 22.8 per cent increase on the 2006–07 figure.

Compliance

The department supported the growth in the education sector through the grant of more than 278 000 visas. At the same time, the student visa program sought to minimise the number of student visa holders who do not comply with their visa conditions.

There were 6727 student visa cancellations in 2007–08, compared to 6441 in 2006–07. The proportion of cancellations compared to grants declined from 2.82 per cent in 2006–07 to 2.42 per cent in 2007–08.

Further analysis of this data shows that 2294 visas were cancelled due to non-attendance or a failure to meet course progress requirements. The remainder of cancellations were for a variety of reasons and were not necessarily a result of non-compliance. For example, 1449 student visas were cancelled at the request of the students as they had completed their courses early.

A total of 3159 student visa holders became unlawful in 2007–08. This is a significant decrease from 3933 in 2006–07. There has also been a decrease in the unlawful rate of 0.99 per cent in 2007–08, compared to 1.32 per cent in 2006–07. This rate remains low as a proportion of the total number of students in Australia.

Client service improvements

The student visa program continued to make use of technology to provide effective client service. The student eVisa system allows students to lodge applications online. This option proved popular among students, with an increase in take-up rates of 46.36 per cent in 2007–08.

Table 30: Offshore eVisa grants in Assessment Levels 2–4 trial countries

	2005–06	2006–07	2007–08
India	6 943	19 703	32 885
People’s Republic of China	7 286	14 894	20 667
Thailand	2 148	3 330	3 475
Indonesia	214	505	228
Total	16 591	38 432	57 255

Table 31: Offshore eVisa percentage take-up rates for Assessment Levels 2–4 trial countries from 2005–06 to 2007–08

	2005–06	2006–07	2007–08
India	51.16%	62.22%	84.15%
People’s Republic of China	43.29%	54.95%	63.58%
Thailand	40.47%	55.36%	49.41%
Indonesia	4.56%	9.28%	3.90%