Australia said on Monday it had doubled visa fees for international students, the latest move by the government to stem record migration that has added pressure on an already tight housing market.
Morten Falch Sortland | Getty Images
Australia said on Monday it had doubled visa fees for international students, the latest move by the government to stem record migration that has added pressure on an already tight housing market.
From July 1, the cost of international student visas has risen to 1,600 Australian dollars ($1,068) from AU$710, while visitor visa holders and students on graduate visas are temporarily barred from applying for student visas on land.
“The changes we are making today will help restore the integrity of our international education system, and create a fairer, smaller and more deliverable migration system for Australia,” Home Affairs Minister Clare O’Neil said in a statement.
Official data released in March showed net immigration rose 60% to a record 548,800 people in the year to September 30, 2023.
The increase in fees makes student visa applications for Australia more expensive than in competing countries such as the US and Canada, which cost about $185 and 150 Canadian dollars ($110) respectively.
The government says it is also closing loopholes in visa rules that allow foreign students to stay in Australia, after the number of students on second or subsequent student visas increased by more than 30% to more than 150,000 in 2022–23.
The latest move follows a raft of actions since late last year to tighten student visa rules as the lifting of the Covid-19 curve in 2022 increases annual migration to record levels.
English language requirements were tightened in March, while the amount of savings international students need to apply for a visa was raised in May to AU$29,710 from AU$24,505, doubling in seven months.
Universities Australia CEO Luke Sheehy said the government’s continued policy pressure on the sector would jeopardize the country’s position of strength.
“This is not good for the economy or our universities, both of which are heavily dependent on international student fees,” Sheehy said in an emailed response.
International education is one of Australia’s largest export industries and is worth AU$36.4 billion to the economy in the 2022-2023 financial year.
