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Immigration Daily News Confusion reigns as students are threatened with visa cancellation
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Confusion reigns as students are threatened with visa cancellation
Despite DIBPs threatening tweets and press reports claiming DIBP is giving students 14 days to explain a course swap, a DIBP spokesperson maintains its letters to students are ‘advice letters’ which are part of an ‘education campaign’ and not formal notice that the department intends to cancel visas of course swappers.
DIBP has recently flagged concerns about students who enter Australia with streamlined visas for university study but switch after arrival to cheaper private colleges. The streamlined visa system with its lower standard of proof is generally restricted to universities and regarded as easier to obtain.
The department is now issuing veiled threats to cancel such visas where courses are swapped.
At the social medial level, DIBP is not mincing its words. The latest DIBP tweet has the wording: “A course swap could mean your student visa is cancelled”. But when queried by the media, a DIBP spokesperson, apparently explained that the letters now being sent out to students are part of an 'education campaign'.
The Australian’s Higher Education Section reports that DIBP has issued letters requiring students to provide an explanation in 14 days for the course swap. The letters assert that the students are in breach of a visa condition, but do not warn that a breach may be a basis for cancellation.
The report revealed that the letter to the students states, "You are not enrolled in an eligible course with an eligible education provider as required under the terms for which your visa was granted, and you are now considered to be in breach of visa condition 8516".
The condition makes no specific reference to the streamlined visa system. However, the letter to students says "your visa was granted based on you having to meet a lower threshold of proof of your education history, English language ability, and financial capacity", says the report.
Students form the Indian subcontinent in particular may be under scrutiny following a report that they in particular were "jumping ship" to cheaper degree programs or diplomas at private colleges.
Comments
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Thursday, 30 January 2014
DIBPS email on the matter:
UNCLASSIFIED
Dear Registered Migration Agent
The following information on streamlined student visa processing arrangements has been provided by the National Student Integrity and Visa Cancellation Coordination Section. This information is provided for registered migration agents only. This information is not for external distribution or publication.
A course swap could mean a student visa is cancelled. Be aware of visa condition 8516 for streamlined student visa holders.
Under the streamlined student visa processing arrangements eligible student visa applicants from participating universities are assessed for a visa outside the Assessment Level (AL) Framework and are not subject to the evidentiary requirements of schedule 5A of the Migration Regulations.
Visa condition 8516 requires that ‘The holder must continue to be a person who would satisfy the primary or secondary criteria, as the case requires, for the grant of the visa’. In practice, this means that students who were granted a visa under SVP must continue to maintain enrolment in an SVP eligible course and provider.
A version of this message for client’s is available on the Department’s website: http://www.immi.gov.au/Study/Pages/changing-courses.aspx
You may also find useful information at the Department’s Migration Blog
Please read the Minister’s press release for your interest: http://www.minister.immi.gov.au/media/mc/2014/mc210831.htm
Should you have any further questions you can contact student.integrity.and.visa.cancellation.coordination@immi.gov.au
Kind regards
National Student Integrity and Visa Cancellation Coordination
Department of Immigration and Border Protection
http://www.immi.gov.au/Study/Pages/changing-courses.aspx -
Monday, 03 February 2014Agree with Meneer van der Craats. Students are sucked into courses of study offered by unscrupulous student agents overseas (Vietnam, India, China) who sell their courses to the highest bidder (commissions). Once students arrive in Australia and find out the Mickey Mouse course enrolled in is not what they expected. They then have the choice of either putting up with it or go back home and start again. There should be a system in place whereby students are permitted to change their courses of study within the "probationary" period of say three months. That would also put the Micky Mouse operators on notice.
Immigration blog
A visa is granted subject to a COE offer pertaining to a particular course. The COE is tied to the visa. Any change of enrollment could constitute a breach of the visa conditions and as such could become subject to a non satisfactory progress or entitlement and cancellation.
This is a difficult situation as many students are enrolling in a course of study not knowing the full extent of services on offer. Any and all changes of circumstances need to be reported to the department within 14 days. Any student who is caught up in this situation should seek advice from their educational provider or Migration Agents/Lawyer.