Australian Immigration Daily News

INTERNATIONAL STUDENTS SPEAK UP, SPEAK OUT!

CANBERRA – 31 AUGUST 2018

On 29 June 2018 the ACT Government partially closed its permanent visa program to people living in Canberra who did not have one of the limited numbers of occupations on the ACT Occupation List.

The announcement was made without consultation or prior notice and has retrospectively affected the legitimate expectations of thousands of international students living in Canberra.

As a result of the closure, international students living in Canberra are coming forward to speak up and speak out about the impact this unfair decision is having on their lives.

Most of these students have lived in Australia for many years and have invested significant resources in moving to Canberra. In many cases they were weeks or days short of meeting the nomination criteria and applying for permanent residence. Many of the students have been left stranded without other options.

The peaceful protest is on Friday 31 August 2018, two months after the closure of the program. The protest will be held in Civic Square outside the ACT Legislative Assembly, London Circuit, Canberra City, from 4.00 PM to 5.30 PM.

The purpose of the event is to allow international students affected by the closure to speak-up and speak-out about the personal affect the sudden closure of the program is having on their lives.

At the event international students will also call on the ACT Government to honour its implicit promise by allowing students enrolled in an ACT institution on or before the 29 June 2018 to apply for ACT nomination under the policy in place on that day.

It will also call on the Minister for Immigration to allocate an additional 1,500 visa places to the ACT Government to allow it to meet its moral obligations under its nomination program.

Petition: https://www.change.org/p/act-government-act-government-honour-your-promise-to-international-students-in-canberra

Contact

VisAustralia: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or +61 2 6247 7577

VisAustralia is a migration law firm based in Canberra committed to advocating publicly on behalf of our clients and visa applicants.