Student visa figures reveal growth

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Created on Wednesday, 01 February 2012 18:49

Written by Editorial staff

The Department of Immigration and Citizenship (DIAC) has released its report into the figures and trends of student visa application and grants over the last quarter of 2011.

In the document, the statistics show that there could be an increase in interest from international sources in studying in Australia.

It shows that the year ending December 21 3011 saw a rise in applications for student visas of 4.1 per cent over the same period last year.

Of the 135,793 submissions, 45.58 per cent were made in the last three months of the year - perhaps demonstrating that the decision to travel abroad is made as the festive season approaches.

While there is no cap on the number of student visas that can be issued by the DIAC, the migration visa is subject to certain criteria that naturally limits the amount of grants made.

For the last year, there were 123,598 visas supplied in this area - and increase of 5.9 per cent over the same time period 12 months prior, which saw 116,720 grants supplied.

This means that 90.2 per cent of applications - both overseas and onshore - have resulted in a student visa being granted by the DIAC in 2011.

Unsurprisingly, 49.1 per cent of these grants were also made in December - demonstrating the speed with which the department is able to process the applications.

On this note, the DIAC says that it was able to action 75 per cent of all submissions for student visas inside of 39 days - with 50 per cent of all applications being seen to before 16 days.

While times can differ between individual grants based on supporting material supplied and other relevant factors, the DIAC does give priority to applications made by individuals located overseas - as they require a visa before they can enter the country, while applicants in Australia can be granted a bridging visa while a decision is made.

On top of this, the department notes that many of the onshore lodgements that it receives are incomplete, meaning that extra time is required before the submission can be actioned by departmental staff.

At the end of 2011, there was a total of 254,686 international student visa holders present in the country - with 51.9 per cent of these holding a visa related to the higher education sector.

The growing popularity of Australia as a student destination could lead to an increase in the number of people applying for a permanent residency visa in the future, having grown used to and even fond of their adopted country.