27 August 2008

Changes to Australian student visa Assessment Levels

As of Monday 01 September 2008, legislative changes to the Australian student visa will come into effect. The changes are the result of a review by the Government, and will effect the applications for nationals from 52 countries.

All applications for Australian student visas are assessed in terms of their calculated immigration risk posed by students from a particular country and educational sector.  The risk of applicants is graded against student visa Assessment Levels (ALs), which range from Level 1 to Level 5.  Level 5 represents the highest level of immigration risk for Australia, and therefore requires applicants to provide the highest level of evidence supporting their application for a student visa. 

As a result of a review into the student visa program, the Australian Government has made legislative changes to the ALs, which will come into effect next Monday 01 September 2008.  The changes will mean the ALs in 52 countries will be amended.  All applications for a student visa from nationals in these countries will be subject to these amendments after 01 September.  All applications which are already being processed before this date will not be affected by the changes.

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The Australian Visa Bureau is an independent consulting company specialising in helping people apply for an Australia visa.

Article by Jessica Bird, Australian Visa Bureau.