New Australia Student Visa Changes and What They Mean for Students

The new Genuine Student Test

The government is set to introduce the new Genuine Student Test. This will replace the existing Genuine Temporary Entrant (GTE) requirement for which students had to include a personal statement of 300 words along with supporting documents like previous study, employment and economic situation in their home country.

The new test has been introduced “in the hope to incentivise genuine student applications”. Even though the details of what the questions of the test will cover have not been released yet, the government has assured that post-study pathways will still be open to students who are eligible.

Increase in the minimum English language requirement

Starting early next year, the minimum English language proficiency required to apply for an Australian student visa is set to increase from an IELTS 5.5 to 6.0. The minimum language requirement if you’re applying for the Temporary Graduate Route visa will also increase from IELTS 6.0 to 6.5.

Changes to Temporary Graduate Route visas

The Temporary Graduate Route, Australia’s post-study work visa, will also go through a revamp, the government have said in the same announcement. This is a summary of the changes that have been announced:

• Length of graduate visas granted for students with a Masters by coursework is now two years (reduced from three years).
• Length of graduate visas granted for students with a Masters by research remain unchanged at three years.
• Length of graduate visas granted for students with a PhD is now three years (reduced from four years).