Find out about the significant drop in study visa grants in Australia, down nearly 30% in the first four months of 2024.
Find out about the significant drop in study visa grants in Australia, down nearly 30% in the first four months of 2024.
The latest data release from the Australian government reveals that study visa grants to offshore applicants dropped by nearly a third in the first four months of 2024
This compares to a just-over-50% decline at the low point in the pandemic The decline can be traced to more restrictive migration settings and a higher threshold for approving visa applications Study visa approval rates are considerably below historical norms for the first months of the year with the ELICOS and VET sectors especially hard hit Data from Australia's Department of Home Affairs shows that study visa grants are down significantly for the first four months of 2024. There were a total of 74,421 study visas granted to offshore applicants from January through April of this year, a nearly -30% decline (-29.1%) from 104,808 granted in the same period in 2023.
To put the overall decline for the first four months of this year in context, that compares to a -53% drop in visas granted to offshore students between 2019/20 and 2020/21 as the pandemic took hold.
The vocational education and training (VET) and language training (ELICOS) sectors have been especially hard hit so far this year, recording -69% and - 56% declines in visa grants respectively.
From January onward, there have been increasing reports of rising rejection rates, and calls for greater transparency in visa processing. In short, in the wake of the new migration settings prospective students must now prove a higher level of savings, a higher level of English proficiency, and otherwise pass a “Genuine Student Test.”
