Door Opens for Overseas Students to Apply for Permanent Residency

Students walk around Sydney University in Sydney, Australia, on April 6, 2016. Brendon Thorne/Getty Images

The Labor government will streamline migration for overseas students in Australia.

Currently, overseas students need to comply with the Genuine Temporary Entrant (GTE) when applying to study in Australia. The GTE requires students to demonstrate that they genuinely intend to stay in Australia to gain an education.

Students must provide a 300-word statement of purpose explaining the applicants’ personal circumstances, their potential situation in Australia, and the value of the program to their future.

Previously, if they expressed any intention of remaining in Australia permanently, the candidates’ application was rejected.

But the GTE requirement also stated that it “is not intended to exclude students who, after studying in Australia, develop skills Australian seeds and who then go on to apply for permanent residence.”

The Labor government has stated that their migration reform would favour permanent over temporary migration.

Genuine Students Were Denied Entry: Education Body

CEO of the International Education Association of Australia, Phil Honeywood, warned Australia would be “cutting off our nose” if they denied students who express a wish to stay but also have vital skills in STEM or allied health.

“They throw them out if you dare mention that you would like to get a migration outcome from a study in Australia; you are automatically denied a student visa,” Mr. Honeywood told The Australian newspaper on Aug. 22.

“Too many genuine student applicants have been denied entry merely for being honest about what they hope to achieve when they graduate with a world-class Australian qualification.”

The Labor government has previously stated in its 2021 policy document that the reform would ensure “no migrant is ‘permanently temporary.'”

“We will align the permanent and temporary migration programs and ensure that, where appropriate, migrants have pathways to permanent visas and citizenship,” the document said.

“We will encourage temporary visa holders to consider permanent residency where the visa holders are working under successful arrangements and have priority skills which are in shortage in Australia.”

‘A Guest Worker Nation’

Last year, Labor’s Home Affairs spokesperson said Australia was at risk of becoming a “guest worker nation.”

“Our migration program should favour permanent over temporary migration to create a nation of people with equal rights and shared interest in our national success,” former MP Kristina Kenneally told SBS News.

However, the opposition has previously criticised Labor’s migration policy for the lack of consistency.

“Labor has no clear or consistent policy on immigration, only thought bubbles,” former Immigration Minister Alex Hawke said.

According to the government’s review of the migration system (pdf) released in 2023, international students make an important contribution to Australia’s economy.

“They are also educated in Australian institutions and should be well-placed to make a contribution to our society and economy, providing a stream of strong candidates for permanent residence,” said the review.

“International students’ fees provide a source of income for schools, English language, vocational and higher education providers. International education is Australia’s fourth largest export, growing at 10 per cent per year101 between 2010 and 2019—more than double that of the broader economy.”

But the report argued that the current settings “do not allow all students and graduates to demonstrate or reach their labour market potential, and Australia is not selecting those most likely to make a good transition to permanency early enough.”

“Together, these factors undermine the attractiveness of graduates in the eyes of employers and leave them facing ongoing uncertainty, contributing to a significant under-utilisation of their skills and attributes.”

The report went on to note that too many former students have been allowed to stay long-term on a temporary basis “to the detriment of these migrants and Australia.”

Concerns Of Student Visa Scams

There have been concerns, however, about fraudulent international student visa applications.

In April, several universities, including Victoria University, the University of Wollongong, and Southern Cross University, decided to put a ban on applicants from certain Indian states.

“Certain young people try and put in some [dodgy] paperwork that would pass the test when it comes to the academic qualifications,” Mr. Honeywood told 3AW.

“We got a surge of those in certain parts of India, then from time to time universities would say look we are a bit concerned about this, and we don’t think these young people will meet the entry requirements, won’t be able to graduate properly so we’re just not going to recruit them until the education agents who are directing these kids to the universities clean their act up.”

He also noted that the scamming of agents was part of the problem.

“We rely on education agents to send about 85 percent of the full fee-paying international students who come here each year,” he said.

“But once they get here, there’s this unfortunate situation where onshore agents try and encourage them to jump out of public unis into other colleges, shall we say, to do an easier course, a cheaper course, and that’s where the government have indicated they’re going to come in hard with some regulations.”