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When was the last time you thought of exploring other wildlife and ended up thinking maybe I should be travelling to #Straya to finally see kangaroos and koalas in the flesh? Today is the day! Let @bluepacmigratn make your #AUSTRALIA visit possible and stress-free. Inquire now! pic.twitter.com/agfTfWZjnY

— Blue Pacific Migration Services (@bluepacmigratn) 1 June 2018

So you’ve secured your Australian Student Visa, but you’re still wondering what this means. Basically, it permits you to live, study and work in Australia for the duration of your studies – but it’s not quite that simple.

Recent reports show that international students are being exploited both in the workplace and househunting in Australia. The National Temporary Migrant Work Survey found 43 percent of international students are illegally being paid under the minimum wage, and 27 percent are not aware they are being underpaid.

International students are also being forced into unsafe and illegal accommodation because they have little money or time to search around.

Study International has compiled your working and living rights under the Australian student visa to ensure you are treated fairly:

General

Probably the most obvious condition of the Australian student visa is that you must remain a student to keep your visa. If you leave university or delay your studies, your visa will no longer be valid.

Don’t make the mistake of applying to Australian university as a clever ploy to live here for a few years without studying – Australian immigration authorities are notoriously strict so chance are you won’t get away with it.

You must also continue to have the minimum bank balance as outlined on your student visa. Keep yourself protected from any hassle by remaining within the conditions described on your visa.

Next, you must inform immigration authorities and your institution as soon as possible if you change your education status or address.

How many hours can I work?

If you are studying for an undergraduate degree, you are eligible to work up to 40 hours a fortnight once your studies have begun, at minimum wage or above.

And if you’ve decided to seek employment as a student there, it is crucial that you know this: it is illegal for your employer to force you to work more than 40 hours a fortnight or pay you less than minimum wage (AU$18.29 an hour/ US$14.08).

So if they try to enforce this, you reserve the right to report them to the immigration authorities. Many students don’t because they are desperate for the extra cash and are afraid to lose their jobs. But this doesn’t have to be the case.

If you are studying for a Master’s by research or PhD qualification, you can work an unlimited number of hours alongside your studies.

Volunteering

You can partake in voluntary work outside of your 40 hours work limitation if your visa is subject to visa condition 8104 or 8105.

However, the voluntary work must remain secondary to your studies – rather than this being your main commitment while in Australia.

Additionally, no type of remuneration or cash-in-hand agreements can be considered voluntary work. If you are receiving financial aid in any way for the voluntary work, you risk breaching your visa and having it revoked, so be careful.

Can my family live/work in Australia?

One of the best things about the Australian student visa is it grants your dependent family members work rights as well – this includes your spouse, unmarried children under 18, and ageing parents.

So forget teary goodbyes at the airport and wave hello to your new life in Australia!

Some of the changes to the Australian visa program have been confirmed while others are still up in the air.

Replacement of the 457 with the Temporary Skill Shortage visa

One of the changes confirmed for March is the replacement of the 457 visa with the Temporary Skill Shortage (TSS) visa.

The TSS visa is divided in two; the short-term stream, allowing stays of up to two years (with the option to renew once), and the medium-term stream allowing stays of up to four years. The medium-term stream has a pathway to permanent residency, while the short-term stream doesn’t.

Both streams will see tighter regulations, mainly work experience requirements and a higher level of English.

Partner visa

The government would like to implement a two-step process where the sponsor needs to be approved before the partner lodges an application.

Nilesh Nandan, special counsel with My Visa Australia, a national immigration practice, is worried that this might cause some problems.

“It’s going to delay the ability for somebody to lodge a valid application because it needs to overcome that first threshold of getting a sponsor approved to be able to sponsor.”

But he says that an assessment of the sponsor could also be good news for the partner, who would be made fully aware of the past criminal conduct of the sponsor.

Temporary parent sponsored visa

Last year, the government also announced a new temporary sponsored parent visa, but the bill enabling it still needs to be approved by the Senate.

The visa holders would be allowed to stay for up to 10 years, but would not be allowed to reapply beyond that time and would have no pathway to permanent residency.

The three-year-visa would cost $5000, the five-year-visa $10,000 and the 10-year-visa $20,000.

Citizenship

The government is also expected to bring back an amended version of its citizenship bill, which would toughen the conditions to obtain citizenship.

Currently, people have to reside in Australia for at least four years and be a permanent resident for at least one year to be eligible to citizenship. With the proposed changes, people would have to be a permanent resident for at least four years to be eligible.

There would also be a new English test.

More visa cancellations and deportations

Nilesh Nandan believes that we’ll see more visa cancellations and deportations for criminals convicted of serious offenses. Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton is in favour of the visa crackdown proposed last year by a Liberal-led parliamentary committee.

There’s a lot going on in terms of Australian visas. That’s why Blue Pacific Migration Services is here to guide and help you in the process.

Australia Student Visa applications have increased by 20% in 2018 as per the latest available data for visa applications. This is an evidence of enhancing interest of overseas students in higher education institutions in Australia.

Strong growth in interest has been specifically recorded by the Chinese market based on the visa applications filed in April. Australia Student Visa applications from Chinese nationals have enhanced by 22%. This is inclusive of 14% increase in university study applications, as quoted by the Study International. Interest from applicants in China increased more than twice for vocational education.

The overall 20% increase, when compared with last year, ends the pattern for last 2 months. In this period the number of requests for Australia Student Visas remained unchanged in comparison with the previous years.

The latest statistics for visa applications demonstrate that notwithstanding diverse incidents, the interest of Chinese in Australian universities is not fading. Record visa approval rate of approximate 97% has been witnessed for Chinese applicants.

The major draw for Chinese students is the comparative ease of obtaining an Australian job upon graduation and then the PR. It has been noted that the percentage of Chinese students’ enrollment is much higher than subjects that are not high scoring. Statistics reveal that there was a 17% increase in the figures of Chinese students in Australia in the previous year.

There are diverse reasons for overseas students getting attracted to Australia. These include education quality, comparatively lesser competition as for top universities in China and ease of entering the Australian job market.