AUSTRALIA 5836 FOREIGN STUDENTS OUT OF 35,127 HAD OBTAINED 485 VISA AFTER COMPLETING GRADUATION ON 573 STUDENT VISA ENDING 31ST DECEMBER 2015 OUT OF WHICH 4685 STILL IN COUNTRY AND REST OVERSEAS
The uptake of visas to allow international students to stay and work in Australia for two years following graduation is “very low” and experts say the prohibitive cost and lack of genuine degree-related work opportunities are to blame.
An analysis of Immigration Department data shows, of the 35,127 people who had graduated and held a 573 visa on March 15 last year, just 5836 had moved to a 485 visa — known as post-study work rights visa — on December 31.
Of those, just 4685 were still in Australia, the rest overseas.
“This is the first evidence we have that the uptake of this visa category is very low,” International Education Association of Australia executive director Phil Honeywood said.
“These visas were supposed to give Australia a major marketing advantage over competitor countries but the uptake has not been as robust as we anticipated.”
Mr Honeywood said he did not have a clear answer as to why uptake was low but suspected the cost of $1400 might be prohibitive for many graduates.
He also said anecdotal evidence from students was that lack of genuine work opportunities in the graduates’ field of study might be a another barrier.
“Not everyone is happy being a taxi driver for two years after graduation,” he said. “
He said post-study work rights was allowing, Indian and Pakistani middle-class students to get bank loans to help them study overseas — yet weren’t taking up the visas as an option.
“They’re more likely to get a student loan to cover the cost of their tuition fees because they can prove to the bank they can stay in Australia work full time for two years after graduation.”
However, International Education Minister Richard Colbeck brushed aside suggestions the uptake of 485 visas was low, saying the full pipeline of students since the visas were introduced in late 2011 had not come through.
After doing English language study, a pathway diploma and three-year degree, students would just be coming up to graduation this year, Senator Colbeck said. Since becoming minister last September, he said, he had not heard mention of cost being a barrier to 485 visas.
“Australia compares quite well in terms of visa costs,” Senator Colbeck said. The full international education strategy would be released in early April.
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