lImmigration changes affecting students - update Tuesday, 28 June 2011
On 1 June 2011, the Minister of Immigration announced a package of policy changes for international students.
Following that announcement, sector feedback was received regarding the new requirement for students to study a two-year course before they can qualify for Study to Work visas (the Graduate Job Search and Graduate Work Experience visas).
In order to ensure that this requirement is well targeted, a further round of targeted sector consultation was undertaken. The submissions received have now been considered and final decisions made. These decisions are to:
delay the implementation of this requirement until 2 April 2012 (students who commence their course before this date will not be affected)
enable qualifying one academic year courses to include:
all postgraduate qualifications, or
credit-transferred bachelors’ degrees, or
all one year level 7 courses.
and also enable ‘one year + one year’ course combinations to meet the two-year study requirement, so long as:
both courses qualify for Skilled Migrant Category points, and
the second course is at a higher level than the first course (for example, a level 5 diploma followed by a level 6 diploma), and
both courses are of at least one academic year’s duration (eight months full time study).
