Temporary visa application refund for international students applying to Australia
The
refund will also apply to new student visa applicants. The government has
stated that applications "will be processed quickly so applicants can come
to Australia during the refund window".
The
current visa application charge is AUD$630 (£335) and students will be refunded
the full amount. More information and how to apply for the rebate will be made
available on the Department of Home Affairs website.
This
measure has been introduced not only to attract more international students to
Australia but also to help address the shortage of workers that Australia is
facing due to increased Covid-19 cases and strict border closures over the past
two years.
The
Australian government also recently relaxed the number of hours that
international students can work, across all sectors. Students will now be able
to work more than 20 hours per week. This change in hours will be reviewed in
April 2022.
However,
all international students arriving in Australia must be fully vaccinated with
a vaccine recognised by Australias Therapeutic Goods Administration.
In
additional news, the state of Queensland has announced that from 1 am 22
January, fully vaccinated international travellers will no longer be required
to quarantine on arrival. They will be required to take a rapid antigen test
within 24 hours of arrival.
Unvaccinated
travellers will still have to quarantine for 14 days on arrival. Vaccinated
students flying into any other Australian state will still need to self-isolate
for three days on arrival.
Source:
Times Higher Education.
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