With no assurance on the date for re-opening of the borders, international students enrolled within the universities in Australia are starting to worry. Many of these students are those who had travelled before the pandemic brought normalcy to a grinding halt.
Australia is among the few countries that have strict border regulations to curb the spread of the virus. However, these border restrictions have led to many negative impacts on different sectors and industries, especially the international education sector.
Also Read: Australian Universities Offering Fee Discounts to International Students
Among the concerns is the validity of the 458 visas, i.e. the Temporary Graduate Visa. This visa allows international students who graduated from within an Australia University to work in the country for up to a period of 5 years. Further, the visa also acts as a pathway to residency.
Concerns of graduates with the visa are rising as the period of validity for a few come close to the deadline. As mentioned above, a number of visa holders are outside the borders of the country. Therefore, the inability to return to Australia and complete the leftover duration of their visa before the expiration is rasing the tensions among the international graduates in Australia.
Also Read: Over 1000 International Students Receive Exemption to Travel to Australia
However, it should be noted that the Australian government has been working towards bringing back international students and restart the international student sector. Different research and reports have revealed the importance of international students to the economy of a country, and the same has been acknowledged by the Australian Government.
Understanding the difficulties faced by International Students in the country, various governments and universities in Australia have decided to help the students in different ways. Included in these aids is the Australian Governments decision of providing international students with the COVID-19 Vaccine for free.
