Over 96,000 international students convicted of assault, drug offences, robbery and sexual offences in Australia have had visas cancelled over the last seven years.
The latest figures released by the Department of Home Affairs reveal 96,542 student visas have been cancelled for reasons ranging from breaching student visa conditions to failing the character requirements since 2010 till December 2017.
Of 96,542 student visas cancellations, 44,569 student visas were cancelled between June 2015 and December 2017.
The cancellation of student visas peaked after a number of reforms to the character and general visa cancellation was introduced through the Migration Amendment (Character and General Visa Cancellation) Bill 2014.
“Between the 2013–14 and 2016–17 financial years, the number of visa cancellations on character grounds have increased by over 1400 per cent due to December 2014 legislative amendments to the Migration Act 1958,” the Department of Home Affairs noted.
The government everyone, who wants to enter or stay in Australia, to satisfy the character requirement, including all non-citizens, sponsors of visa applicants and non-migrating family members.
Source: Department of Home Affairs Source: DoHA
Assault, drug offences and violent offences were the most common reasons behind the number of character cancellations undertaken between January 1st 2017 and December 31st 2017.
While New Zealand ranked as the top country with 620 visa cancellations based on character grounds, India ranked tenth on the list with 14 visa cancellations during this period.
In 2017-18, the government has cancelled 7519 student visas as of 31st December 2017.
Source: Department of Home Affairs Source: DoHA
"Do not take visa conditions lightly"
Rohit Mohan, a registered MARA agent based in Melbourne told SBS Hindi that he has come across cases where Indian students’ visa have been cancelled for not complying with their visa conditions.
“There have been cases where the students enrolled in Masters or Bachelors course have realised they cannot cope with the demands of the higher education after arriving in Australia and have switched to a Certificate III or IV or other lower level courses.
“That’s a big risk when their visa categorically states that they must maintain enrolment in a registered course that is the same level as, or at a higher level than, the registered course for which you were granted a visa,” he says.
Mr Mohan has also warned international students who are driving for ride-sharing services like Uber, Ola to be wary of the hours of work undertaken while their course is in session.
File photo of students reading at the University of Sydney Source: AAP
“Students sometimes take it lightly or lose track of the hours they have worked which has at times proved to be in a breach of their visa condition where the student cannot work more than 40 hours per fortnight when the course is in session.
“They risk getting their student visa cancelled if the department finds out they are breaching their visa condition,” Mr Mohan says.
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