Australia tightens student visa rules starting today

KATHMANDU: Australia has implemented stricter regulations for international student visas effective from October 2. The new measures are expected to impact both current international students in Australia and those preparing to travel there for studies, including Nepali students.

Under the updated policy, students currently in Australia are prohibited from applying for new student visas from within the country, unless they are enrolling in a higher-level course. Furthermore, students whose current course has more than 12 months remaining are restricted from lodging new visa applications onshore. Those with less than 12 months left in their course may be eligible to apply from within Australia under specific conditions. Students who do not meet these criteria must apply from outside Australia.