Doha: A leading Doha-based agency recruiting students for higher studies in Australia is expecting an increase in the number of Qatari applicants following recent changes in Australian student visa rules.
While Qatari students will benefit from the changes, their impact is already visible on potential Indian applicants, who are the worst hit by the amendments, said sources from the Doha office of IDP Education Australia. The Peninsula recently carried a report on the amendments.
The agency, which has tied up with all the leading universities in Australia, has branches all over the Middle East and in several Asian countries, including India.
"Most of the Qatari students currently studying in Australia have been sponsored by companies like Qatar Petroleum. They are enrolled for short-term study programmes that suit their job requirements here. With the visa rules now made easier, there is the possibility of an increase in the number of non-sponsored Qatari applicants," Nino Mathews, counsellor at IDP, told The Peninsula.
He said it was too early to predict the impact since registration for the next session had just started.
According to changes in the Australian Student Visa Assessment Levels, which came into effect on September 1, the immigration risk of 43 countries, including Qatar, has been lowered, while that of some other countries, including India, has been upped. "Qatar is now placed in the lowest level -- Level 1 -- while India, which was earlier in Level 3, has now been put in Level 4," said Mathews.
He said a major implication of the change was that Qatari students are now not required to submit a bank statement with the visa application to prove their financial capability to undertake the studies in the country.
While Qatari students are exempt from this rule, it has been made stricter in the case of Indian students.
"For instance, an Indian student seeking a visa for a four-year programme is now required to furnish bank statements for six months with a minimum amount that is equivalent to the expected total study expenses in Australia for three years. Earlier, it was two years instead of three years", explained Mathews.
"We have two student intakes every year, in February and July. Registration for the next intake that falls in February next year has just started. There are many enquiries from Indian students but most of them are upset by the new rule," said Mathews.
The Pen
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