Genuine Student Requirement

Genuine Student Requirement

The genuine student requirement is a critical aspect of the Australian student visa application, ensuring that individuals seeking to study in Australia genuinely intend to pursue their chosen course of study and possess the necessary attributes to succeed academically. The government has replaced the GTE (Genuine Temporary Entrant) for student visas with a GS (Genuine Student) requirement. This is effective for student visa applications lodged on and after 23 march 2024.

All applicants for a student visa must be a genuine applicant for entry. They must stay as a student and be able to show an understanding that studying in Australia is the primary reason for their student visa. The GS requirement is intended to include students who, after studying in Australia, develop skills Australia needs and who then go on to apply for permanent residence and successfully receive a student visa, all applicants must demonstrate they satisfy the genuine student criterion or the genuine student dependent criterion.

Visa Requirement:

From 23 March 2024, a statement of 300 words in a student visa will now be replaced with targeted questions that provide a general description of the student's intention to study in Australia, not in another country. By asking for detailed responses, they aim to gain a deeper understanding of student plans and intentions. It helps them ensure that you have a genuine interest in studying in Australia and that your chosen course aligns with your goals. If they think your course is not matching with your previous study or anything else related to you found which is not going with your provided answers your visa refusal rates are higher than.

The student visa declaration will be amended to require applicants to confirm that they:

• Understand what it means to be a genuine student to study in Australia;
• Have read, understand, and commit to comply with student visa conditions and to notify the department of home affairs of any changes to their circumstances; and
• Understand that while post-study pathways to permanent migration are available, only a limited number of graduates will be eligible and those who are unable to remain lawfully in Australia must depart Australia.

When the change happens, ministerial direction no. 69 will be revoked and replaced by two new ministerial directions, which will reflect the intention for the gs requirement to apply after the intended commencement date of 23 march 2024; and then to ensure that applications on hand, and not yet decided, before the commencement date of 23 march 2024 have the gte assessment applied to those cases. Further information about the changes will be communicated to education providers and potential applicants, including through the department of home affairs website, social media channels, and outreach activities, closer to the implementation date of 23 march 2024.

English language requirement changes:

• Below are the updated minimum English language requirements for international students studying in Australia.
• Temporary graduate visas will increase from IELTS (or equivalent) 6.0 to 6.5
• Student visas will increase from IELTS (or equivalent) 5.5 to 6.0
• English language intensive courses for overseas students (ELICOS) will increase from IELTS (or equivalent) 4.5 to 5.0
• University foundation or pathway programs that deliver English language training will require an IELTS (or equivalent) score of 5.5