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Scholarship programs brace as Australia raises student visa fees
The Australian student visa has become one of the most expensive in the world after the government decided to increase the cost of student visa applications from A$710 (US$477) to A$1,600 in a bid to lower migration rates into the country in the academic field.
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Stock illustration of Australian visa. (Shutterstock/LuapVision)
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ndonesian scholarship providers have declared their readiness to cover the increasing price of the Australian student visa application, with some actively working with Australian institutions to share the burden following Canberra’s decision to raise the barrier of entry for international students.
The fee increase will not likely burden scholarship awardees, providers said, although some grant recipients have expressed discomfort in having to pay a higher cost in advance.
On Monday, the Australian government decided to increase the cost of student visa applications more than two fold, from A$710 (US$477) to $1,600, in a bid to lower migration rates into the country, especially in the academic field.
Australia’s visa rejection rate is charting record highs amid some policy changes targeted at reducing incoming international students, such as one issued in May when the amount of savings required for foreign students was raised from $24,505 to $29,710.
The new policy will affect Indonesian students in Australia, the 9th most populous international student population in the country, with over 19,000 students enrolled in the January-March period, according to data from the Australian government.
Some universities, such as the University of Melbourne, the Australian National University and the University of New South Wales, have been among the preferred destinations for awardees according to 2022 data from the Endowment Fund for Education (LPDP) scholarship program.
The program pledged to provide “maximum support” for students despite saying that the policy had raised the barrier of entry to Australia.
