The plan to study and work in Australia can take a while. The project to study abroad requires planning, searching for an exchange agency, language level tests and most importantly, the documentation, which includes an Australian student visa.
Usually, the student visa is issued in less than 21 days. However, in the last few months, most part of the students and workers are facing a long delay in having an answer from the Department of Home Affairs (DHA). Some students have been waiting more than 18 months to get an answer by DHA.
However, COVID-19 restrictions have changed, and Australian borders are now open, so what’s the reason for such a long delay?
In the article published by CBS News, the DHA highlighted the main reason for delays in visa processing. According to DHA, the Australian government requires mandatory health, character and national security checks for each Australian visa applicant. According to the department, this investigation is undertaken by other agencies, leading to a delay in processing the visa.
In addition, the department reduced its funding by 875 million Australian dollars during the pandemic. With the reduced budget and high demand for visa applications, the delay in processing the documentation, it’s inevitable.
Meanwhile, more than 74,000 students and 16,000 workers are awaiting a response to their visa applications. However, Australia is also struggling with the delay. The Australian government is counting on future students and workers to revive the economy after the pandemic. Therefore, the Australian government’s plan in the coming months is to allocate adequate resources and develop policy options to make progress in combating visa delays.
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