16% of Vietnamese student visa applications to Australia rejected amid tough immigration policies

About 16% of Vietnamese student visa applications to Australia were rejected in the second half of 2023 as the country denies international students at record-high levels.

Since the latter half of 2023, Australia has been introducing a slew of policies to limit immigration, including international students looking to enter the country for work.

Around 19% of these students were not granted visas during the period, the highest rate seen in the last three years, according to Australia’s Ministry for Home Affairs.

If such a situation continues, there would be around 91,000 international students being granted visa to study in Australia for the 2023-2024 school year, a 15% drop from last year, according to international education website ICEF Monitor.

Previously, the rejection rate was 10% in the 2018-2019 school year, 8.5% in the 2021-2022 school year when Australia reopened its borders post-Covid, and 14% in the 2022-2023 school year.

Despite lower rates of visa being granted in recent months, Vietnamese students are still getting their visa applications to Australia being granted at high rates, international education firm IDP said.

In the latter half of 2023, around 84% of visa applications from Vietnamese students have been accepted on average. Meanwhile, the rate was only at 68% for those from India, and 52% for those from Pakistan.

Lu Thi Hong Nham, director of international education company Duc Anh, said Vietnamese students have had higher rates of visa acceptance as most of them have serious intent to study abroad and have transparent academic and financial profiles.

The schools they apply to are also reputable.

Nguyen Nhut Hung, student admission manager in Vietnam of the University of Technology Sydney, said the visa acceptance rate for Vietnamese students was « fairly safe » at over 98%.

Among the 200 applications in February, only three were rejected, he added. The school mostly admits students from specialized schools in major cities, he said.

Hung said the visa applications that failed were either dishonest or giving unclear timelines for studying.

« If one has a gap year, they need to show proof that they were off school to pursue their own project or learn for certificates, instead of just staying home for 1-2 years, » he said.

Experts said Australia’s visa policies mainly root out international students with weak profiles.

Such profiles have unconvincing academic records, unclear studying timeline and financial documents, cannot prove one’s purpose for studying, and pick schools with little reputation.

Australia last December said it aimed to halve the number of immigrants over the next two years.

Those applying for visas to study abroad need to have an IELTS score of at least 6, instead of the usual 5.5.

It would also be more difficult for international students to apply for visas a second time to extend their stay.

The country is among the most popular destinations for studying abroad, after the U.S. and Canada.

By October last year, there were around 768,000 international students in Australia, with the highest percentages coming from China, India and Nepal, according to Australia’s Department of Education. There were 31,000 students from Vietnam, the sixth most popular country.

By Binh Minh – VnExpress.net – February 29, 2024