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Studying in Australia for Permanent Residence: 2-Year Study Visa Rules
Background:
This relates to the 2-year study visa requirement introduced 01 September 2007, that forms part of the General Skilled Migration (GSM) visa regime that changed from 1 September 2007, where eligible applicants may then apply for Permanent Residence.
First, an assessment of whether the two year study requirement is met is necessary to determine if an applicant for a GSM visa satisfies Schedule 2 requirements for that GSM visa. And, in allocating points under the general points test, this is: Australian Educational Qualifications; Study in regional Australia or a low-population growth metropolitan area qualifications; and any Partner skill qualifications.
Two Elements to the Requirement Are:
The two year study requirement has two equally important and related elements.
The first is that the GSM applicant have completed at least 2 academic years study in Australia, giving them the benefit of having completed a significant amount of study at a local institution and being awarded a qualification that Australian employers recognise and value
The second component is that the 16 calendar month benchmark for the minimum period that applicants need to be physically in Australia while studying, allows them an opportunity to develop a familiarity with Australian conditions and culture, thereby improving their settlement prospects and their chances of securing skilled employment.
Together, these elements support the broader policy objective of retaining the skills of overseas students trained in Australia who can contribute positively to the Australian economy.
The Study Must Have Resulted in a Degree, Diploma or Trade Qualification
What is a degree, diploma or trade qualification?
Only study that has resulted in completion of a degree, diploma or trade qualification can be counted towards meeting the two year study requirement.
The terms degree, diploma and trade qualification are defined in regulation 2.26A(6). Note in particular that degree includes a bachelor and any higher degree and diploma includes associate and advanced diplomas.
This means a GSM applicant who has completed:
- a Certificate II in any discipline or
- a Certificate IV in a discipline other than a trade, for example a Certificate IV in Business Management or
- a Graduate Certificate
in Australia cannot use that study to meet the two year study requirement (these qualifications are illustrative not exhaustive).
Study Not Resulting in a Degree, Diploma or Trade Qualification Cannot be Considered
GSM applicants who undertook an enabling course or bridging programs as a prerequisite to commencing their degree, diploma or trade qualification cannot count that course or program towards meeting the two year study requirement.
Additional subjects undertaken that do not contribute to the award of a degree, diploma or trade qualification also do not count towards meeting the two year study requirement.
Effect of changing courses
If the GSM applicant enrolled in one course of study and after a semester changed courses, the original study counts only if it resulted in the award of a qualification.
For example, if they enrolled in a Bachelor of Nursing and after a semester changed and enrolled in a Bachelor of Science, but were given credit for their Nursing studies, that semester of study counts. If, however, they enrolled in a Bachelor of Nursing and after a semester changed and enrolled in a Bachelor of Commerce and no credit was given for the initial study, that semester of study does not count.
Changing institutions
All study generally that meets the requirements and results in the award of a degree, diploma or trade qualification counts towards meeting the two year study requirement.
This means that if a GSM applicant enrolled in a Certificate IV with one provider and after 6 months relocated and completed their Certificate IV with another provider, who gave them credit for their original 6 months of study, the study undertaken with both providers counts towards meeting the two year study requirement.
May Meet Requirement As a Result of More Than One Course
The two year study requirement does not require GSM an applicant to have completed a single course of study of two years duration.
An applicant may use study undertaken to complete more than one degree, diploma or trade qualification to meet the 2 year study requirement.
In this instance, the courses of study need not have been undertaken within a 24 month period. It is possible to have a break between completing the first course and commencing the second.
Must Have Been a Registered Course(s)
It is a requirement of the Education Services for Overseas Students (ESOS) Act 2000 that only registered providers can offer education services to persons in Australia on a Student visa. Accordingly, only study of a course registered on the Commonwealth Register of Institutions and Courses for Overseas Students (CRICOS) can be used to meet the two year study requirement (as Student visas are granted in respect of CRICOS-registered courses only).
A person who enrols in a registered course that is subsequently deregistered during their course of study will need to make arrangements to change institutions to complete their degree, diploma or trade qualification with a registered provider. In this instance, all study that results in the award will count for GSM visa purposes.
If a registered course is deregistered and the person continues with the course of study, this study will not meet the requirements of regulation - and therefore does not count towards meeting the two year study requirement.
The only exception is where a course is deregistered less than two months before the person was due to complete the course, in which case it may be unreasonable to expect them to change providers.
Minimum of 16-Calendar Months
While students can quite legitimately compress the amount of time taken to complete a course by enrolling in summer or winter semesters or by enrolling at more than 100% of a full-time load, the two year study requirement cannot be met in less than 16 calendar months.
The requirement that they have been physically present in Australia whilst undertaking their studies aims to ensure that GSM applicants have the opportunity to forge links with communities, prospective employers and to become more familiar generally, with living in Australia.
It is important to note that for the purposes of calculating length of study, if a GSM applicant undertook two courses of study concurrently, the period of overlap can only be counted once.
For example, if they had only one subject to complete their first qualification and that took 8 weeks, so they began studying towards their next qualification at the same, that 8 week period only counts for 8 weeks, not 16 weeks (ie 8 weeks towards one course and 8 weeks towards another).
Two-Academic Years
Period of actual study
In considering whether a GSM applicant completed at least two academic years study, an immigration case officer should be aware that the intention is that the applicant have successfully completed the equivalent of 2 years study at 100% of the full-time load, without benefit from credits, recognition of prior learning (RPL) and/or recognition of work experience that would allow a reduction in the amount of study undertaken.
The department of immigration should first consider the standard duration of the applicant’s course/s as registered on CRICOS.
In the simplest cases, where a person does not have any RPL:
- if they are using a single course to meet the two year study requirement, the course must have a registered duration of at least 92 weeks or
- if they are using more than one course to meet the two year study requirement, the courses must have a total registered duration of at least 92 weeks.
Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL) and University Studies
Where a GSM applicant enrolled in a university course and received credit from earlier studies, case officers should compare the standard duration of the course registered on CRICOS and the number of credit points that were necessary to complete the full course, to determine how many credit points the applicant needed to successfully complete in two academic years in that course.
For example, if a GSM applicant enrolled in a Bachelor course with a standard duration of 3 years that comprised 48 credit points, they would have completed two academic years study when they completed 32 credit points.
RPL and vocational education and training (VET)
Where an applicant enrolled in a VET course and received credit from earlier studies, case officers should compare the standard duration of the course registered on CRICOS and the applicant’s Confirmation of Enrolment to see how an institution considered the reduction in the amount of study would impact upon the duration of the person’s enrolment.
Study load cannot be artificially extended
As two years academic study is a measure of the amount of study successfully completed, not the length of time taken to complete the study, GSM applicants cannot artificially extend their study in order to satisfy relevant regulation.
For example, GSM applicants who enrolled at less than 100% of a full-time load and, as a consequence, took 2 years to complete a course with a registered duration of 78 weeks, have not completed two academic years study. These applicants have completed only 1.5 years academic study - they have extended the duration of their studies but not the amount of study undertaken.
Similarly, persons who, as a result of RPL, fall one subject short of completing two academic years cannot fail a subject with the hope of counting the same subject twice. Only study successfully completed counts towards the two academic years study. In the same way that an educational institution does not give credit for failed subjects, they do not count for GSM visa purposes.
Must Have Been in English
Evidence
The evidence of having an Australian qualification itself can be accepted as evidence that the course was in English unless the qualification included foreign language courses/units. Anecdotal evidence suggests that some overseas students undertake one or two foreign language units in their first year and then drop the foreign language component in the second and third years of their qualification.
Foreign language units
Under migration policy, if the foreign language component of the qualification is incidental to the award of the qualification, GSM applicants can be considered as meeting the requirement that all instruction was conducted in English. An instance of this is where an overseas student studies one/two foreign languages as first year subjects only.
In this situation, the academic transcript would be required to determine that the applicant satisfies this requirement. An acceptable measure is that in the course of two academic years the applicant would have undertaken no more than 10% of their studies in a language other than English.
Interpreting & translating courses
Currently, some overseas students undertake and complete advanced qualifications in Interpreting and Translating in Australia. To satisfy the requirements for the award of this qualification, students are required to undertake courses/units in which some instruction may be conducted in a language other than English.
In this situation, a GSM applicant must submit evidence that the instruction in such courses/units was to acquire translating and/or interpreting skills rather than a qualification in a language other than English. If it can be established that the qualification relates to the skills of translating and/or interpreting with English being a key aspect of the qualification, the applicant can be considered as satisfying this requirement.
In establishing whether a course is an advanced qualification in Interpreting and/or Translating, the following criteria should be applied:
- the minimum entrance requirement is an average IELTS score of 6.5, with a minimum of 6 in each of the four components of the test and
- the resulting qualification is at the NAATI Professional Level.
Study Must Have Been Lawfully Undertaken in Australia
Study will only count towards the two year study requirement if it was:
- undertaken in Australia and
- undertaken while holding a visa with appropriate study rights
Is Online Study Acceptable?
It is intended that study be undertaken on campus in Australia. While changes to the ESOS Act in July 2007 mean that overseas students can study up to 25% of their course online, GSM applicants must have been physically present in Australia for study to count towards meeting the two year study requirement.
If an applicant took advantage of the ability to study online to return home or travel, that time will not be counted as it does not contribute to the two objectives of the two year study requirement.
What About Studying Overseas?
Study undertaken at an overseas campus of an Australian educational institution also does not count. Although an applicant has the benefit of a local award, they did not have the advantage of being in Australia whilst studying.
Similarly, study undertaken overseas as part of an exchange program does not count as during this period the applicant did not have the benefit of being in Australia and being exposed to local culture and societal norms.
However, if an applicant undertook some study overseas but nevertheless completed at least two academic years in no less than 16 calendar months while in Australia, they can still meet the two year study requirement. For example, an applicant who undertook three year, six semester Bachelor degree in the following pattern:
Semester 1 offshore
Semester 2 onshore
Semester 3 onshore
Semester 4 onshore
Semester 5 offshore
Semester 6 onshore
would have completed two academic years study in Australia.
Visa Must Have Allowed Study
Consistent with the migration regulations, study undertaken in Australia can be considered towards meeting the two year study requirement only if, throughout the relevant period, an applicant held a visa that allowed them to study.
If a general skilled migration applicant breached the conditions of their visa by studying when they had no study rights, or by studying in excess of the amount of study allowed, that study cannot be counted towards meeting relevant regulation. For example, if a Working Holiday (417) visa holder undertook a six month course, as their visa allows only four months study (condition 8548 applies to visas 417), that six months could not be used to meet the two year study requirement.
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