本帖最后由 csc40 于 2009-12-13 09:07 编辑
Visa review may 'spark panic'NICK O'MALLEY INVESTIGATIONSDecember 12, 2009
TENS of thousands of overseas students studying expensive courses in Australia in the hope of securing permanent residency could be sent home empty-handed under changes being considered by the Federal Government.
The Herald has obtained a document prepared by the Immigration Department recommending changes ''in the relationship between the lodgement of an application and the legal obligation to grant a visa''.
This means immigrants who have met the demands of the current system and would be automatically accepted could be arbitrarily refused.
''This is going to spark mass panic,'' Karl Konrad, a migration agent who has seen the document, said.
Such changes could affect anyone seeking to gain permanent residency through the skilled migration program, but would have the gravest effect on students who have spent thousands of dollars and years of their lives on courses here on the presumption they would secure residency.
There are 137,000 such students here waiting on approval who could have the rug pulled from under them if the changes are made retrospective.
''The Australian Government has grown fat off these students with the lure that they can get permanent residency,'' Mr Konrad said.
It is understood the Migration Institute of Australia was to have been briefed by the Government but that the meeting had been delayed until next week.
The chief executive of the Australian Council for Private Education and Training, Andrew Smith, said such a change would immediately cut the number of students coming into Australia.
''[Schools] have taken deposits, hired teachers, set up classes … there would be a considerable commercial impact,'' he said.
Mr Smith said the Government had created the expectation among foreign students that they could achieve permanent residency through study and had a responsibility to them as a result.
A spokesman for the department said the document was part of a consultation process and no decision would be made on the changes until next year.
The document also outlines recommendations to reduce the number of unsponsored skilled migrants accepted, but making it easier for 457 business visa holders to become permanent residents.
It notes ''perverse outcomes'' in the system that make it easier for a hairdresser to achieve permanency than a scientist. It noted that ''integrity measures'' in the skilled migration program needed review.
Australia's $16 billion overseas student industry has been plagued with controversy over the past 12 months, with students demanding action from police over allegedly racially motivated attacks and appealing to the Government to better regulate the private colleges.
This year more than a dozen schools have collapsed, leaving students out of pocket and uncertain over their immigration status.
根据澳洲联邦政府正在考虑的计划,花大钱在澳洲学习昂贵课程、希望获得永居权的数万名留学生很可能将被两手空空送回家去。
媒体获悉,澳洲移民部建议对递交申请和获得法定签证间的关系进行变动。意味着符合现有体制要求和可自动被接受为居民的移民可能无法留居澳洲。曾经看过移民部建议稳健的移民中介Karl Konrad称,“这势必将引起恐慌。”
移民政策变动将影响到希望通过技术移民项目获得澳洲永居权的民众,但受影响最深的堪属期望通过花费数千元、花时间攻读课程获得居住权的留学生了。澳洲目前有13.7万名这样的学生。Konrad表示,澳洲政府已从这些学生当中赚入了大把钞票。
据悉,移民部已经将提议的文件内容向澳洲移民协会(MIA)介绍过,但双方间的会议被推迟至下周举行。
澳洲私立教育和培训协会(ACPET)执行长Andrew Smith表示,一旦移民政策变动将导致澳洲留学生人数大减。“一些学校已经贷了款,招聘了教师,设立了教室,而政策改变势必将造成相当大的商业影响。”
移民部发言人称,提议文件指示磋商过程的一部分,明年才可能出结果。
已經在讀的,沒有回頭之路了。。。只能繼續讀下去。。。還沒來的,可要想好了,避免成為新的炮灰 |