Australia hikes Proof of Finance for student visa applications; New Zealand to update Work rights of students from October 9; Tuition fees reintroduced for non-EU students at TUM

Effective October 1, 2023, international students applying for a student visa will need to show evidence of $24,505 in savings, which is a 17 per cent increase on current levels. This increase accounts for indexation since 2019, the Australian government has announced. It maybe noted that this amount is for the student applicant only and if he/she is willing to bring a dependent along then the revised financial capacity needs to be met as per visa requirements.

This change will ensure students coming to Australia to study can afford to support themselves and will not face increased risk of exploitation due to an urgent need for employment.

The Australian government will apply additional scrutiny to high-risk cohorts and ask for additional documents to prevent fraud in applications.
Ever since 2019, there have been no changes in the financial capacity requirement for the Australia Study Visa, largely influenced due to the COVID-19 era. Prior to the pandemic, these financial requirements for the visa categories were regularly updated annually.

Australia has closed a loophole which allows education providers to shift international students who have been in Australia for less than six months from genuine study to an arrangement designed to facilitate access to work in Australia. There has been a sharp uptake in the use of the concurrent function in 2023 — in the first half of 2023, 17,000 concurrent enrollments were created, compared to approximately 10,500 for the same period in 2019 and 2022 combined, the government added while announcing a package of measures to support integrity in the international education system and to support genuine international students. “International education is our fourth largest export — it’s essential that we maintain our global reputation for quality education. Our government has no tolerance for people who exploit students. Our message is clear — the party is over, the rorts and loopholes that have plagued this system will be shut down,” Minister for Home Affairs Clare O’Neil said.

New Zealand to update Work rights of students from October 9: Changes to in-study work rights for students will be updated from October 9, 2023 when the new criteria for the Skilled Migrant Category Resident Visa comes into effect.

The changes include:

References to Skilled Migrant Category Resident Visa in the in-study work instructions will be removed and instead state eligible qualification’s programme level and type.

References to the requirement for a course to be relevant to the ANZSCO occupation at skill levels 3-5 will also be removed from instructions.

As a result of these changes, all students studying a full-time programme resulting in a New Zealand qualification at Level 4 or above on the NZQCF will be eligible for in-study work rights. Training schemes and micro-credentials are not qualifications and remain ineligible for in-study work rights.

Students generally need to be studying full time to be eligible for a student visa and in-study work rights.

However, there is an exception for students who are:
completing a course of study which would qualify for points under the Skilled Migrant Category Resident Visa, or
in their final semester of a programme that is of at least 2 academic years’ duration.

This allows students who may have a part time study load in their last semester to remain on a student visa. These instructions will also be updated to reference level 4 qualifications and higher.

International students to pay tuition fee at TUM: The Technical University of Munich (TUM) has announced that it will reintroduce tuition fee for all non-European Union (EU) students who will start applying from the winter semester of academic year 2024-25.

The fees for non-EU students will range between € 2,000-3000 per semester for bachelor’s programmes. The fee for the Master’s degree programme will be between €4,000-6,000 per semester, according to an official communique of TUM.

Who is exempt?

The following groups of people are exempt from the obligation to pay fees:

• Students who are already enrolled in their degree program at TUM before winter semester 2024/25. They do not have to pay tuition fees for their further studies in this degree programme.
• Students who have acquired their higher education entrance qualification within the German education system (e.g. Abitur) or via a degree program with a standard period of study of at least 6 semesters that they have successfully completed at a German university. The final examination at Studienkolleg does not count as a German university entrance qualification. So, students who qualify for studies at TUM through the Studienkolleg are subject to tuition fees.
• Persons with an established domestic connection, regardless of their citizenship.Established domestic connection means

  — You have resided in Germany for a total of at least 5 years before beginning your studies, or
  — at least one parent has been in Germany for a total of at least 3 years during the last 6 years and has been regularly employed.

• Students with disabilities
• Asylum seekers