Many international students returned to their home countries after Australia shut down its border due to Covid for about two years from mid-March 2020.
During this time, the country also faced many market-related difficulties, especially a shortage in terms of labour and skilled workers in certain sectors.
To deal with the situation, the country also offered incentives to returning international students.
They promised visa discounts for overseas students arriving in the country during the next eight weeks, as well as lifting restrictions on how long student visa holders can work.
However, as the students started to flock in numbers, the processing time for visa applications surged and nearly doubled.
Numerous recommendations were made, like increasing processing officers, and resources for processing services.
Andrew Giles, Australian Minister for Immigration, recently tweeted that ‘The Albanese Labor Government is getting Australia’s visa system back on track.’
“Since June 2022, the Department of Homes Affairs has decided on more than two million temporary and permanent visa applications, including 1.35 million visitors, students and temporary skilled visa applications,” he said last week.