好消息！澳大利亚移民局对SVP违规学生不予追究违约责任

　　好消息，澳大利亚移民局决定对于在2014年1月14日前从SVP学校转去非SVP学院，但是依然攻读本科或者硕士课程的同学不再追究8516违约责任，不会取消签证，但是学生必须继续遵守规定，不能违反签证要求！本文后面还附上了发信的移民局高官的联系方法。

　　专家认为，此举主要考虑到各方面的诉求，给犯错的留学生一个机会改正，不少学生其实也是被误导的。这样的宽限措施可以减少对留学市场的伤害，否则学生被遣返，损失很大，这一点，我们表示赞同移民局的措施。

　　当然对于SVP大学来说，这一次是被牺牲了，或者说被玩弄了一次，损失了不少学生，相信移民局应该已经答应对于这些SVP违约问题不再追究大学的SVP监管责任。SVP简化签证不要担保金、不要雅思成绩，的确宽松，但是如何防御被不良分子滥用，如何监管那些市场上客观存在的一小批无良中介，目前无解！

　　有同学问，如果是转去572的TAFE课程的，怎么办？我们认为第一时间应该转回一个本科专业，以上办理学校的手续我们全部是免费的。如果你实在有特殊原因的必须要都diploma的，我们可以代为解释。

　　澳大利亚教育联盟建议各位留学生朋友要做好规划，了解澳洲法律，知道自己需要的东西，不要想着走捷径而违背诚信，要扎扎实实的走好自己的留学道路，如果你需要任何权威的建议，请扫描我们的微信二维码。

　　NMIT have been liaising with DIBP regarding the recent education campaign  related to students changing courses from SVP providers to non SVP provider courses (within the same sector). We have received the following email from DIBP regarding the confusion this has caused students who have received advice letters indicating they are in breach of visa condition 8516 sent on January 14 2014 (see DIBP website regarding visa implications).

　　--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

　　UNCLASSIFIED

　　I am writing to provide a further update regarding the department’s education campaign to raise awareness amongst the international student community about visa conditions and the possible impacts of changing course. Further detail regarding this education campaign is also available at the following link: http://www.minister.immi.gov.au/media/mc/2014/mc210831.htm

　　Advice letters and next steps

　　As you will recall the department has been directly engaging with students who have arrived under streamlined visa processing (SVP) and then changed to a non-SVP eligible course. These students received an advice letter and have been provided with an opportunity to explain their circumstances.

　　Over the last few weeks we have received a large number of responses to these advice letters. The department has also received a significant amount of feedback from education providers. From the information provided it is clear that a number of students were unaware of the possible impacts of changing courses, particularly those students who have transferred to another provider or course within the higher education sector (including those students who have transferred to non-SVP eligible courses at a university).

　　The primary objective of the department’s education campaign is to raise awareness. As such, we consider that it would not be reasonable to penalise students who may have unintentionally breached the conditions of their visa prior to the launch of the campaign. As you will be aware, the department no longer has a mandatory cancellation regime. This provides greater discretion to ensure that we can better target integrity risk but also, deliver fairer outcomes for students.

　　We are keen to provide as much certainty to affected students as possible. With this in mind and following consideration of the information provided by students and other stakeholders, we have decided that we will not take any further action against students who meet the following characteristics:

　　·       Transferred from a SVP eligible subclass 573 course to a non-SVP eligible 573 course prior to the launch of the 14 January 2014 education campaign (e.g. from a bachelor degree course at a university to a bachelor degree course at a non-university provider); and

　　·       Continue to meet all other requirements and conditions of their visa

　　We will write to students who meet these characteristics on an individual basis to advise that they will not be subject to cancellation as a result of their course transfer.

　　We continue to consider whether further action is appropriate for other students who have received an advice letter on an individual basis, this includes students who have transferred from a SVP course to a course in another education sector. We note in this regard that irrespective of SVP such students would likely be in breach of condition 8516. We will provide a further update regarding this cohort at a later stage.

　　Moving forwards, from a general perspective, students who were granted a visa to study an SVP eligible course will be expected to apply for a new student visa before commencing and transferring to a non-SVP eligible course. We are currently reviewing information provided to students to ensure they are aware of this requirement in future.

　　Sincerely

　　Sophie Montgomery

　　Assistant SecretaryEducation, Tourism and International Arrangements BranchTelephone: (02) 6264 2321Email: sophie.montgomery@immi.gov.au Louise Smith

　　State Director South Australia andGlobal Manager Operational Integrity

　　Telephone: (08) 7421 7602

　　Email: louise.smith@immi.gov.au