Last Friday, the Department of Home Affairs officially announced that the Australian student visa application (subclass 500) will no longer assess applicants based on the Genuine Temporary Entrant (GTE) requirement. Instead, it will be replaced with the Genuine Student (GS) requirement, effective from 23rd March 2024.
Is this a significant change? What impact does it have on those who are planning to study abroad in Australia? And what about those who are already in Australia? What factors will affect whether they meet the GS requirement?
The Two Major Changes Include:
- The 300-word essay-style GTE will be replaced with targeted questions, and to provide point-to-point answers. This makes it easier for visa officers to review, which may then fasten the application process.
- Shifting from emphasizing a non-immigrant intent and a commitment to returning to one’s home country after completing studies to not necessarily denying an immigrant intent, but rather focusing on demonstrating a genuine desire to study and learn in Australia from various perspectives.
GTE (Genuine Temporary Entrant) is about the ‘genuine temporary residence explanation,’ while GS (Genuine Student Requirement) is about the ‘genuine study explanation.’ In the past, many applicants actually intended to study in Australia with the goal of skilled migration. When preparing their student visa applications and GTE statements, they often had to conceal their migration intentions in order to obtain the visa. It can be said that the GTE requirement was quite unrealistic and did not align with the actual situation of skilled migration in Australia. With 23 years of experience in the industry, the change from GTE to GS can be considered a revolutionary adaptation to the actual circumstances. One notable point is that when applying for a guardian visa, GTE is still required.
Specific Content Required for GS:
- For individuals applying for studying in Australia from overseas for the first time, the following three aspects need to be explained: Current Personal Circumstances; Reasons for Choosing the Course, Institution, and Australia as Study Destination; and the Benefits of the Chosen Course.
- For individuals who have previously studied in Australia, in addition to the three aspects mentioned above, it is important to provide specific details about their educational background to explain the reasons for further study.
- For individuals who are already in Australia but do not hold a student visa (eg those holding a 417/462 Working Holiday Visa, 408 Pandemic Event Visa, or 600 Tourist Visa), in addition to the points mentioned above, it is important to specifically explain why they are applying for a student visa.
Seeing this, you might want to ask, ‘has applying for an Australian student visa become easier or harder?’
In our view, this is basically just a change in document format and not a change in difficulty as mentioned above regarding the shift in attitude towards ‘immigrant intent.’ Ultimately, it still depends on the subjective judgment of the visa decision makers, and applicants must still do their best to convince them through logic and persuasion.
Factors Contribute to Negative Effect on GS Requirement:
When stating one’s genuine desire to study, what are the special factors that may cause visa officers to doubt your genuine study intentions?
Based on our experience, here are some factors that may affect the “Genuine Student” requirement:
- Long gaps between studies;
- Older age at the time of application;
- Educational background that is not directly relevant to the intended course of study;
- Life/work experiences that are not directly relevant to the intended course of study;
- Pursuing education at a lower academic level;
- Visa hopping applicant;
- Lower proficiency in English language skills etc
Student Visa Application Service
If you are considering to apply for a student visa, please don't hesitate to contact AAS for help.
At AAS, we are dedicated to helping our clients make informed decisions about studying in Australia.
Talk to us now
