Australia scraps pandemic visa for international students

The Australian government on Friday announced that it will stop issuing Pandemic Event visa beginning February 2024. This move will affect a sizable amount of international students and temporary workers scrambling for other options to remain in the country.

The visa, Subclass 408, was introduced during the peak pandemic in 2020 to plug labour shortages and support international students who were not able to leave Australia. It allowed students to live in the country for an additional 12 months if their visas expired, and travel to or from Australia multiple times during a stay.

"From February 2024, the visa will be closed to all applicants. This will provide certainty to our visa system now that the circumstances that drove the operation of the visa no longer exist," Home Affairs Minister Clare O'Neil and Immigration Minister Andrew Giles jointly announced.


To promote visa integrity and as a transitional measure, the Pandemic Event visa applications will only be accepted from those who are currently on it . This rule will go into effect from September 2, 2023.

According to the notice, from Saturday onwards, new applications will receive a six month visa and an application charge of AUD405 will also be introduced to ensure that the visa is only used by those who have a "genuine need to remain and contribute to Australia".

As per these new changes, those with a valid Pandemic Event visa will remain lawful until their current visa expires.

Those who do not get any alternate visa option are expected to depart Australia when their visa expires.

"The Pandemic Event visa was an important part of Australia's visa system during the pandemic. Many people on temporary visas helped Australia during this period. We're providing an opportunity for people who hold a Pandemic Event visa to explore another visa option, or plan to leave Australia," Giles said.

The move comes after Prime Minister Anthony Albanese Government recently ended a series of Covid-era measures, including unlimited work hours for international students and work exemptions for Working Holiday visa holders.

Arguing that the visa was being misused, immigration and education experts called for its abolition with immediate effect as it allowed people to work unlimited hours for 12 months.

Almost 60,000 international students and temporary workers were using the visa to extend their stay in Australia, even post pandemic, according to recent figures released by the Department of Home Affairs.

The department issued 65,859 pandemic visas from June 2022 to March 2023.

Recently, the Australian government also announced the immediate closure of a visa loophole that allowed international students to enroll in cheaper vocational courses upon their arrival in the country.

The "concurrent study" rule, which permitted international students to pursue supplementary courses alongside their primary studies, was initially designed to enhance their job readiness through short-term courses. However, recent investigations have revealed that many students were exploiting this rule by abandoning their university programs and permanently transitioning to less expensive courses.

Around 92,872 Australian student visa was issued to Indians between July 2022-May 2023.