New Australian visa for international primary students and their guardians

Starting the 1^st of July 2016, students who are aged 6 years old and up will be eligible to submit an application for a student visa, subclass 500, no matter what their citizenship is, or what country they are from.

When it comes to foreign investors considering purchasing property in Australia, being near a good school and getting world-class Australian education are 2 of the major reasons why they give in.

From the 1^st of July, students with the ages 6 years old and above would be able to submit an application for student visas no matter what their citizenship is. For their guardians, they can go ahead and apply for a Guardian subclass 580 visa.

Right now, the system makes assessments on applications based on the risk in immigration. Most students from China applying for the visa are ranked at the 3^rd level, which is the highest risk. This would require them more proof so their applications can be supported.

The changes in the visa rules, which were announced during the April 2016 visit to China of Mr Malcolm Turnbull, the Prime Minister of Australia, would also mean that those who are not residents will be given the opportunity to purchase an existing property, or a number of new ones.

According to Mr Dave Platter from Juwai.com, the leading international property portal in China, there has been an almost 20 per cent increase in the number of inquiries they are getting regarding Australian properties since the announcement of the Prime Minister.

He says that the portal only offers advice when it comes to submitting a visa application, and does not arrange visas.

“We are already seeing inquiries about these new visas from Chinese families who want to have their children study here,” Mr Platter said.

Mr Platter said that while this can see demand climb up, it could also end up in more homes being constructed.

“In school catchment areas where there is potential for new development,” Mr Platter explained, ”Chinese interest actually increases the supply of housing by making it possible for developers to build new buildings, and that creates new supply, which can help keep prices down.”

“The government has done studies on this,” he continued on to say, ”And they have found that Chinese buyers actually keep prices down by encouraging new supply.”

The visas have a validity of 2 years, and the visa holders, while they are in the country, do not have the option to work, nor apply for other visas.

Victoria’s lead to introduce stamp duty and land tax surcharges this week was followed by New South Wales. The move itself is going to add around $50,000 to the average purchase price.

The average house price in the country is already around a million dollars.

Source: www.sbs.com.au