Report Australia Sees Sharp Decline in Vietnamese Vocational Visa Approvals

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Picture courtesy of VN Express

 

The latest data from Australia's Department of Home Affairs reveals a significant decline in the approval rate for vocational education and training (VET) visas for Vietnamese applicants. Between July 2024 and the end of the first quarter of 2025, only 23 VET visas were granted, marking a remarkable 58-fold decrease compared to the same period the previous year.

 

This drop follows four years of growth in Vietnamese vocational visa applications, which have nosedived to only 159 for the current academic year. The approval rate plummeted to 14%, the lowest in five years, compared to previous years where approval rates ranged from 42% to 83%.

 

In contrast to this decline, Australia overall issued over 6,800 vocational student visas in the same timeframe, though still reflecting a 54.7% decrease from the 14,737 visas granted in the corresponding period last year. However, the national approval rate for these visas reached a record high of 73%, significantly surpassing the historical average of around 40%.

 

The dramatic decrease in Vietnamese visa approvals corresponds with Australia's broader reforms to tighten student visa policies over the past two years. Key policy changes have included reducing the post-study work period for international students from four to six years down to two to four years, and categorizing universities into tiers based on recruitment risks, which affects visa processing times.

 

Additional changes include increasing the English proficiency requirement for vocational education students, requiring a minimum IELTS score of 6.0, and setting a cap of 24 hours per week for part-time work. Financial proof requirements were also raised to AU$29,710 (US$19,820), a 20% increase, while the student visa application fee doubled to AU$1,600, placing it among the most costly globally.

 

As of late 2024, Australia was home to nearly 1.1 million international students across various educational sectors, contributing AU$51 billion to the economy that year, making international education one of Australia's top five export sectors. Vietnamese students accounted for over 37,600 of the total, ranking fifth by nationality.

 

At a September 2024 education seminar, Katherine Tranter, Senior Migration Officer for student visas at the Department of Home Affairs, highlighted six common reasons for visa rejections: incomplete documentation, unresponsiveness to additional information requests, lack of genuine intent to study, document fraud, inadequate English skills, and insufficient financial proof for tuition and living expenses.

 

This tightening of visa requirements reflects Australia's ongoing efforts to manage migration levels while maintaining the integrity of its educational institutions and ensuring genuine international student engagement.

 

  Adapted by ASEAN Now from VN Express 2025-05-27