Seven in 10 applications refused in recent months as ABEC urges applicants to reset their approach
TIL BDR GHALLEY | Thimphu
Bhutanese students seeking to study in Australia are facing unprecedented visa scrutiny, with the Association of Bhutanese Education Consultancies (ABEC) saying about seven in every 10 student visa applications have been refused in recent months.
ABEC said the sharp rise in refusals marked a significant change in how Bhutanese applications were being assessed, with applicants increasingly viewed as higher risk despite no fundamental change in the formal visa requirements.
“The requirements did not change. It was a perception change on how our visa applications were viewed, from low risk to highest risk,” said ABEC chairman and head of operations at Global Reach, Palden Tshering.
He said the situation required a reset in how prospective students, education consultancies and the wider education sector approached applications for Australia.
The comments came after Australian Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke announced a package of migration reforms on September 17 aimed at strengthening the integrity of the migration system and reducing visa hopping. The measures include restrictions on most international students and graduate visa holders bringing family members, tighter rules on changing courses and stronger enforcement against people who overstay their visas.
Under the new arrangements, most international students will no longer be able to attach family members to their student visas. The restriction will not apply to families already in Australia, while exemptions will continue for students from Pacific and ASEAN countries and for certain courses, including PhD programmes.
Bhutanese students undertaking courses that do not qualify for a course-based exemption will therefore generally not be able to bring their partners or dependent children as secondary applicants under the new arrangements.
The ministersaid the changes would not separate families already in Australia. Students who already have family members attached to their visas will not be affected by the new restriction, while the government will no longer generally allow new international students and graduate visa holders to add family members under the existing arrangements.
Palden Tshering said the new measures should not be a reason for prospective students to panic and should not be interpreted as Australia closing its doors to genuine international students.
“Australia is not closing the door,” he said, urging students to remain calm and focus on understanding the requirements and preparing stronger applications.
He said students needed to take greater responsibility for understanding the requirements and ensuring their applications accurately reflected their circumstances, study plans and financial capacity.
According to ABEC, increased scrutiny of Bhutanese applicants is part of a wider tightening across South Asia, where visa grants have declined.
“The South Asian region has been under immense scrutiny over the last few months, and visa grants are down across the board,” Palden Tshering said.
He said Bhutanese education consultancies had been advised by representatives of the Australian government to adapt to the new environment.
ABEC identified several factors behind the increased scrutiny, including course hopping, visa hopping, rising application numbers from inadequately prepared students and patterns of students moving between education providers.
ABEC said the risk profile of Bhutanese applicants began receiving greater scrutiny after private colleges entered the Bhutanese market.
It also pointed to unregulated social media promotions that encouraged applicants to believe that meeting only minimum requirements was sufficient to obtain an Australian student visa.
ABEC said that 56 percent of Bhutanese students currently studying in Australia have not completed their studies at their primary institution.
The association said course hopping and visa hopping, together with an increase in applications from students who were not adequately prepared, had contributed to the heightened scrutiny.
The Australian government’s latest measures specifically target repeated changes of courses and visas.
The new measures also seek to curb visa hopping, particularly where students repeatedly change courses, including moving to lower-level qualifications primarily to extend their stay in Australia.
The government will also restrict progression between courses where it considers students to be moving down the qualification scale primarily to prolong their stay rather than for genuine educational reasons.
Genuine academic progression will remain possible under the new arrangements. Students completing a bachelor’s degree can progress to a master’s degree, while master’s graduates can continue to doctoral study.
The measures are intended to address what the Australian government describes as visa hopping, where students move repeatedly between courses or visas in ways that extend their stay without a corresponding educational purpose.
PhD students are among those specifically identified as exempt from the new family restrictions.
Completing a PhD, however, does not automatically provide permanent residency. Any further stay in Australia after completing studies would depend on the separate visa and migration pathways for which an individual is eligible.
The restrictions on family members are likely to affect Bhutanese students who had planned to study in Australia with their partners.
Palden Tshering said some students may now have to reconsider their plans because they would have to meet tuition and living expenses on their own while also managing academic commitments and employment.
The government said it would introduce a no further stay condition on visitor visas, preventing visitors from using visitor visas as a pathway to remain in Australia through another visa application, with exceptions for protection applications.
It will also strengthen enforcement against people who overstay their visas, including adding 100 compliance officers and increasing detention capacity.
Changes to the Working Holiday Maker programme will include a ballot system for certain second- and third-year visas, alongside regional work requirements.
The Australian government said the measures are intended to support its net overseas migration forecasts of 245,000 for 2026–27 and 225,000 for 2027–28.
ABEC has issued an advisory to prospective students, urging them to take greater responsibility for the information and documents submitted with their visa applications.
A central recommendation is that the applicant’s Genuine Student response should reflect the applicant’s own circumstances, academic plans and reasons for choosing Australia.
ABEC is advising applicants not to rely on education consultancies, freelance writers or artificial intelligence to construct their personal statements.
Palden Tshering said applicants should also be prepared to answer questions about their study plans and information contained in their applications if contacted by Australian immigration authorities.
“Everything you are being asked in the visa interview over the phone are things you should have covered in your application process,” he said. “If you have done that, you know the answer, because, one, it’s your work; two, it’s your story, and three, it’s your finances.”
The association is also advising students to achieve English-language scores above the minimum accepted standard, where possible, and to provide credible employment evidence with reliable contact details so that information can be verified.
Students are being advised to prepare their financial documents well in advance and demonstrate that they have sufficient funds to support themselves as international students beyond their first year.
ABEC said applicants should also be prepared for the possibility of paying a full year’s tuition rather than only six months, saying stronger financial preparation would strengthen an application.
The association has cautioned prospective students against relying on social media posts that promote minimum standards or suggest ways of circumventing Australia’s visa requirements.
Palden Tshering said students had a right to question information provided by education consultancies and should seek clarification where advice differed from ABEC’s advisory.
ABEC is therefore making its advisory public, saying its purpose is to provide prospective students with a clear checklist of what is expected when preparing an Australian student visa application.
The association said every registered education consultancy dealing with Australia generally maintains its own checklist, but such guidance is rarely made public.
The advisory, it said, was intended to help students make informed decisions before committing substantial amounts of money to an Australian education.
ABEC said the advisory was not a new set of requirements but had evolved over about 22 years and had most recently been developed in consultation with more than 20 university representatives.
The association said the objective was to reduce visa refusals and establish a system that produces better-prepared applicants.
Palden Tshering said Australia continued to welcome genuine international students but was increasingly focused on preventing manipulation of its visa system and the use of loopholes to circumvent immigration rules.
For Bhutanese students, the message from the association is to remain calm, understand the changing environment and prepare applications carefully rather than resorting to shortcuts.
As scrutiny increases, ABEC is urging applicants to ensure that their applications are based on their own circumstances, supported by verifiable evidence and consistent with their academic and financial plans.
