PhD Visa Processing in Australia : Frustration Mounts due to Ongoing Delays

PhD Visa Processing in Australia : In an unexpected turn of events, the concerted effort by Australian immigration officials to fast-track visa applications for foreign doctoral candidates has hit a stumbling block, leaving almost one in five prospective PhD Visa students stranded in a frustrating waiting game. The Department of Home Affairs (DHA) disclosed that despite their assurance of concluding nine in 10 PhD visa applications within four months, a significant number remain unresolved even after a year of waiting.

Over the past year, the purported processing time frame displayed on the DHA’s “global processing times” webpage has undergone dramatic fluctuations. Starting at nine months in August 2022, the time to resolve 90 percent of doctoral candidates’ visa applications soared to 12 months in January and further ballooned to 17 months by June, only to sharply drop to four months in July.

However, these processing times fail to account for the complexity of certain visa applications, necessitating thorough identity, security, health, and character assessments. Such evaluations, sometimes delegated to other governmental agencies, can be exceptionally time-intensive. Particularly for applicants hailing from countries like China, India, Iran, and Pakistan, security checks can lead to multi-year delays.

Expressing concern, the International Education Association of Australia uncovered that the visa processing statistics masked these extensive delays. Phil Honeywood, the CEO, emphasized the staggering time lag, advocating for a more streamlined approach to security checks. Honeywood questioned the rationale behind sequential agency checks, proposing simultaneous evaluations to expedite the process.

Supporting this viewpoint, Science & Technology Australia emphasized the urgency of a more efficient visa processing system in the national interest. CEO Misha Schubert stressed the agility of the world’s best scientific and tech talents, positioning Australia at a pivotal juncture of scientific advancement. Schubert asserted that competitiveness in attracting such talents was imperative, lest the nation be left behind.

PhD Visa Processing Challenges

Notwithstanding the challenges, government initiatives have made headway in reducing the backlog of PhD visa applications by approximately 60 percent since mid-2022. The last fiscal year saw an average issuance of nearly 900 PhD visas per month, reaching a record-breaking 1,800 in March alone. Even June, a typically busy month, witnessed a surge in processing, with over 50 percent more PhD visas granted compared to pre-pandemic times.

DHA disclosed that by the end of July this year, over a quarter of its PhD visa application load was submitted in the past month, and two-fifths within the prior two months. Slightly less than 19 percent of applications exceeded the 12-month mark.

Despite these promising figures, a subset of doctoral candidates from China, India, and Iran lament a lack of progress on their visa requests. A member of a WeChat group comprising over 300 Chinese individuals seeking Australian higher degree research visas reported that the majority of applications remained untouched. The applicant disclosed that around 80 group members, including themselves, had endured a wait of 10 to 12 months, with another 63 awaiting resolution for an even longer duration. Regrettably, none of their applications advanced in June or July, and only a handful progressed in August.

Also Read : Bharrat Jagdeo : A visionary Guyanese politician