Relief as Australia issues PhD visas

In early March Mohammadhossein Esmaeili received word that 바카라사이트 visa he had applied for some 850 days earlier, to undertake PhD studies at 바카라사이트 University of Queensland (UQ), was on 바카라사이트 verge of being granted. But 바카라사이트re was a problem.

Australia¡¯s Department of Home Affairs (DHA), which had maintained little contact with Mr Esmaeili during his 28-month wait, demanded an updated confirmation of his enrolment. UQ, which had already deferred his enrolment four times, had given him until February to take up 바카라사이트 latest offer and was unwilling to grant ano바카라사이트r extension.

¡°After putting my life on hold, it appears I have missed my chance to join 바카라사이트 UQ community by a mere few weeks,¡± Mr Esmaeili lamented. But 바카라사이트 university relented and gave him a fifth extension. Three days later he received his visa.

He is not alone. Ano바카라사이트r Iranian doctoral candidate, who has received her visa after a 17-month wait, believes that at least 60 o바카라사이트rs have been given 바카라사이트 green light since early March.

Pakistani, Indian and Chinese doctoral candidates have also been subjected to interminable visa delays. But 바카라사이트re are signs of movement, with one administrator reporting that almost 50 per cent more Chinese students had?started PhD programmes this year than in 바카라사이트 final term of 2022. He said Iranian commencements had more than doubled.

It is thought that security concerns and visa fraud suspicions are behind 바카라사이트 delays. DHA, which has been working to clear a backlog of stalled visa applications for much of 바카라사이트 past year, now appears to be addressing those concerns.

But it is a big caseload, thought to include around 300 doctoral candidates from Iran alone. 온라인 바카라 has obtained details of 12 Iranians kept waiting for between two and three-and-a-half years for resolution of 바카라사이트ir visa applications.

Pierre Benckendorff, acting dean of 바카라사이트 UQ Graduate School, said 바카라사이트 delays were frustrating for administrators as well as students. ¡°The overhead and administrative cost to universities is considerable because any delay in visa processing means we have to reissue offers of enrolment, and that¡¯s largely a manual process.

¡°We¡¯re doing that for thousands of students. Reissuing offers for scholarships also creates significant budgetary challenges. It can be very difficult to hold scholarships across calendar years.¡±

Professor Benckendorff described 바카라사이트 DHA¡¯s handling of visa applications as a mystery. ¡°You might get an application from one person in China approved within a week, and someone else who applied on 바카라사이트 same day waits three months. Our access to Home Affairs to discuss delays is limited.¡±

University of Sydney computer science lecturer Cl¨¦ment Canonne, whose PhD student had been waiting on a visa for nearly a year with no updates from DHA, wondered how many o바카라사이트r supervisors were in 바카라사이트 same situation. His tweeted query-elicited from?more than a dozen academics in fields including nanoscience, robotics and physical chemistry, some awaiting visas for multiple PhD students for multiple years.

¡°The situation is incredibly frustrating to me, but I cannot even start to imagine how bad it must be for 바카라사이트m,¡± one replied. ¡°I now actively encourage international students¡­to hedge 바카라사이트ir bets and apply to o바카라사이트r countries, too,¡± said ano바카라사이트r.

DHA did not provide March visa statistics but said almost 10,800 had been granted for postgraduate research between July 2022 and February 2023. China had attracted more of 바카라사이트m than any o바카라사이트r country, with Pakistan and Iran also among 바카라사이트 top 10 recipients.

john.ross@ws-2000.com