Recently, students who have been switching programs from SVP providers to non-SVP providers have received letters from DIBP giving them a time-limit to explain their move. Some of these students are being advised to depart Australia and apply for fresh visas if they wish to continue at the non-SVP institutions. The letters site the visa condition 8516.
Under the streamlined student visa processing arrangements eligible student visa applicants from participating universities are assessed for a visa outside the Assessment Level (AL) Framework and are not subject to the evidentiary requirements of schedule 5A of the Migration Regulations.
Visa condition 8516 requires that ‘The holder must continue to be a person who would satisfy the primary or secondary criteria, as the case requires, for the grant of the visa’. In practice, this means that students who were granted a visa under SVP must continue to maintain enrolment in an SVP eligible course and provider.
You may also find updates and useful information at the link http://migrationblog.immi.gov.au/
Students must ensure that they have appropriate information to remain compliant with their visa conditions.
