UOW's international students voice their concern over continued visa delays

A significant delay in student visa processing times is keeping a huge cohort of international students locked out of the country.

Of the 1100 international students who commenced study at the University of Wollongong this July, about 30 per cent are yet to receive their visas, a UOW spokesperson said.

READ MORE: Mount Pleasant 'revhead' learns fate after 77-metre burnout

UOW student, Shanmukh Sreeram Mantha, was looking forward to coming to Australia in July but had to commence remote study from India when his visa was not granted in time.

"It is taking a toll on my mental stability, I wake up everyday and check my visa status and it is also the last activity before I go to bed," he said.

Another student, who wished to stay anonymous, was dissatisfied with having to watch recorded lectures because the time difference made it impossible for him to remotely attend them live.

"We all want university exposure, we want to visit the labs, we want to go to the library, we want to explore new places and we want to meet new people but we can't do that online," he said.

He said it wasn't fair on students who had taken education loans and quit their jobs to pursue further education to be denied the Australian experience they paid for.

The Mercury spoke to a number of students and they shared a common sentiment of helplessness, overwhelmed by the unpredictability of the situation.

A Department of Home Affairs spokesperson said the Australian government recognises the important contribution international students make to the Australian society.

"With nearly 43,000 lodgements, June 2022 saw the highest number of offshore student visa application lodgements in 10 years; and May 2022 was the third highest with 35,500 applications lodged," the Home Affairs spokesperson said.

READ MORE: Wollongong cafes donate 400 coffees to reward volunteer clean-up crews

The spokesperson also said there was an increase in incomplete applications and presentation of fraudulent documentation from several of the top source countries. That in turn contributed to higher visa refusal rates and longer processing times, exacerbating the backlog.

University of Wollongong Senior Deputy-Vice Chancellor, Alex Frino, has been actively lobbying the Department of Home Affairs to get them to speed up the process.

Mr Frino said the department is dealing with understaffing issues which then affects visa processing times.

"The Home Affairs now provides us with regular briefings on progress towards remedying the issue," Mr Frino said.

UOW Vice-Chancellor, Patricia Davidson, he said, has been rigorously advocating for student visas alongside him and it remains one of the university's top priorities.