Australia Monday Announced the easing of travel restrictions From next month, an estimated 20,000 students from Punjab will be paved for flying to that country in the next few months.
From 1 December, holders of fully immunized visas, including students and skilled workers, can fly to Australia without needing to apply for a travel exemption.
Consultants working in education abroad in Punjab said students have started calling them with questions as they intend to move to Australia as soon as possible.
India is the second largest source of foreign students to Australia after China. During 2019-20, Indian students contributed US$6.6 billion to the Australian economy, informs Leverage Education, a platform that provides full services to students pursuing international education and careers in nearly 250+ universities in various countries. Is.
Chitresh Dhawan, who owns Dhawan Educational Consultancy in Amritsar – one of the state’s oldest dealing with education abroad – said his business had come down to almost zero due to travel restrictions imposed by Australia. “The Australian government allowed online classes but imposed stringent epidemiological travel restrictions about 19 months ago, effectively banning students wishing to travel to that country. Soon after the announcement, there was a huge rush of phone calls from students and their parents to the office as well.
Dhawan said that around 20,000 students from Punjab are ready to fly to Australia. Once the first group of students land in that country and share their experience, the numbers will increase.
“The federal government has allowed people to travel to Victoria, South Australia and New South Wales. Western Australia is yet to open up,” he said.
He added that the primary reason behind students, especially those taking online courses, want to flee to Australia, to take part-time jobs to pay for their education. “Most of these students come from middle class families. They usually arrange for half the fee and pay the balance after working part-time abroad, an option they do not have here,” he said.
Visionway IELTS and Immigration Institute in Nawanshahr, which facilitates students opting for courses in Australia, Canada and the UK, said that following the announcement by the Australian government, there is a lot of enthusiasm among students who have started to inquire And want to complete the visa formalities as soon as possible.
Rahul Sapra, who wants to go to Australia, said that he cleared the IELTS in early 2020 and wants to board a flight before the validity of the score expires. “My sister had gone there six years ago to do her MBA. She now has a job and is settled there. She wanted me to go there after 10+2, but then the Covid pandemic spoiled the game,” said Sapra, who also wants to pursue a degree in MBA.
Another student, Kajal Dhalla, who had earlier planned to go to Canada, now wants to fly to Australia. “I am completing all the formalities so that I can reach Australia for the intake in February,” she said.
Till seven-eight years ago, Australia used to be the favorite destination for the students of Punjab. Over one lakh students fly to Australia from India every year, mainly from Punjab.
The Australian government has stated that those visiting the country must be fully vaccinated with a vaccine approved or recognized by the Medical Goods Administration (TGA) of Australia. They also have to present negative COVID-19 The RT-PCR test report is not more than three days old.
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