NSW International Student Arrivals Pilot Plan to return international students to NSW has received support from the federal government and the NSW government.
The plan has been welcomed by the education and migration services sector in Australia. Migration agent like Elaine Caguioa believes that the pilot plan would go a long way to saving businesses and struggling industries.
"It's a very welcome news. Obviously we need the international students for the recovery of the economy post pandemic. It's good for Australia and at the same time, it's good for the students."
Highlights
- 500 students from around the world will be permitted to travel into Australia before Christmas.
- Those who received vaccines that are not TGA-approved would likely be locked out of the program.
- Education and migration industry hopes that the program will help the economy rebound from such a challenging period.
The Scape Redfern accommodation block in Sydney can accommodate up to 650 students, but the first phase is anticipated to bring back 500 international students to NSW by the end of 2021, with 250 students returning per fortnight.
Prior to the pandemic, about 250,000 international students were studying in NSW and represented the state's second-largest export.
The state government said 57,000 overseas students were currently trying to get into NSW.
Chinese international students could be excluded from NSW’s pilot plan because China’s vaccines, Sinovac and Sinopharm, are not recognised by TGA.
