There is a lot of discussion regarding Level 1, Level 2, or Level 3 college or university for a student visa.
The Australian government has made a Simplified Student Visa Framework (SSVF) for student visa subclass 500. Level 1 university/college represents less risk assessment level and hence the lower number of documents required. Level 3 risk is associated with a high-risk education provider requiring more evidence and a high risk of student visa refusals. Most Australian universities at any given time are mostly on Level 1 or Level 2 and their risk assessment changes twice a year under SSVF. An Australian university at Level 2 does not mean that the quality of their education is lower than that of a Level 1 institution. It only changes with the past conduct of the international students who study or study in that university or college.
So how is the risk level of the College or University calculated for a student visa?
The Australian government has devised a SSVF a simplified student visa framework that uses a methodology to calculate the evidence levels for a college or university with level 1 university requiring the lowest evidence for an Australian student visa subclass 500 and Level 3 college requiring the most evidence of the student visa.
So, how are these evidence levels calculated:
Evidence levels for Australian universities and colleges under the SSVF are calculated by weighing the indicators for a country and an education provider as a combination which is as follows:
The evidence level of Australian universities is affected by the following factors:
- The rate of Visa cancellation is given a 25% weightage in determining the level of the Australian education provider.
- The rate of refusals due to fraud is weighted as 40% in this decision-making.
- Rate of student visa refusals excluding fraud are given a weightage of 10% under the SSVF.
- The rate of Student visa holders becoming unlawful citizens is given a weightage of 15% under SSVF.
- The rate of Subsequent Protection Visa applications by students at Australian universities is given a weightage of 10%.
International students who study or lodge a student visa application with an education provider affect their evidence rating by the factors stated above.
Evidence Levels are allocated for each country and a university/college, and their combination helps the Australian government in determining the level of the university/college.
| Evidence Level Index | Evidence level |
| Below 1.0 | 1 |
| Between 1.0 and 2.7 | 2 |
| Above 2.7 | 3 |
Evidence Level Indicators
Australian student visa subclass 500 cancellations
The following Australian student visa subclass 500 condition breaches affect the level of an Australian education provider.
- Student Visa cancellations due to fraud.
- Student Visa cancellations due to non-genuine.
- Australian student visa cancellation due to breach of visa condition 8202. Condition 8202 relates to conditions on student visa holders to maintain enrolment in the university/college they are studying in, attendance, course progress, and changing courses after the Student Visa was granted.
- Breach of 8105 condition be a student visa holder by working more than 48 hours a fortnight while the course is in session.
Australian student visa subclass 500 refusals
Student visas refused onshore and offshore including those refused for fraud affect the evidence rating of an Australian education provider.
Australian student visa subclass 500 visa holders have been unlawful for a long time and overstay their student visas.
Student visa holders who become unlawful for less than 28 days are unlikely to affect the evidence-level rating of the Australian education provider. However, a student visa holder who stays unlawful for more than 28 days adversely affects the rating of the Australian education provider.
Australian student visa holders lodging Protection visa applications.
The more Australian student visa holders associated with a certain Australian college or a university lodge Protection visa application, the more adverse their evidence level.
The evidence level is affected by a student visa holder who is linked to an Australian institution while holding a COE for the principal course at the time of their student visa application.
Evidence Level of Small Australian Education Providers and Countries
Where the Australian government has very limited data to determine the evidence level of an Australian institution, that education institution is provided with a level 2 evidence level rating if they don’t have 50 active student visa holders and/or student visa applications.
Evidence Level for Small Countries
If a country has less than 50 student visa holders/applications, they are allocated evidence rating of 3.
What is the difference between Level 1 and Level 2 or Level 3 University or College?
Usually, the Level 1 evidence Australian institution won’t require the student visa holder to upload financial evidence and evidence of English Language capacity. But level 2 or Level 3 Australian institutions will require the above documents.
How do I check the documents required for an Australian University for a student visa?
You can click on the document checklist tool also known as the web evidentiary tool and select your country of passport and your proposed Australian University to find out the documents you will need to upload for your student visa application.
New immigration announcement regarding Level 1 university?
Under the new announcement by the Australian government, student visa holders lodging a student visa application with a Level 1 university and college will be prioritized over Level 2 and Level 2 Australian colleges and universities.
Disclaimer: The above information is not tailored to personal circumstances.
For information relevant to personal circumstances, please book an
appointment with Oracle Immigration Consultant’s expert migration agents in
Australia.
For any inquiries, please contact us at +61 430812158. We are premier Immigration agency and consultancy in Melbourne (Bundoora and Geelong).
