Ministerial Direction 111 (MD 111) has replaced Ministerial Direction 107 and came into effect on December 19, 2024.. MD 111 outlines the order for considering and disposing of offshore Subclass 500 (Student) visa applications.
This MD applies to offshore Student Sc 500 visa application made on or after 19 December 2024 and offshore Student Sc 500 visa applications made before 19 December 2024 but not yet decided.
Higher priority – Priority 1
Higher priority processing will apply to Student visa applications associated with providers in the higher education and vocational education and training sectors, who have not yet reached their prioritisation threshold based on PRISMS information, which is 80% of their 2025 indicative allocation of new overseas student commencements.
Higher priority processing will also apply to the following categories of students:
– School students
– Non-award sector students, including short-term exchange students
– Standalone ELICOS students
– Students enrolled with a TAFE Provider
– Students enrolled in Pilot Training Courses
– Students in postgraduate research courses
– Foreign Affairs Students
– Defence Students and students sponsored by the Commonwealth
– Students with foreign government, Australian Government and state and territory scholarships that meet the criteria published on the Department of Education website as at the date this Ministerial Direction was made
– Students from the Pacific and Timor-Leste
– Students enrolled in Transnational Education arrangements, according to criteria published at the date this instrument is made on the Department of Education website for higher education students and the Department of Employment and Workplace Relations for vocational education and training students
– Subsequent entrants where an applicant is a minor who is unmarried and has not turned 18 at the time of application and is a dependent child of a primary applicant/primary visa holder for a Student (Sc 500) visa or a dependent child of a spouse or de facto partner of a primary applicant/primary visa holder of a student (Sc 500) visa.
Standard priority – Priority 2
Standard processing/Priority 2 will apply to providers in the higher education and vocational education and training sectors who have reached their prioritisation threshold, subsequent entrants that are not minors as specified above, and any other offshore Student visa applications.
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