Label-Free Australian Student Visa for Chinese Nationals

Chinese students travelling to Australia for study do not require to have a visa lable in their passport as of the beginning of April 2012 for faster processing.

Australian Department of Immigration and Citizenship (DIAC) has made arrangements with The Chinese Ministry of Public Security regarding the implementation of the label free visa policy for students.

Department of Immigration and Citizenship will also issue a grant notification letter to all the students receiving the label free visa. This will ensure that the student understand the terms and conditions of the validity of the Student visa.

However, the letter will not be considered as an evidence of permission to travel to and enter Australia as a foreign student. In other words, the letter can not be used as a proof of grant of Student visa allowing them to enter Australia.

The airlines operating flights to Australia has the access to the Department of Immigration and Citizenship database which has all the records of issuance of valid visa to travel to Australia.

The airline will have to verify from the DIAC database records electronically before the traveler is allowed to board the plane.

China’s Ministry of Public Security has issued an advisory for all the travellers from China making it clear that only those who have been issued a label free student visa will be permitted to depart the country while leaving:

• From an airport in mainland China travelling on a flight or flights, directly or indirectly, to Australia and hold a boarding pass for their final flight to Australia
• Mainland China transiting by land or ferry through the Hong Kong Special administrative Region in order to travel on a flight or flights to Australia.

However, Students with label free visa are not allowed to travel through the Macau Special Administrative Region either by land or ferry in order to catch an onward flight to Australia in Macau or Hong Kong.

Tags: Australia, Australia Study visa, China, Label-free visa, Student Visa, Study abroad, Study visa