Australia’s Department of Home Affairs has quietly but dramatically tightened checks on student-visa applications lodged in India, Nepal, Bangladesh and Bhutan. Effective 8 January 2026, those four source markets were lifted from Evidence Level 2 to Evidence Level 3 under the Simplified Student Visa Framework (SSVF).
In practical terms, the change means education agents and applicants from the four countries must now supply far more exhaustive proof of genuine temporary-entrant intent, sufficient funds and previous academic achievement. Bank statements will be manually verified, additional English-language evidence may be requested and case-officers have authority to telephone referees and issuing institutions. Average processing times are expected to lengthen from three to eight weeks.
Home Affairs says the out-of-cycle re-rating was triggered by “emerging integrity risks”, including recent seizures of forged degree certificates and a spike in course-hopping once students arrive. India alone accounts for almost 140,000 of Australia’s 650,000 international students; altogether the four nations represent nearly one-third of 2025 enrolments.
![Australia Raises Student-Visa Evidence Level for Four South-Asian Countries]()
If you are advising prospective students caught by these new requirements, VisaHQ can streamline the process—its Australia portal (https://www.visahq.com/australia/) offers real-time document checklists, alerts on policy shifts and optional pre-submission reviews to flag gaps before lodgement, helping applicants from India, Nepal, Bangladesh and Bhutan avoid costly delays.
University peak bodies publicly support the integrity push, arguing it protects the value of an Australian qualification, but privately warn of potential revenue hits if approval rates fall before the first-semester intake in March. Education lenders and homestay providers are bracing for late cancellations. Employers that rely on post-study work-rights pipelines may also feel the pinch if fewer graduates emerge in three to four years’ time.
For mobility managers the message is clear: build extra lead-time into 2026 student-mobility programmes, budget for higher documentation costs, and advise assignees’ dependants to keep originals of transcripts and financial statements on hand. Companies sponsoring 408 (Training) or 407 (Activity) visas for candidates from these markets should also expect spill-over scrutiny until the data show fraud rates falling.
In practical terms, the change means education agents and applicants from the four countries must now supply far more exhaustive proof of genuine temporary-entrant intent, sufficient funds and previous academic achievement. Bank statements will be manually verified, additional English-language evidence may be requested and case-officers have authority to telephone referees and issuing institutions. Average processing times are expected to lengthen from three to eight weeks.
Home Affairs says the out-of-cycle re-rating was triggered by “emerging integrity risks”, including recent seizures of forged degree certificates and a spike in course-hopping once students arrive. India alone accounts for almost 140,000 of Australia’s 650,000 international students; altogether the four nations represent nearly one-third of 2025 enrolments.
If you are advising prospective students caught by these new requirements, VisaHQ can streamline the process—its Australia portal (https://www.visahq.com/australia/) offers real-time document checklists, alerts on policy shifts and optional pre-submission reviews to flag gaps before lodgement, helping applicants from India, Nepal, Bangladesh and Bhutan avoid costly delays.
University peak bodies publicly support the integrity push, arguing it protects the value of an Australian qualification, but privately warn of potential revenue hits if approval rates fall before the first-semester intake in March. Education lenders and homestay providers are bracing for late cancellations. Employers that rely on post-study work-rights pipelines may also feel the pinch if fewer graduates emerge in three to four years’ time.
For mobility managers the message is clear: build extra lead-time into 2026 student-mobility programmes, budget for higher documentation costs, and advise assignees’ dependants to keep originals of transcripts and financial statements on hand. Companies sponsoring 408 (Training) or 407 (Activity) visas for candidates from these markets should also expect spill-over scrutiny until the data show fraud rates falling.
