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Sick of waiting for a visa: Overseas PhD students give up on Australia

Hamed Pourazad had a scholarship for postgraduate study in Australia but gave up after waiting three years for a student visa that never arrived (Supplied).jpg

Hamed Pourazad had a scholarship for postgraduate study in Australia but gave up after waiting three years for a student visa that never arrived. (Supplied).jpg Source: Supplied

Hundreds of overseas PhD students planning to study in areas critical to Australia’s future economy are waiting as long as three-years to have their visas approved. Those impacted include people from countries such as Iran, China, India and Pakistan. Academics say they're frustrated by the wait times, with fully funded research on hold and students with grants stuck in limbo.


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Presented by Lin Evlin

Source: SBS News




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Hundreds of overseas PhD students planning to study in areas critical to Australia’s future economy are waiting as long as three-years to have their visas approved. Those impacted include people from countries such as Iran, China, India and Pakistan. Academics say they're frustrated by the wait times, with fully funded research on hold and students with grants stuck in limbo.


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