Desperate students may seek refugee visas

THE number of international students attempting to claim refugee status is likely to multiply by the middle of next year.
That is when the first batch of 18-month bridging visas runs out, according to an expert on migration and international students.
And the scenes witnessed at Villawood Detention Centre, which included five international students taking to the roofs, were "utterly predictable".
"What happened at Villawood was absolutely predictable and absolutely related to changes in how the government decided to deal with permanent residency," said Shanthi Robertson, a lecturer in the sociology of migration at RMIT University.
"But this is only the beginning. The real crunch will be in the middle of next year when those 18-month bridging visas that were granted actually finish."
The government's decision last year to delay until the end of next year the processing of permanent residency applications for international students whose occupations were not on the critical skills list left thousands in limbo.

Read More: http://www.theaustralian.com.au/higher-education/desperate-students-may-seek-refugee-visas/story-e6frgcjx-1225931064344