More than 30 Iranian PhD students have suddenly had their Australian student visas approved.
Last month, despite having offers from Australian universities to begin their PhDs here.
The approvals for the group of Iranian students came in the days that followed.
Iranian student Maryam Taheri is among those celebrating. She was awarded a PhD scholarship in engineering from the University of New South Wales and had been waiting 17 months for her visa to be able to begin her studies.
“I can’t describe what my family and me felt at that moment and how happy we were,” she said.
I can’t describe what my family and me felt at that moment and how happy we were.- Maryam Taheri, PhD student
Ms Taheri has been leading a campaign among hundreds of Iranian students who had also been waiting for their visas.
“The lengthy nature of this visa process has been very difficult. I had tried hard to be awarded a competitive scholarship, but that was only the beginning of the battle.”
SBS News understands it's uncommon to have this number of visas approved in such a short amount of time.
Chinese offshore PhD students who had also spoken to SBS News about their waits for visas did not see any surge in visa approvals.
Limbo continues
Despite the relief for some, there are still at least 50 Iranian students in limbo.
Arezoo is one of them. The 32-year-old has a fully-funded PhD admission at Monash University in Material Science and Engineering but has been waiting more than 13 months for her student visa.
Arezoo is still waiting for her Australian visa so she can begin her PhD. Source: Supplied / Arezoo
“The process of granting visas is unclear. Myself and others have enquired with the Department of Home Affairs, but we all receive similar template answers.”
She said she has received support from her university supervisor and other students in similar situations, which helps her to keep persevering.
The Department of Home Affairs does not comment on individual cases.
A spokesperson for the department previously told SBS News the federal government “recognises the important role played by the postgraduate research sector in uplifting Australia’s reputation as a high-quality destination for innovative research within the international education sector; and consequently, influencing Australia’s economic prosperity”.
The spokesperson said almost 10,800 postgraduate research visas were granted between 1 July 2022 and 28 February 2023 and the largest number of visas granted went to applicants from China.
India placed third, Pakistan eighth and Iran ninth.
Melbourne migration agent Simon De Vere, who previously worked as an assistant secretary at the Department of Immigration, previously told SBS News he has heard of individual cases that have been delayed because of security concerns.
“We are aware of cases where security agencies have raised concerns and those concerns have led to lengthy delays,” he said.
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