A British woman’s plans to build a new life in Australia have been thrown into turmoil after a visa rule change forced her to leave the country and spend more than $6,500 trying to remain eligible to stay.
Meg Green arrived in Australia on a Working Holiday visa in November 2023. She later left her hospitality job to pursue a student visa and study on the Gold Coast.
Those plans changed when she learned that she would need to leave Australia before applying for the student visa.
“I’m taking one of the biggest risks I can by being on a visa in Australia,” she said in an Instagram video.
“My Working Holiday visa ends in about seven weeks, and I’ve just made the decision to leave my hospitality job. It was a really difficult choice.”
Ms Green has seven years of experience in corporate banking, cybersecurity and technology. She was scheduled to start an Advanced Diploma of IT at the Canterbury Technical Institute in February 2027 to build on her skills.
But her education plans suffered a major setback after a visa crackdown, introduced on October 2, required many Working Holiday visa holders to submit student visa applications from outside Australia.
“Australia has thrown a huge curveball at us, and the timing couldn’t be worse,” she said.
A British woman says a visa rule change derailed her plans in Australia and left her facing more than $6,500 in travel and application costs
“As of two days ago, I now have to leave the country for potentially four to five weeks and apply for my student visa offshore.”
Ms Green is currently in Bali waiting for a decision on the student visa application she submitted on October 26. She told Yahoo the process had already cost her more than $6,500.
She said the bill included roughly $900 for flights, $1,500 for one month of accommodation, a $2,500 student visa application fee, $1,300 for Overseas Student Health Cover and $250 in migration agent fees.
Those expenses came in addition to her course fees and normal living costs.
Ms Green said she did not realise until October 4 that the new rule, announced two days earlier, meant she would have to leave Australia to lodge her student visa application.
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The policy was announced on September 17 as part of an effort to curb “visa hopping”, a practice in which temporary visa holders move between visa categories to prolong their stay in Australia.
While waiting in Bali, Ms Green said the uncertainty surrounding her application had become increasingly stressful.
“So far, I’ve received nothing beyond the automatic acknowledgement from the Department of Home Affairs,” she said.
Ms Green left Australia to submit her student visa application after the Albanese government introduced the new rule on October 2
The policy, announced on September 17, targets “visa hopping” by temporary visa holders seeking to extend their time in Australia
“There doesn’t appear to be any predictable pattern in these cases, which makes planning extremely difficult,” she said.
“In some ways, it feels as though we’re the first group trying to navigate an entirely new process without knowing what to expect.”
Even so, reports from other recent applicants have offered her some encouragement.
“I still don’t have an update, but two agents have told me that two of their clients were approved after 11 and 15 days,” she said on Instagram.
“That’s really positive.”
“When processing times are this quick, it doesn’t seem quite as frightening.”
For now, Ms Green said she was doing her best to maintain a normal routine while waiting in Bali.
“Most days involve refreshing my emails, going to the gym and trying to keep some structure in my life while I wait for a decision,” she said.
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