{"id":17833,"date":"2026-04-20T03:58:48","date_gmt":"2026-04-20T03:58:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.educli.com\/resources\/?p=17833"},"modified":"2026-04-20T03:58:49","modified_gmt":"2026-04-20T03:58:49","slug":"international-education-11","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.educli.com\/resources\/international-education-11\/","title":{"rendered":"Genuine Student + Evidence Level 3: What Agents Need to Know Right Now"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Student Visa Framework · April 2026<\/p>\n

Genuine Student + Evidence Level 3: What Agents Need to Know Right Now<\/h1>\n

The first month of refusal data under the new settings confirms the shift. Here is what has changed for agents handling applications from India, Nepal, Bangladesh and Bhutan.<\/p>\n<\/header>\n\n

Since 8 January 2026, India, Nepal, Bangladesh and Bhutan have been classified at Evidence Level 3 under Australia’s Simplified Student Visa Framework. The first full month of refusal data under the new settings came in February.<\/p>\n\n

DHA figures, reported by the AFR, show offshore higher education refusal rates of 40% for India, 60.2% for Nepal and 47.2% for Bangladesh in February 2026. The overall university-sector refusal rate that month was 32.5% – a 20-year high. China, by contrast, sat at around 3%.<\/p>\n\n

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February 2026 · Offshore Higher Education Refusal Rates<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
Nepal<\/td>\n60.2%<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Bangladesh<\/td>\n47.2%<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
India<\/td>\n40.0%<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
University sector overall<\/td>\n32.5%<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
China (comparison)<\/td>\n~3%<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n

Source: DHA, as reported by the Australian Financial Review.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n

Combined with the Genuine Student (GS) requirement, this creates a materially more demanding assessment environment for applicants from these markets. The cost of the visa application fee alone – $2,000, non-refundable – is reason enough to make sure the application is right before it is lodged.<\/p>\n\n

What Evidence Level 3 actually changes<\/h2>\n\n

Evidence Level is not the same as visa refusal probability. A student from a Level 3 country applying for a student visa can still be approved. What changes is the documentation threshold – what must be provided before the application is finalised – and the depth of scrutiny applied during assessment.<\/p>\n\n

At Level 3, the following apply regardless of provider level:<\/p>\n\n