fbpx
Market intelligence for international student recruitment from ICEF
30th Apr 2013

New five-country visa application centre opens in Singapore

Of all the factors that can influence international student enrolments – from a country’s perceived safety or beauty to an institution’s reputation – visa processing times can be one of the most frustrating and unpredictable for applying students and receiving institutions alike. At the least, visa delays can taint the excitement a student has about their study abroad decision or push back start dates; at the worst, they can prompt the student to change his/her mind about coming at all. Many of the leading destination countries have had complaints about their visa processing times in the past few years, especially in cases where they have closed visa application centres (VACs) for cost control or “streamlining” reasons. But there is evidence the governments of leading countries are understanding the deleterious effects of visa delays: for example, Canada has just allotted CDN $42 million to improving visa processing in its latest budget, and Australia is also working hard to improve its visa processing and framework. Now, the big five – the US, Canada, the UK, Australia, and New Zealand – have opened the first-ever joint VAC in Singapore under the Five Country Conference (FCC) programme. The FCC is a forum for cooperation between the five countries on migration and border security. The joint visa centre is run by VFS Global, a leading outsourcing and technology services specialist for diplomatic missions and governments across the world. A spokesman for Australia’s Department of Immigration and Citizenship (DIAC) said the Singapore-based VAC would “include extended operating hours with phones open until 5 pm weekdays, and Internet kiosks with an online application tracking facility so clients can view the status of their applications.” He commented that clients in the region would receive more convenient access to immigration and citizenship services as a result.

The new five-country VAC in Singapore will be strictly an application centre – devoted to administration – rather than an assessment centre. Prospective students’ applications will be evaluated by the high commissions or immigration authorities in countries to which the students are applying.

The joint VAC seems likely to be the first of more joint centres to come, since under the FCC initiative, member countries have signed on to share a global network of VACs.

Coopetition

From a logistical standpoint, the five-country VAC makes a lot of sense: it promises to cut down on costs as well as better serving the client base of each country. But it is interesting from another perspective: competitive advantage. Each of the five countries competes with the rest, and the competition for students is only getting tighter. Shortening visa processing times and reducing the general headache of visa applications for students is a source of competitive advantage; looked at from the other side, putting up visa or immigration barriers causes countries to lose out on students to other countries. So that the five countries are collaborating - rather than competing - on the basis of better visa processes is notable. That said, the VAC is but an application centre, not a guarantee of shorter wait times, and but one tiny chink in the overall immigration and international education strategies of each of the countries. For now, the joint VAC is perhaps most important for its optics: it will likely serve the leading destination countries’ aim of assuring international students of a reasonable level of service and visa processing times, while providing each of the participating countries with some cost savings and administrative efficiencies along the way.

Most Recent

  • ICEF Podcast: Together for transparency – Building global standards for ethical international student recruitment Read More
  • New analysis sounds a note of caution for UK immigration reforms Read More
  • The number of students in higher education abroad has more than tripled since the turn of the century Read More

Most Popular

  • Which countries will contribute the most to global student mobility in 2030? Read More
  • Research shows link between study abroad and poverty alleviation  Read More
  • Beyond the Big Four: How demand for study abroad is shifting to destinations in Asia and Europe Read More

Because you found this article interesting

ICEF Podcast: Together for transparency – Building global standards for ethical international student recruitment Listen in as ICEF’s Craig Riggs and Martijn van de Veen recap some of the latest news and...
Read more
New analysis sounds a note of caution for UK immigration reforms Within the UK’s higher education system, there are a group of institutions known as “Post-1992 universities”. The term...
Read more
US warns of expanded travel ban that could affect key African markets “The United States is considering restricting entry to citizens of an additional 36 countries in what would be...
Read more
Breaking: US resumes student visa processing On 18 June, the US State Department sent a cable to all US diplomatic posts abroad instructing them...
Read more
Is Canada valued more as a “pathway to immigration” or as a destination for education? During a 12 June 2025 webinar presented by the Canadian Bureau for International Education (CBIE) and IDP, IDP...
Read more
Japanese outbound numbers reached 90% of pre-pandemic levels in 2024 An annual survey of Japanese education agents finds that outbound student numbers from this key sending market are...
Read more
UK: Study visa applications up by nearly a third year to date The early data we are seeing so far this year makes a couple of things clear. First, there...
Read more
Real-time insights on shifting international student interest in the US ICEF and NAFSA co-hosted a featured webinar on 11 June, and the session showcased some important data reflecting...
Read more
What are you looking for?
Quick Links