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Student switchers and the regulation of residency: the interface of the individual and Australia's immigration regime
Author(s) -
Robertson Shanthi
Publication year - 2010
Publication title -
population, space and place
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.398
H-Index - 68
eISSN - 1544-8452
pISSN - 1544-8444
DOI - 10.1002/psp.598
Subject(s) - immigration , legislation , government (linguistics) , bureaucracy , power (physics) , political science , state (computer science) , public relations , public administration , law , politics , philosophy , linguistics , physics , algorithm , quantum mechanics , computer science
Since 1998, policy changes to Australia's skilled migration program have favoured international students as potential skilled migrants. This has included legislation allowing holders of an Australian tertiary qualification to apply for permanent residency (PR) onshore within 6 months of completing their study. This process, dubbed ‘student switching’ (McLaughlan and Salt, 2002) has created a distinct migration process through which increasing numbers of international students use their study in Australia as a pathway to residency. In this paper, I will address how individuals experience the bureaucratic processes of application for PR, in that the granting or denying of visas involves the interface between government and individual. I will explore how individuals' interactions with the power of the state as gatekeeper impact on their experiences as transnational subjects, and their social positioning within the new society. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.