‘Computer glitch’ freezes A$1,600 PhD visa applications

Hundreds of overseas PhD candidates have paid the Australian government more than half a million dollars to process visa applications that appear to have been frozen indefinitely by a computer glitch.

More than 400 doctoral candidates from China, India, Pakistan, South Korea, Bangladesh and Afghanistan are said to have been afflicted by the “1221 bug”, which halts all progress on visa processing after applicants have been instructed to provide “additional personal particulars” by filling out “Form 1221”.

Applicants say that when they complete the online form, the Department of Home Affairs (DHA) computer system fails to recognise that it has been submitted. Resubmission of the form produces the same result.  

A doctoral candidate from India, who asked not to be named, said no applicant affected by the bug had ever been granted a visa. Australian student visa application charges are A$1,600 (£783), the highest in the world.

A DHA spokesman said the department was “not aware of any systems or technical issues impacting a visa applicant’s ability to attach documents” in its ImmiAccount visa management system. “A visa cannot be granted until the department is satisfied that all requirements have been met,” he added.

Screenshots obtained by Times Higher Education show that students have been given “yellow flags”, indicating that DHA assessments are pending. Applicants are directed to “complete character assessment information” or “start a new Form 1221”.

“Students already uploaded Form 1221 but the system asked them to upload again,” an applicant calling herself Elika Zhang explained in a 2022 submission to Australia’s migration review. “They received no email notifications from visa officers. No students who have been marked [with the] 1221 bug this year have been issued visas.”

The apparent glitch is among the difficulties plaguing an estimated 1,000 doctoral candidates from seven countries who are comparing notes after waiting months or years for their visa applications to be processed.

They say they have put their lives on hold and spent thousands of dollars on visa applications and medical checks, only to find themselves in limbo. Some doctoral candidates are “spending the best few years of their life” waiting as much as 36 months for their visas, Zhang said.

“It is hard to understand why the Australian government and universities are providing funding for outstanding international students to support their research in Australia, but DHA is then forbidding…them from entering Australia,” notes a petition to federal government ministers.

The petition says DHA should have “clear deadlines for visa processing”, with students updated regularly on the progress of their applications, and universities barred from offering positions to candidates that the department does not “like”.

“Refund the application fee if you can’t make [a] decision,” the petition adds.

PhD visa processing delays have persisted for years despite dozens of media reports in Times Higher Education and elsewhere dating back as far as 2018.

Recent DHA statistics suggest that 99 per cent of postgraduate research visa applications lodged offshore prove successful, and half are processed within 20 days. But these figures do not include applications put on hold indefinitely while they are scrutinised by security agencies.

The doctoral candidate from India said she and many compatriots had been waiting 10 or more months “without any communication from the department”. Enquiries about the delays elicited replies saying the “necessary health, character, and national security clearances” could take “several months” or “up to two years”.

“There is nothing that the department can do to expedite the process,” one reply says. “We are unable to provide you with a definitive timeframe,” says another.

She said that the information DHA requested via Form 1221 had already been supplied by visa applicants in their original paperwork. Some had also been instructed to complete Form 80, which covered much of the same ground.

“Many of us have lost our scholarships this month as the universities cannot…carry forward the scholarships and enrolments,” she said. “March begins a new fiscal year for many universities.”

A Chinese doctoral candidate said about 400 countryfolk had been awaiting visas for up to 30 months. In a February petition, a group of Chinese PhD students asked their country’s ambassador to Australia to lobby for fairer and more transparent visa processing processes.

“Since early 2024, students who encountered the ‘1221 bug’ have almost never received their visas and are still waiting indefinitely,” the petition says.

DHA said factors influencing visa processing time frames included “whether the applicant has submitted…all necessary supporting documents” and “how quickly an applicant responds to any requests for additional information”.

john.ross@timeshighereducation.com