Canberra: In a major crackdown on student visas, Australia announced Tuesday that it would… Limit the number of international student enrollments The new plan has been made in line with the government’s plan to limit migration, which has contributed to a surge in home rental prices. The latest decision comes after a series of actions taken last year to end COVID-era concessions for students and foreign workers in Australia that helped companies hire staff locally while strict border controls kept out foreign workers.
“There are now around 10 per cent more international students in our universities than before the pandemic and around 50 per cent more in our private vocational training providers,” Education Minister Jason Clare told a news conference.
Why does Australia impose a restriction on international students?
The reforms are designed to improve and make the international student sector fairer, and this will put it on a more sustainable footing going forward, Clare said. International education is one of Australia’s biggest export industries, contributing A$36.4 billion ($24.7 billion) to the economy in the 2022-23 financial year. But polls have shown voters are concerned about the large influx of foreign students and workers putting undue pressure on the property market, making immigration one of the key potential battlegrounds in an election less than a year away.
Net immigration hit a record high in the year to 30 September 2023, rising 60 per cent to a record 548,800, up from 518,000 in the year ending June 2023.
Australia boosted its annual migration figures in 2022 to help businesses hire staff to fill shortages after the COVID-19 pandemic imposed strict border controls and kept out foreign students and workers for nearly two years. The record migration, driven by students from India, China and the Philippines, has expanded labor supply and contained wage pressures, but exacerbated an already tight housing market.
In an attempt to stem the surge in migration, the government last month doubled the visa fee for foreign students and pledged to close loopholes in rules that allowed them to continually extend their stay.
Will Australia’s new crackdown affect Indian students?
The latest announcement is expected to significantly impact Indian students as they represent the second largest group of international students in Australia. Government data shows that a considerable number of Indian students (100,009 in 2022) were enrolled in Australian institutions. Moreover, during the period from January to September 2023, 122,000 Indian students were studying in Australia.
Earlier last month, when Canberra doubled its visa fee for international students, Universities Australia chief executive Luke Sheehy said continued government political pressure on the sector would put the country’s position of strength at risk. “This is not good for our economy or our universities, which rely heavily on fees from international students,” Sheehy said in an emailed response to Reuters news agency. International education is one of Australia’s largest export industries, contributing A$36.4 billion to the economy in the 2022-23 financial year.
(With contributions from the agency)
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