Abul Rizvi, a former senior Immigration Department official, believes that international student arrivals to Australia will soon slow, whereas student departures will also increase, leading to a fall in overall numbers. From The ABC:
Abul Rizvi, a former senior Immigration Department official… said “somewhat faster growth in student departures is more likely”.
He added that even the student arrival figures, part of the table produced by the Department of Home Affairs, might be optimistic.
“With Home Affairs having announced significant tightening of visa processing for VET [vocational] students from Nepal, together with a decline in offshore visa grants to students from China, the growth in students Home Affairs is expecting will need to come from other sources, particularly India,” he said…
Similar sentiments were expressed by Mark Zhang, an overseas education agent from China, who claims that Australia is no longer a preferred destination for Chinese students. From The AFR:
Overseas education agents in China said Australia was not benefiting in the same way that Britain was because the reputation of its universities had declined and many graduates found it hard to find work when they returned home.
“Australia is tightening its immigration policy so it is getting harder for Chinese students to stay in Australia and become a permanent resident. Australian graduates are not popular in China’s job market either. it is not easy for them to find a desirable job”, one agent, Mark Zhang, said.
He said the standard of education at universities in the United States and the United Kingdom was considered higher, while the quality of education in Chinese universities was also improving…
Indeed, the Department of Home Affairs’ latest biannual data showed that the number of Chinese student visa applications granted fell by 3.3% in H2 2018 – the first decline recorded in many years:
While this decline in Chinese students was more than offset by international students from India and Nepal, whose visa applications granted surged by 53.5% and 47.8% respectively, there are limits to this growth.
In particular, the Morrison Government’s recent reduction in the permanent migrant cap to 160,000 means there will be less opportunities for international students to transition to permanent residency, which is the primary drawcard for Indians and Nepalese to study in Australia.
As soon as students from these nations realise that the chances of obtaining permanent residency have declined, the numbers arriving will likely fall accordingly.
