The number of visas issued to students from five of Australia’s seven largest source countries have plummeted over the past year, with India, Nepal and the Philippines showing about half the count of 2023.
Meanwhile, total approved student visas for Pakistan and Colombia collapsed by about two-thirds over the year.
The new figures tracking the total number of visas approved to study in Australia comes as the government takes radical actions to further drastically curtail numbers.
Chinese visa approvals have fallen, but not to the same extent as India, Colombia and Nepal.
While total student visa numbers peaked at another record high as of the end of May, due to high intakes over the past two years and low departures, the data confirms that the pipeline of new students is being choked from a raft of federal policies and higher visa rejection rates.
New visas approved for India, the second-largest source country, fell from 62,037 in 2023 to 32,390 – with one month to go – for 2024.
Colombian visa approvals fell from 32,500 to 12,500, Nepalese approvals from 24,530 to 10,940, Pakistani approvals from 11,765 to 4024 and Filipino approvals from 4700 to 2470.
Visa approvals still fell but were less drastic for China (98,500 to 77,185) and Vietnam (10,880 to 8270).
On Monday, the federal government announced it would increase non-refundable visa charges by 125 per cent, rising from $710 to $1600. The move is expected to have an immediate effect on further dulling student demand.
Another measure – the introduction of caps on the number of enrolments – is expected to be debated in federal parliament on Thursday.
The effect of the caps on the Victorian economy, according to new analysis from the Victorian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, would be a reduction in $6.5 billion worth of activity over three years and job losses of 14,000.
International education is the largest export sector in the state, with each of the 400,000 students generating an additional $53,000 in economic activity, over and above their tuition fees, according to the analysis.
While the Victorian government has not publicly expressed concern about the federal crackdown on students, both the South Australian and NSW governments have voiced their alarm.
Michael Wesley, deputy vice chancellor at the University of Melbourne, said cuts to student numbers of the magnitude now being flagged would be devastating not just to students and universities but also to skill shortages and the health of the state economy.
“The government still hasn’t been able to provide us with a good justification for why student numbers need to be cut so much,” Professor Wesley said.
“These caps will penalise the sector for a temporary, larger-than-expected increase in student numbers due primarily to the pandemic lag effect.
“Already the number of international students granted visas to come to Australia has decreased dramatically, with student visa grants down 34 per cent in March compared to the same time in 2023.”
The government has flagged that caps, once legislated, will come into effect on January 1, 2025.
University of Queensland chancellor Peter Varghese has backed the government in its bid to introduce caps, as have a number of vice chancellors including RMIT’s Alec Cameron, Deakin’s Iain Martin and QUT’s Margaret Sheil.
Professor Sheil told The Australian Financial Review that caps might help to balance domestic and international student numbers in some universities, and that an upper limit of 30 per cent internationals “sounds about right”.
However, Scott Bowman, vice chancellor of Charles Darwin University, said that “caps don’t work for us, and they don’t work for the Northern Territory, which is desperate for people”.
However, since the introduction of various policy changes over the past year, applications were down 73 per cent.
Major listed student recruitment firm IDP Education closed on Tuesday with its share price sitting at $14.56, down from $22.00 a year ago, as markets react to ongoing government interventions to reduce migration numbers, in particular overseas students.
Jane Li, IDP’s regional operations director, Australasia and Japan, said the government’s hard line on migration was ignoring the human face of students.
“It is easy to talk about the impact of the government’s recent announcements in terms of percentage declines or round numbers, but that misses the point. Our industry is made up of bright, ambitious students who come to Australia to improve their lives through education,” Ms Li said.
Ms Li also backed calls by universities to delay the introduction of caps until 2026.
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**PAYWALL:**
The number of visas issued to students from five of Australia’s seven largest source countries have plummeted over the past year, with India, Nepal and the Philippines showing about half the count of 2023.
Meanwhile, total approved student visas for Pakistan and Colombia collapsed by about two-thirds over the year.
The new figures tracking the total number of visas approved to study in Australia comes as the government takes radical actions to further drastically curtail numbers.
Chinese visa approvals have fallen, but not to the same extent as India, Colombia and Nepal.
While total student visa numbers peaked at another record high as of the end of May, due to high intakes over the past two years and low departures, the data confirms that the pipeline of new students is being choked from a raft of federal policies and higher visa rejection rates.
New visas approved for India, the second-largest source country, fell from 62,037 in 2023 to 32,390 – with one month to go – for 2024.
Colombian visa approvals fell from 32,500 to 12,500, Nepalese approvals from 24,530 to 10,940, Pakistani approvals from 11,765 to 4024 and Filipino approvals from 4700 to 2470.
Visa approvals still fell but were less drastic for China (98,500 to 77,185) and Vietnam (10,880 to 8270).
On Monday, the federal government announced it would increase non-refundable visa charges by 125 per cent, rising from $710 to $1600. The move is expected to have an immediate effect on further dulling student demand.
Another measure – the introduction of caps on the number of enrolments – is expected to be debated in federal parliament on Thursday.
The effect of the caps on the Victorian economy, according to new analysis from the Victorian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, would be a reduction in $6.5 billion worth of activity over three years and job losses of 14,000.
International education is the largest export sector in the state, with each of the 400,000 students generating an additional $53,000 in economic activity, over and above their tuition fees, according to the analysis.
While the Victorian government has not publicly expressed concern about the federal crackdown on students, both the South Australian and NSW governments have voiced their alarm.
Michael Wesley, deputy vice chancellor at the University of Melbourne, said cuts to student numbers of the magnitude now being flagged would be devastating not just to students and universities but also to skill shortages and the health of the state economy.
“The government still hasn’t been able to provide us with a good justification for why student numbers need to be cut so much,” Professor Wesley said.
“These caps will penalise the sector for a temporary, larger-than-expected increase in student numbers due primarily to the pandemic lag effect.
“Already the number of international students granted visas to come to Australia has decreased dramatically, with student visa grants down 34 per cent in March compared to the same time in 2023.”
The government has flagged that caps, once legislated, will come into effect on January 1, 2025.
University of Queensland chancellor Peter Varghese has backed the government in its bid to introduce caps, as have a number of vice chancellors including RMIT’s Alec Cameron, Deakin’s Iain Martin and QUT’s Margaret Sheil.
Professor Sheil told The Australian Financial Review that caps might help to balance domestic and international student numbers in some universities, and that an upper limit of 30 per cent internationals “sounds about right”.
However, Scott Bowman, vice chancellor of Charles Darwin University, said that “caps don’t work for us, and they don’t work for the Northern Territory, which is desperate for people”.
However, since the introduction of various policy changes over the past year, applications were down 73 per cent.
Major listed student recruitment firm IDP Education closed on Tuesday with its share price sitting at $14.56, down from $22.00 a year ago, as markets react to ongoing government interventions to reduce migration numbers, in particular overseas students.
Jane Li, IDP’s regional operations director, Australasia and Japan, said the government’s hard line on migration was ignoring the human face of students.
“It is easy to talk about the impact of the government’s recent announcements in terms of percentage declines or round numbers, but that misses the point. Our industry is made up of bright, ambitious students who come to Australia to improve their lives through education,” Ms Li said.
Ms Li also backed calls by universities to delay the introduction of caps until 2026.