Australia’s new visa rules to hit Indian students

Australia has announced that it will double the cost of student visas for international students, from $473 (AUD 710) to $1,068 (AUD 1,600), effective Monday, July 1. This move may have an effect on aspiring Indian students. Additionally, different categories of temporary visa holders will not be able to apply for student visas from within Australia.

Australia’s Minister for Home Affairs and Cyber Security, Clare O’Neil, stated on Monday that “the changes will help restore integrity to our international education system and create a migration system which is fairer, smaller, and better able to deliver for Australia.”

The minimum amount of savings required for a student visa has also been changed by the Australian government, rising from AUD 24,505 ($16,146) to AUD 29,710 ($19,576).

The move is likely to affect Indian students, who make up the second-largest community of international students in Australia, as they will no longer be able to apply for a student visa while they are in the country if they are on Temporary Graduate, Visitor, or Maritime Crew visas.

The Australian Bureau of Statistics issued official figures in March indicating that net foreign migration for the year ending September 30, 2023, was 548,800. Records show that Australia counted over a lakh Indian students in 2022, and so far this year, from January to September, the figure has surpassed 1.2 lakh.

Aside from the US, UK, and Canada, Australia has long been ranked in the top five countries for Indian students looking to study abroad. Australia became the most popular destination because of the tense relations between India and Canada that have existed since last year and the UK’s Rishi Sunak government’s introduction of tougher immigration laws.

Following the increase in fees, an Australian student visa is now more costly than one from the US or Canada, which is now less than $200.

Around 1.3 million Indian students are studying abroad in 2023, and the number of Indian students going abroad for higher education is rising annually, according to the most recent Indian Student Mobility Report 2023 published by Global Education Conclave.