A leading economist has urged the government to “drop the charade and recognize that international education is an immigration fraud”, as he outlines simple steps to reduce the number of foreign students.
Chief macro economist Leith van Onselen noted that Indian citizens have led the rise in Australian temporary migration in recent years, with more than 300,000 people on temporary visas in September last year, the largest of any foreign nation.
While that same figure dropped to 282,000 in November, it still represents a 52 percent increase over 2019 levels.
Within that number, there are 105,000 on student visas and 75,000 on graduate visas, all of which exacerbates Australia’s deepening housing and rental crisis.
Mr van Onselen said that for the majority of these students, “the goal is residency in Australia”.
This is supported by a recent India Today article which stated that prospective Indian students are more attracted to the residency pathway than the quality of studies on offer in Australia.
“Indian students now give preference to countries with easier work and permanent residency requirements,” Gaurav Batra, founder and CEO of Infinite Group, told the press conference. publication.
And a large number of these students use university places as a back door to the labor market through a legal loophole that allows them to abandon their courses at suitable universities to enroll in cheaper private schools.
A leading economist has urged the government to “drop the charade and recognize that international education is an immigration fraud”, as he outlines simple steps to reduce the number of foreign students (file image)
Many of these “universities” are mere commercial fronts that allow students to work and are known as “ghost universities” and “visa factories.”
For example, one university said nearly half of its 1,200 Indian students either did not show up or moved schools in 2023, the AFR.
Mr van Onselen called on the Albanian government to address this problem by focusing on a drastically smaller group of excellent (genuine) students.
He called on policymakers to introduce strict entrance exams in English, reduce the number of hours students can work and allow “only the best graduates to receive postgraduate visas”.
The economist also called for the introduction of a tax on international students at universities so that “Australians receive a financial benefit from trade”.
“Universities should also be required to provide on-campus accommodation to international students in proportion to enrollment numbers to reduce pressure on the private rental market,” Mr van Onselen wrote.
“Sadly, our governments have chosen quantity over quality and have gutted entry and teaching standards.”
As of June 2023, there were almost 850,000 people of Indian origin living in Australia, more than double the number recorded a decade earlier.
Those born in India (846,000) made up the second largest group, and the population by 2023 surpassed the previous peak of 754,000 in 2022.
Chief macro economist Leith van Onselen noted that Indian nationals have led the rise in Australian temporary migration in recent years, with more than 300,000 people on temporary visas in September last year (file image).
After the United Kingdom, the Indian-born population is now the second largest migrant community in Australia.
Anthony Albanese and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi signed an immigration pact in 2023, allowing Indian graduates from Australian universities who have a student visa to work and advance professionally for up to eight years without needing visa sponsorship.
Meanwhile, a program known as MATES aims to make it easier for young Indian professionals and graduates to work in Australia in specialized areas where their skills are in demand.
The program will give Indian university graduates and early-career professionals the opportunity to live and work in Australia for up to two years, with 3,000 places available.
In addition to its attempt to focus on more skilled workers, the Labor government attempted to impose a cap on international student visas by reducing new enrollments to 270,000 in 2025.
However, it was rejected by the Coalition, who argued that it did not go far enough, and also by the Greens, who claimed that foreign students were not to blame for the housing crisis.
Instead, the Labor government has attempted to reduce the number of international students by requiring a “go slow” approach to visa applications.
Immigration officials have been asked to process student visa applications as a priority until individual education providers reach a “prioritisation threshold”.
This threshold is set by the government and is equivalent to 80 percent of the limit they had tried to introduce.
Once this threshold is reached, student visas will be processed at a slower level.
The government has also strengthened its powers to suspend high-risk education providers from recruiting international students who intend to take advantage of their student visas to remain in the country as low-skilled workers.
Known as “ghost schools” and “visa mills”, providers can be issued warning notices and given six months to improve their practices.