Australia

Enrolments: In 2024, there were (in all sub-sectors) in Australia, a 9% increase over 2023. But since then, fewer international students have been submitting applications, deterred by a raft of government policies, high rejection rates, and visa application fee hikes. Applications reached 427,000 in 2024/25 compared with 600,000 the previous year, according to an update from Matthew Noble, Assistant Secretary for Temporary Visas at the Department of Home Affairs, at the Education Consultants Association of Australia (ECAA) 2025 held this September. The decrease was fuelled by lower applications for VET and ELICOS institutions.

Relevant policies: Over the past two years, Australian educators have been more challenged than in the past in their overseas recruitment as various government stakeholders propose ways of curtailing foreign student enrolments. These proposals involve industry consultation, Senate hearings, votes, and more. Sometimes they are passed, and sometimes they aren’t. But the whole process introduces uncertainty into the environment – for institutions and students alike.

Legislation and related ministerial directives have centred on slowing visa processing times for certain categories of institution, heavily scrutinising agent use, revoking institutions/programmes’ authorisation to operate in some cases, increasing visa application fees, and increasing financial requirements for international students. At some points over the past two years, visa rejections have surged, though they are currently (as of fall 2025) at 18%, lower than last year. The Australian approach is to focus on quality of education provision and of international students rather than on quantity of enrolments.

Canada

Enrolments: The most recent data available is 2024, a year in which Canadian institutions at all levels enrolled 997,820 international students in programmes of at least six months. This compares to 1,040,985 in 2023 and represents a 4.1% decrease.

When full-year data for 2025 becomes available, we may see a much steeper year-over-year decrease. Overall study permit application volumes were down roughly -50% in the first half of 2025 compared to the same period in 2024, and approval rates for new study permit applications fell to 30% through June 2025 compared to 51% for the same period in 2024.

In fact, current projections indicate that Canada may only approve around 80,000 new study permits in 2025 – more than 230,000 below the cap for this year. If that projection holds, that will be the lowest volume of new study permits issued in a decade, and it will fall even below the 2020 COVID level.

Relevant policies: In January 2024, Canada’s immigration ministry (Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada, or IRCC) announced a two-year cap on the number of new study permits issued to international students with a target of 364,000 approved study permits for the year. The actual number ended up being 267,890 – a roughly -48% reduction from 2023 levels and nearly 100,000 study permits below the official target.

Caps were in place for 2025 and now for 2026 as well, with some modifications (e.g., master’s and doctoral programmes are not affected by the 2026 cap). Still, the new cap – 408,000, of which more than half will be extensions for current and returning students – is 7% lower than the 2025 target of 437,000 and 16% lower than the 2024 target of 485,000.

Canada is the only country in the Big Four with a hard cap on international enrolment. The cap limit is designed to lower the number of temporary migrants as quickly as possible to appease a voting public that has been upset about skyrocketing numbers of new migrants amid affordable housing and health care shortages.

United Kingdom

Enrolments: The most recent enrolment data from HESA is for the 2023/24 academic year, when – for the first time in ten years – the total number of students enrolled in UK universities fell in compared with the previous year. The overall decline was only -1% but underlying it was a -7% decline in foreign enrolments. A total of 732,285 international students were enrolled in UK universities in 2023/24, compared with 758,855 in 2022/23.

However, the UK is picking up share of demand from other Big Four countries, especially the US. International students lodged a total of 76,400 visa applications in the first five months of 2025, representing a nearly 30% increase compared to the same period in 2024.

Relevant policies: The government withdrew the right of most international students to bring their dependants (aka family) with them in January 2024, causing applications to fall from some top origin countries. However, the quality of British institutions and the otherwise stable policy environment has kept overall demand strong in overseas markets.

The government has announced that in 2027, it will reduce the length of its popular post-study work programme, the Graduate Program, from 24 months to 18 months. This is predicted to cause a long-term reduction of approximately 12,000 student visa applications per year. The rationale is that too many graduates are not obtaining high-skilled employment through the Route.

Both the Dependants policy and the upcoming shortening of the Graduate Route are intended to narrow overseas applications to students (1) showing the greatest determination to study rather than work or immigrate, and (2) graduating with skills and knowledge that will quickly contribute to the UK economy. This, in turn, represents a targeted tightening of immigration settings.

United States

Enrolments: IIE’s 2025 Open Doors Report on International Educational Exchange shows that the number of international students in US colleges and universities (as well as Optional Practical Training) grew again in 2024/25 over the previous year. The total number was 1,177,766, up from 1,126,690 in 2023/24. This represents a record number, a +5% y-o-y increase, and an increase that follows on +7% growth the year before. Undergraduate enrolments were up, but graduate enrolments were down slightly (-3%), and commencements (new international students) were down -7%.

Meanwhile, the number of students in Optional Practical Training (OPT) – the work stream available to international graduates of US institutions – grew significantly, up +21% to 294,253 students (or roughly 25% of the total enrolment reported in Open Doors). Optional Practical Training participants are still counted among international student numbers in the US and that OPT programme growth accounts for most of the 5% total increase in international enrolments. It also reflects the large cohort of international students graduating from US universities last year.

Finally, the IIE’s Fall Snapshot Survey, in which over 825 US higher education institutions reported their international student enrolments for the 2025/26 academic year, found a -12% decline in graduate students and a -17% decline in overall commencements.

Relevant policies: The contrast between enrolments increasing (except at the graduate level) and commencements declining in 2024/25 is a reflection of the huge gap between the approaches of former President Biden and of current President Trump. Broadly, former President Biden adopted an internationalist position and was determined to restore global alliances, while Trump is a nationalist whose anti-immigrant stance appeals to a crucial segment of the American voting public (even as it repulses other voters).

In 2025, the Trump administration has battled elite universities in an attempt to control their operations and detained or deported international students for protesting against the war in Gaza. Deportations, cuts to research funding, and discussion about the potential removal of the popular Optional Practical Training (OPT) work experience programme are signalling to prospective international students – especially those from the Global South – that there are risks to choosing the US as a destination at this time.

How about Asia and Europe?

The recruitment environment is noticeably different in Asia and some countries in Europe:

• South Korea hit its target of 300,000 international students two years earlier than planned;
• Japan hosted more than 336,000 international students in 2024, growing 21% from the year before and closing in on its target of 400,000 by 2033;
• Taiwan wants to reach 320,000 by 2030;
• India is working to attract ;
• China has opened a new visa class to attract STEM students;
• Germany is enrolling more foreign students than ever, more than 400,000 in 2024/25 and has launched several policies to help retain them;
• France recorded a 17% increase in international enrolments in 2024/25 and has a goal of attracting half a million foreign students by 2027;
• Spain’s international enrolment is up and the government wants to welcome more – this summer it approved from studying in the US;
• Kazakhstan is aiming for 150,000 international students by 2029;
• Türkiye has plans to attract 500,000 by 2028.

As always, international student policies around the world offer a fascinating glimpse into the current – and future – world order and student movement across borders.

For additional background, please see:

• “The power of data and narrative in building public support for international students“
• “Canada and the US are losing international student enrolments to Europe and Asia“
• “The four key trends that will shape international student mobility for the next decade“

The post Global trends in international enrolments and policies as we head into 2026 appeared first on ���Ϲ��� Monitor - Market intelligence for international student recruitment.

The second edition of the was produced in collaboration by NAFSA, Oxford Test of English, and Studyportals. It focuses on the January–March 2025 intake, and includes survey responses from 240 institutions across 48 countries.

We should acknowledge at the outset that this is a small sample, and all the more so when the findings are focused on a individual destination. There were 14 responding institutions from Australia, for example, and 15 from Canada. However, the patterns described in the survey data are well reflected in other indicators that we have for the last three-to-six months, and they are backed by large volumes of search data from Studyportals that also provide important insights on demand shifts in the early months of this year.

The January-to-March focus is significant as well in that it captures a major intake window for many institutions. “Traditionally, the January to March intake has been the largest for countries in the Southern hemisphere, like Australia, New Zealand and South Africa,” notes the study report. “In recent years, more and more institutions in the Northern hemisphere have added this as a second main intake.” All in all, “32% of global bachelor’s and master’s programmes start between January and March. This compares to 59% of programmes with a start date between August and October.”

Big picture

Market share is shifting among the major global regions and study destinations. Institutions in Asia report growth in both undergraduate and graduate enrolments. Australia, the US, and especially Canada are reporting lower student numbers this year. Europe is flat for undergraduate but up for graduate studies, and graduate enrolments in the UK are rebounding after a down year in 2024 following the introduction of restrictive policies for accompanying dependants.

Those patterns are reflected in Studyportals’ search volume data as well, as we see in the following chart.

“The global market for academic talent is as dynamic and complex as it has ever been, this poses unique challenges and uncertainties for students and universities in the traditionally largest destinations,” says Studyportals CEO Edwin van Rest. “International students have proven to be of broad and unique contribution to their host countries, and some upcoming destinations are effectively making use of the current market situation to advance talent attraction.”

In terms of the factors that are impacting mobility this year:

• “Restrictive government policies and/or problems obtaining a visa” was cited by 62% of respondents as a significant issue. This includes 93% of universities surveyed in Canada, 86% of universities in Australia and 70% of those in the US.

• “Affording tuition and the cost of living” was reported by just under half of responding institutions as a significant issue, with responses for this factor spiking a little in the UK (where 57% of respondents cited it as a significant issue).

• “Lack of suitable housing/accommodation” was also noted as a significant issue by 20% of respondents globally, with the weight given to this factor skewing higher among European institutions.

The expanding field of study options

Aggregated search data from Studyportals also provides a stark view of where student interest is trending over the past two years. Destinations outside of the Big Four are claiming a greater share of search volumes across Studyportals websites.

“Amid sweeping political shifts in the United States, this survey offers a powerful snapshot of how policy turbulence is reshaping global student mobility,” says NAFSA CEO Fanta Aw. “The message is unmistakable: international students are paying attention—and increasingly turning away from the traditional ‘Big Four’ destinations in search of stability, opportunity, and affordability. It is really about the “Big Ten” now. If higher education leaders and policymakers fail to act, they risk losing not just talent, but also the innovation, research, and economic vitality that international students generate.”

The road ahead

Nearly four in ten responding institutions (38%) said they expect budget cuts in the year ahead (an outlook shared by two-thirds of Canadian respondents). Close to half (43%) consider that diversification into new markets will be an important strategy – a finding that may have been influenced by the third of institutions anticipating being challenged to meet more aggressive enrolment goals this year.

For additional background, please see:

• “New research highlights the impact of policy on international enrolments“
• “Report projects need for greater diversification in international student recruitment this year“
• “Australia and Canada: Rising to the challenge of new immigration policies“
• “Beyond the Big Four: How demand for study abroad is shifting to destinations in Asia and Europe“

The post Global survey underscores demand shift from “Big Four” to “Big Ten” appeared first on ���Ϲ��� Monitor - Market intelligence for international student recruitment.

Australia has announced a cap of its own, the implementation of which is currently planned for January 2025. It, too, is expected to be centrally set and managed by government.

Under pressure from their national government, Dutch higher education leaders announced a plan in February 2024 to voluntarily limit international student intakes.

Those examples all arise from the same context and political imperative, which is simply to limit inbound migration, including the flow of international students. That pressure to cap or reduce student numbers arises from a variety of factors, including broad inflationary pressures, rising costs of living, economic uncertainty, and housing shortages.

However, the merits of any such cap can be hotly debated (e.g., whether one should exist at all, or how it should be designed and managed). Indeed, that conversation is ongoing in destinations around the world this year.

Within the broad question of capping enrolment for a given study destination, or even a given institution, lies another important issue which is specifically relevant for post-secondary institutions that enrol both domestic and international students: what is the optimal balance of domestic and international enrolment?

The question is complicated and naturally resists a “one size fits all” answer, in part because the “right” proportion of foreign students will vary by factors such as level of study (college versus undergraduate versus graduate or post-graduate, in particular), and also by institutional setting (urban versus rural or regional) and the extent of the institution’s research portfolio.

This is a live issue in Australia currently, for example, where consultations are ongoing around a planned enrolment cap. Last month, Deakin University Vice-Chancellor Iain Martin argued for an alternative to a government-mandated cap. In an echo of the earlier Dutch example, Professor Martin proposed a blanket cap of 35% – that is, that each Australian university would voluntarily hold its foreign student numbers below a benchmark of 35% of total enrolment. He further suggested that no more than 50% of the foreign enrolment at a given institution should come from any one country, and that there should be no more than 40% of foreign students in any one faculty or field of study within the university.

“If we get [the government-led cap implementation] wrong it will have profound and lasting impacts,” he said, speaking to The Australian. “The government has to realise [international student flow] is not something you can switch on and off at will.”

In a similar vein, in a recent interview with , Alec Cameron, the vice-chancellor of RMIT University, argued that international students should not account for more than a third of the total enrolment at a given university. “I wouldn’t [allow universities] to go above one-third,” he said. “Otherwise, the community forms a view about universities.”

Enrolment caps – self-imposed or otherwise – that run anywhere in that 33-35% range are noteworthy because many institutions will already have foreign enrolments above that level. Nearly half (47%) of the enrolment at the University of Sydney, for example, is made up of international students. And that proportion ranges above 35% at some of the country’s other leading research-intensive universities, including the University of Melbourne, the Australian National University, the University of Queensland and the University of Adelaide.

The Group of Eight (Go8) is a peak body representing all of those research universities. In its recent consultation submission to government, it argued, “The central command and control regime for international education that caps represent simply will not work. International students have too many quality options in a global context and will not be reallocated around Australia at the whim of the Government.” Responding to Professor Martin’s suggestion of a blanket 35% cap, Go8 Chief Executive Vicki Thomson said that such an approach is too “blunt and does not take into account different contexts, for example the mix of undergraduate and postgraduate.”

Meanwhile in Canada

Keep that 33-35% threshold from the Australian example in mind, because it was reflected again recently in a completely different setting. British Columbia, or BC, is Canada’s westernmost province and home to about a quarter of all foreign students in Canada.

The provincial government in BC is reportedly considering an approach where public, post-secondary institutions would be required to hold international student numbers to no more than 30% of total enrolment. Strictly based on recent headcount data from the BC Ministry of Post-Secondary Education and Future Skills, foreign enrolment at most public colleges, institutes, and universities in the province would fall below that threshold currently, but certainly there are some that are bumping up against that line, or perhaps over it.

Building the formula

All that to say there is no easy answer to the question of what is that right mix of foreign and domestic enrolment. Institutions that emphasise post-graduate programmes and/or have extensive research portfolios may naturally attract international scholars in larger numbers. Indeed, they may also need those international cohorts to help offset gaps in research funding or other structural financial issues.

At the same time, there is the question of social or community license for international education. That is, the extent to which local or national populations welcome and support international students during their studies. That social license can be sorely tested in times of economic struggle or in the face of a housing crisis such as we are seeing in many countries this year.

Keep in mind as well that every university and college has to be concerned about the broader social license under which it operates: the community support for post-secondary education and the extent to which it is perceived as a public good. We see that reality reflected in comments such as Professor Cameron’s, where he muses about the community view of universities, and social license is a real consideration for any institution in terms of its relationships with governments, community leaders, and other key stakeholders.

Finding the “right” proportion of international students is as much about holding all of those important considerations in balance as anything else. There probably is no absolute answer to the question, but it is interesting to see even in these few examples the threshold settling in that 30-35% range. Pushing the benchmark much below that would trigger significant impacts for institutions in most leading destinations. Setting it much higher would, intuitively at least, start to press on that social license more than many institutions may be comfortable to do.

For additional background, please see:

• Join the (23 September 23 2024, London). A landmark one-day summit bringing together the industry’s senior leaders, policy makers, and experts, all focused on shaping the future of the international education sector.
• “Will the US host 2 million international students within the decade?“
• “The other side of a “V-shaped” recovery: 2024 and the transition to steadier growth in international enrolment“
• “The impact of immigration settings, affordability, and job opportunities on international students’ study abroad decisions“

The post What is the right balance of international enrolment in post-secondary education? appeared first on ���Ϲ��� Monitor - Market intelligence for international student recruitment.

The provincial attestation letter

The specifies that as of 8:30 am ET on 22 January 2024, “most new post-secondary international students at the college or undergraduate level must provide a provincial attestation letter (PAL)…with their study permit application.” It also clearly indicates that, as of that effective date, IRCC will “will return any application received that does not include a PAL, unless otherwise exempt.”

The exemptions for the new PAL requirement are as follows:

• International students whose study permit applications were filed in advance of the 22 January effective date
• International students whose study permit applications have already been approved

And the new PAL requirement does not apply at all to the following student groups:

• Primary and secondary school students
• Master’s or doctoral students (note, however, that those applying to non-degree granting graduate programmes [for example, certificates and graduate diplomas] will require a PAL)
• Visiting or exchange students
• Those students already in Canada with a valid study permit
• In-Canada family members of study permit holders

Post-study work rights for graduate students

IRCC has now specified that, “Starting on 15 February 2024, a longer, three-year post-graduation work permit will be available to those who are graduating from a master’s degree programme that is less than two years and who meet all other PGWP [post-graduation work permit] eligibility criteria.”

Post-study work rights for PPP students

IRCC has clarified as well that international students currently enrolled in college programmes delivered via public-private partnerships will continue to be eligible for post-graduation work permits. However, new students enrolling in such programmes after 1 September 2024, will not be eligible for a PGWP.

For additional background, please see:

• “What we’ve learned (so far) about Canada’s new student visa rules“
• “Canada announces two-year cap on new study permits“

The post Canada: Updated guidance on international student enrolment cap appeared first on ���Ϲ��� Monitor - Market intelligence for international student recruitment.

Speaking in Montréal on 22 January, Minister Miller said, “These measures are to ensure that as future students arrive in Canada, they receive the quality of education that they signed up for and the hope that they were provided in their home countries. It would be a disservice to welcome international students to Canada knowing that not all of them are getting the resources they need to succeed in Canada. Allowing bad actors to continue their operations would be a disservice to all of the good institutions who pride themselves on providing a top-tier academic experience.”

Signalling the government’s key concerns, he added, “It is unacceptable that some private institutions have taken advantage of international students by operating under-resourced campuses, lacking supports for students, and charging high tuition fees – all the while significantly increasing their intake of international students.”

The government is announcing three principal measures today, most notably a temporary two-year cap on new international study permits.

“[This] is the latest in a series of measures to improve programme integrity, and to set international students up for success in order to maintain a sustainable level of temporary residence in Canada as well,” said Mr Miller. “For 2024, the cap is expected to result in approximately 364,000 approved study permits, a decrease of 35% from [the number of study permits issued in] 2023.”

“In the spirit of fairness, we are also allocating the cap space by province based on population…some provinces will see much more significant reductions. Some provinces will actually have room to [grow] if they so choose but the provinces that have been most heavily effected will have to decrease by about 50% or perhaps even a bit more than 50%, when it comes to new incoming [students].”

The minister also announced that effective immediately, applicants must provide a provincial attestation with their study permit application. A related statement from IRCC notes that, “Provinces and territories are expected to establish a process for issuing attestation letters to students by no later than 31 March 2024.”

He was quick to caution that the cap will not apply to students in graduate-level programmes, including master’s or doctoral studies. Study permit applications at the elementary and secondary school levels will also be exempt from the cap. Those exemptions may call into question the minister’s assertion that the cap will result in a 35% reduction.

However, the distribution of study permits for 2023 by level of study would suggest the actual reduction could be significantly less. IRCC data indicates that there were a total of 579,075 study permits issued during the year. Capping that total at 364,000 would indeed amount to more than a 35% decrease. But factoring out permits for K-12 students alone (of which there were 105,160), would bring the reduction to 23%. And, given that graduate students are also exempt, it would appear the actual reduction under the cap is likely to be closer to, perhaps even less than, 20%.

In any case, Mr Miller was quick to note that the cap will not impact continuing students, “To be clear, the cap will not apply to applicants within Canada looking to extend their studies as it wouldn’t be fair to prevent someone from finishing their programme. Nor will the cap have an effect on study permit holders currently in Canada.”

The cap will be in place for two years, and the number of new study permit applications that will be issued in 2025 will be assessed at the end of 2024. IRCC adds, “During [the two-year cap period], the Government of Canada will continue to work with provinces and territories, designated learning institutions and national education stakeholders on developing a sustainable path forward for international students, including finalizing a recognised institution framework, determining long-term sustainable levels of international students, and ensuring post-secondary institutions are able to provide adequate levels of student housing.”

Changes coming for work eligibility

Minister Miller also announced today that as of 1 September of this year, post-graduate work permits will no longer be available to students enrolled in programmes delivered via public-private partnerships. This model is especially prevalent in Ontario where international enrolment in programmes offered via such partnerships or licensing arrangements has skyrocketed in recent years.

The Minister’s concluded his announcements today by noting that, “In the coming weeks we will be announcing that open work permits will only be allowed and be available to spouses of international students enrolled in master’s and doctoral programmes as well as those enrolled in professional programmes, such as medicine and law. Spouses of students enrolled in other levels of study, including undergraduate and college programmes, will no longer be eligible [for work permits].”

At the same time, the government is also moving to expand post-study work rights for graduate students, explaining that, “Graduates of master’s and other short graduate-level programs will soon be eligible to apply for a three-year work permit. Under current criteria, the length of a post­graduation work permit is based solely on the length of an individual’s study program, hindering master’s graduates by limiting the amount of time they have to gain work experience and potentially transition to permanent residence.”

Stakeholders respond

Peak bodies and other stakeholders and observers have been quick to respond to the study permit cap.

A statement from the Canadian Bureau for International Education (CBIE) puts it plainly, “CBIE recognises that IRCC has chosen to take leadership on issues in international education using the policy levers available to them. However, we are concerned that IRCC’s earnest approach to ‘fix the problem’ through a wide-sweeping cap on the number of international students coming to Canada may have serious unintended consequences.  This hasty one-size-fits-all solution may jeopardize the benefits of international education that many communities across the country experience and rapidly unravel a strong global Canadian education brand that has taken years to build.”

“We are concerned about the potential ramifications this decrease – and its rollout – will have on current and prospective international students, Canadians, their communities, and the country,” said Colleges and Institutes Canada (CICan). “This approach, characterised by Minister Miller as a “blunt instrument,” will have far-reaching consequences across the sector, especially in key regions, including the possibility of layoffs, closures and increased tuition fees – all of which will inevitably affect both Canadian and international students.”

Writing on his blog this week, industry consultant added, “[IRCC is] using language about ‘fall 2024,’ but there are already students applying for visas for fall 2024. For any of these initiatives to mean anything in fall 2024, they would have to be implemented almost immediately—and that would mean suspending visa processing almost immediately until provinces got their act together with respect to allocating visa spots and issuing certificates. This could create a lot of uncertainty in the short term.”

For additional background, please see:

• “Canadian immigration minister says government is considering cap on international student visas“
• “Canada: College’s decision to revoke 500+ admissions offers puts spotlight on Ontario’s public-private partnerships“

The post Canada announces two-year cap on new study permits appeared first on ���Ϲ��� Monitor - Market intelligence for international student recruitment.

The government has not, as yet, mandated a cap on international student numbers, which will come as a relief to education providers in the country. That said, new policies will exert downward pressure on those numbers by making it more difficult for non-genuine students to obtain study and work visas and by raising the financial requirement for visa applicants by 17% to AUS$24,505.

Other imminent policy changes – including the reduction of some post-study work rights – will lead to fewer international students remaining the country for long periods of time.

Underlying the reforms is a mission to rebuild Australia’s migration system so that it becomes “the nation building engine it once was.” Over the past few years, says the strategy report, the migration system has failed to “identify and attract those people who are best placed to help build the skills base of Australia’s workforce, boost exports and raise living standards.”

The strategy is also quite clearly designed to curb current migration levels. As observes, “Australia’s net migration will be halved within two years in a dramatic move to slash the annual intake from a record high of 510,000 by imposing tougher tests on overseas students and turning away workers with low skills.”

“This Strategy is about building back integrity into the system, with Treasury forecasts showing that migration is expected to decline substantially over the next financial year,” added Minister for Home Affairs Clare O’Neil.

Improving integrity of international education a priority

Of the eight “key actions” in the new Migration Strategy, the third is devoted to strengthening the integrity and quality of international education – a commitment targeted for completion by the end of 2024 and consisting of:

“A package of integrity measures to lift the standards for international students and education providers, while ensuring graduates help meet skills shortages and do not become ‘permanently temporary.’”

The measures include:

• “Increasing minimum English language requirements for student and graduate visas;
• Applying additional scrutiny to high-risk student applications;
• Cracking down on unscrupulous education providers;
• Bolstering the student visa integrity unit in the Department of Home Affairs to reduce misuse of Australia’s student visa system;
• Strengthening requirements for international education providers;
• Restricting onshore visa hopping that undermines system integrity;
• Strengthening and simplifying Temporary Graduate visas;
• Ending settings that drive long-term temporary stays (known as ‘permanent temporariness’) including through: (i) shortening graduate visas; and (ii) ending settings that allow graduates to prolong their stay in Australia when they have fewer prospects of becoming permanent residents.”

Supporting many of these measures is the introduction of a Department of Home Affairs’ “student visa integrity unit,” which will receive initial funding of AUS$19 million. “The Government’s Migration Strategy sends a clear message that we will act to prevent the exploitation of students and protect Australia’s reputation as a high-quality international education provider,” said Minister for Education Jason Clare.

Pandemic undermined integrity of system, government finds

The inability of international students to travel to Australia for in-person study when the country’s border was closed for two years during the pandemic exacted a serious financial toll on schools, universities, and VET providers. The dip in international student spending rippled through other related sectors as well. When the border reopened, the government rushed to enact policies designed to bring international students back as quickly as possible.

The policies were effective and international student numbers are now higher than what they were in 2019. But, says the migration report, the post-COVID growth “was partly driven by non-genuine students and unscrupulous education providers subverting aspects of the current regulatory and compliance framework, and pandemic-era visa concessions, such as unrestricted working hours for international students.”

Multi-pronged strategy for discouraging non-genuine students

Stakeholders consulted during the review phase reported a persistent problem of some education providers – notably those in the VET sector – helping non-genuine students to gain access to Australia’s labour market using a student visa. As a result, the new Migration Strategy notes that the government may “use its powers … to issue suspension certificates to high-risk education providers … and will announce changes in the coming months.”

Along with VET providers, the government indicates it will explore increased regulation of agents through an expansion of the . More scrutiny of VET providers and agents is expected to “place downward pressure on migration levels as fewer non-genuine students arrive and fewer non-genuine providers recruit students.”

A further measure to discourage non-genuine students will be the new “Genuine Student Test” for all international students that will “incentivise applications from genuine students … [but make it clear] that the vast majority of students in Australia will return home.”

And as soon as this month, providers judged to be at “higher risk” [of accepting unsuitable students or providing sub-par education/supports] will experience slower visa processing times.

Commitment to reducing “permanent temporariness”

The Parkinson review found that too many students are moving from course to course, and visa to visa, to prolong their stay in Australia without applying for permanent residency. The number of students who obtain more than one student visa while in Australia has “grown by over 30% to more than 150,000 in 2022/23.” Once again, the VET system comes under fire:

“The biggest growth in visa hopping has been in the VET sector, where there is a lower likelihood of credible course progression.”

Built into the new Genuine Student Test will be the requirement for students to prove that any additional course they take while in Australia is taken to complement their degree and upgrade their credentials.

The review also found that “former students are among the largest cohort of ‘permanently temporary’ migrants and that over 50% of Temporary Graduate visa holders are working in low-skilled jobs and not gaining the experience they need to be eligible for permanent residency. It determined that extra time on a post-study work visa does not improve career outcomes and so:

• The government is adjusting the length and eligibility of post-study work rights;
• There will be no extensions of post-study work rights except in regional areas (previously, a two-year extension had been available to those working in an area of skills need).

Subclass 485 Temporary Graduate visa limits have been changed:

• Bachelor’s degrees still allow for two years of work;
• Master’s by coursework degrees have been reduced from three years to two years;
• Master’s by research degrees remain at three years;
• PhDs have been reduced from four years to three years.

As a balance to those changes, some students will find it easier, going forward, to obtain permanent residency in Australia:

“Proposed reforms to the points test will also give graduates working in skilled jobs faster pathways to permanent residency.”

And the government will also work with education providers and employers to graduate students with in-demand skills through more integrated learning (e.g., work placements, co-op programmes).

“We welcome further measures to preserve the integrity and strength of the education system while protecting students from unscrupulous operators seeking to exploit them for personal gain,” said Universities Australia Chief Executive Catriona Jackson. “We also applaud the government’s steps to simplify graduate visas to improve the applicant experience and give both graduates and employers more confidence in their ongoing work rights.”

Higher English-language threshold

In early 2024, the government will increase the English-language scores that students will need to meet to obtain Australian visas:

• For the Temporary Graduate Visa, the required IELTS score will move from 6.0 to 6.5;
• For the Student Visa, the required score will increase from 5.5 to 6.0;
• For students beginning courses with an English-language training provider (ELICOS), the score changes from a 4.5 to a 5.0;
• For students going into university foundation or pathway programmes, the needed score will be 5.5.

Integrity of international education sector attached to “social license”

The review report makes an important point that non-genuine students and unscrupulous providers “erode public confidence in both international education and the migration system. It states:

“Retaining the ‘social license’ for Australia’s international education system is critical if the sector is to prosper in the decades ahead.”

This idea of social license is also at play in Canada and the UK, as is the related move towards increased government regulation of international education providers – and more stringent policies around student and work visas. In the past month:

• The Canadian government raised the savings threshold for international student visa applicants to CAN$20,635 (from $10,000), warned provinces and institutions that if they do not do more to protect students’ welfare that “we will do it for them,” and announced that extensions of post-study work rights will no longer be possible after 31 December 2023. In 2024, it will introduce a Trusted Institution framework that will reward colleges and universities demonstrating a high level of graduate outcomes and support for international students.

• The UK government announced that its popular Graduate Route is now in review, with a prospect of international students’ work rights being once again reduced. This follows two other announcements earlier in the year: (1) the end of international students being permitted to bring dependents with them unless they are in postgraduate research progammes, and (2) a bump in the savings threshold for a Skilled Worker visa (to £38,700) and in the salary level for a family visa (to £38,700).

Australia, Canada, and the UK have recorded exceptional growth in international student numbers and migration levels over the past few years. It is clear now that their governments are switching from active encouragement of largely unregulated growth to active scrutiny of which international students will be allowed across their borders to study, work, and immigrate.

Common to reforms announced across the three countries is a determination to prioritise students who study for, and obtain, certain credentials and in-demand skills. Other students will find it more difficult, starting now, to study and work in Australia, Canada, and the UK.

For additional background, please see:

• “Notable government policy shifts affecting international students going into 2024”
• “Canada: Immigration ministry tightens student visa rules and raises minimum funds requirements”
• “Signs point to cooling demand for UK higher education in non-EU markets”

The post Australia: New Migration Strategy ushers in tougher requirements for international students appeared first on ���Ϲ��� Monitor - Market intelligence for international student recruitment.

This is more than double the amount that students are required to have in savings now (about CDN$10,000). The new rule will apply to study permit applications received on or after 1 January 2024. This is the latest in a series of policy changes demonstrating that the federal government is looking far more closely at Canada’s international student programme and how it operates.

The steeper financial requirement is designed to remedy a trend in which some students arrive in Canada believing they have enough money to support themselves given that they have met the $10,000 threshold – only to find that they do not. In those cases, students can be more vulnerable to shady landlords and exploitative employers as they struggle to make ends meet.

The new amount (CDN$20,635) represents 75% of the low-income cut-off in Canada, known as LICO. Economists have determined that LICO “represents the minimum income necessary to ensure that an individual does not have to spend a greater than average portion of income on necessities.”

This is the first time in ten years that the amount of savings required for study permits has been raised. We can expect the savings threshold to change more frequently going forward as the government says it will keep adjusting the amount according Statistics Canada’s updates to the LICO.

Marc Miller, Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship, says:

“International students provide significant cultural, social and economic benefits to their communities, but they have also faced challenges navigating life in Canada. We are revising the cost-of-living threshold so that international students understand the true cost of living here. This measure is key to their success in Canada. We are also exploring options to ensure that students find adequate housing. These long-overdue changes will protect international students from financially vulnerable situations and exploitation.”

Not all students will be able to meet the new level of savings

The government acknowledges that not all students will be able to prove they have CDN$20,000+ in savings, but that there is a plan to pilot new ideas that will help “underrepresented cohorts” of international students to come to Canada to study.

Until then, we can assume that relatively less wealthy cohorts will find it impossible to study in Canada. Speaking with Canada’s , Sarom Rho, the national coordinator of Migrant Students United, described Ottawa’s immigration policy as a “rollercoaster” and said:

“The feds just doubled the financial requirements for study permits, effectively creating a cap and excluding prospective working-class students worldwide who will now be scrambling in the next three weeks to find an extra $10,000 dollars.”

Mr Rho said that his association will push back against “monthly improvisations and chaotic twists that let exploitation and abuse continue” and continue to speak up for stable, fair rules and permanent residency for all.”

Spiralling costs of living are affecting many international students

While the new savings threshold will come as a shock to many students, it is also true that a notable portion of international students are finding it difficult to live comfortably in Canada given how much the cost of living has increased over the past couple of years.

A September 2023 survey by of 180 international students who regularly visit four major Toronto food banks found that “Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship Canada’s estimated living expense used during the application process is nearly half of what a student in Toronto typically spends.” The Daily Bread said that “When asked how their experience in Canada compared with what they were expecting, respondents noted that Canada was much more expensive than they thought it would be, particularly with respect to housing and food.”

The proportion of food bank users with temporary status – i.e., student/visitor/work visa – rose from 10% 2022 to 24% in 2023. Of “new food bank users,” i.e., people who have never relied on a food bank before their first visit, 87% were born outside of Canada.

Minister warns institutions and provinces to improve student supports

Speaking to the media, Mr Miller said that the government expects that institutions “only accept the number of students that they are able to provide for, that they’re able to house, or assist in finding off-campus housing. He continued:

“Ahead of September 2024, we are prepared to take necessary measures, including significantly limiting visas, to ensure that designated learning institutions provide adequate and sufficient student supports.”

Mr Miller said it was “imperative that all stakeholders – provincial and territorial governments, learning institutions and other education stakeholders” work together at ensuring international students are well supported, but he added:

“Enough is enough. If provinces and territories cannot do this, we will do it for them and they will not like the bluntness of the instruments that we use … Provinces have a number of tools at their disposal — namely the regulation of the designated learning institutions, that in some cases just need actually to be shut down.”

The national government has become much more active over the past year in moving to regulate Canada’s international education sector. In 2024, it will roll out a “Trusted Institution Framework” that will see some designated learning institutions (DLIs) rewarded for providing exemplary support and outcomes for international students.

Many details of this new framework have not yet been made public, but the core concept is that colleges, universities, and other post-secondary institutions will be assessed against “criteria that demonstrates that they are reliable partners with regard to sustainable intake, identifying genuine students, monitoring and reporting on their compliance, and providing a safe and enriching experience for their international students.”

Three other announcements

Extended off-campus work hours protected until 30 April 2024: The government has been considering what limits to place, going forward, on the number of hours that international students can work while studying in Canada. Because this year’s current students are only halfway through their academic year, Mr Miller said the decision had been made to extend the current rule allowing students to work more than 20 hours per week until 30 April 2024. He said that after that, his department might set the limit at 30 hours per week. He ruled out the possibility of full-time work for international students during study periods.

Online study to count towards PGWP until September 2024: During the pandemic, the government allowed students studying online to remain eligible for a Post-Graduation Work Permit (PGWP). Initially, 100% of a programme could be online for this eligibility, but in 2022 the online portion was reduced in scope. This week, the government said that online study would continue to count for students beginning a Canadian programme before 1 September 2024 – provided it constitutes less than 50% of their total course. The vast majority of international students enrolled in Canadian higher education are now studying in-person in Canada.

Extension of PGWP to be phased out: On three occasions, and in response to pandemic-related labour shortages, international students have been provided the ability to extend their post-graduation work permit by 18 months. Those international students whose work permit expires up to 31 December 2023 will be able to apply for an extension. After that date, extensions will no longer be available.

For additional background, please see:

• “Notable government policy shifts affecting international students going into 2024”
• “Canada to modernise student visa programme with trusted institution framework”

The post Canada: Immigration ministry tightens student visa rules and raises minimum funds requirements appeared first on ���Ϲ��� Monitor - Market intelligence for international student recruitment.

In all three countries, massive growth in the numbers of international students coincides with growing public concern over spiralling rental and housing prices and underfunded public infrastructure. Populations are expanding quickly, driven largely by new immigrants. And 2023 has been marked by too many cases of fraud on the part of unethical agents and institutions and reports of international students not receiving the kind of study experience they had been promised.

Expansive policies launched to counter shocking losses of international student revenues during the pandemic are now giving way to policies that could make it more difficult for some students to secure a study permit or stay on to work or immigrate.

Today, we look at the rapid shift in approach to international education that has occurred in Australia, Canada, and the UK between 2020 and 2023.

The disruption of the pandemic

The pandemic was a shock to economies everywhere, not least because the loss of international students equated to lost billions in revenue across multiple sectors. The value of international education became crystal clear to any who had doubted it.

The Canadian government acted quickly to mitigate the effects of travel restrictions and to keep the Canada education brand strong in overseas markets. It opened the border sooner to international students than was the case in other destinations. International students remained eligible for a post-study work permit even if they were studying 100% online from their home countries. Caps were lifted on the number of hours international students could work off campus. And a new immigration stream allowed more students to apply for permanent residency.

The UK government, meanwhile, opened a new immigration stream – the Student Route and Child Student Route – earlier than planned to counter the trend of international students deferring their study plans. It then opened its much-anticipated “Graduate Route” in 2021, providing international students with two-three years of post-study work rights. It allowed students studying by distance/blended learning to remain eligible for that route if they completed one term’s face-to-face learning in the UK.

Not coincidentally, Canada and the UK expanded their international enrolment during the years of the pandemic. Canada’s foreign enrolment is now 27% higher than in 2019 (808,000), while the number of international students in UK universities was 22% higher in 2021/22 (679,970) than in 2019/20.

By 2022, Australia had lost market share to Canada and the UK, but it quickly rolled out a series of policies to earn it back, including:

• A temporary removal of caps on working hours;
• Refunds on visa application fees;
• The extension – by years in some cases – of post-study work rights for students in select degrees.

By mid-2023, international student numbers in Australia had jumped to 645,516 – exceeding the pre-pandemic total.

Questions about the pace of growth

It’s clear that governmental policies played an important role in the ability of Canada, the UK, and later, Australia, to remain top study destinations despite the interruption of COVID-19. They worked quickly and led to a surge of international students in each destination.

This is good news for institutions that responsibly host international students, with a range of supports to facilitate their success. It is good news for communities with capacity to absorb more international students, for example through housing and healthcare. It is good news for businesses and sectors that profit from students’ spending while they are in Canada, and for organisations and companies that gain access to a larger pool of talented international student graduates.

But several trends are dulling the excitement around burgeoning international student numbers:

• There is an affordability crisis in all three destinations, with appropriate accommodation out of reach for too many – including some international students;
• There have been much-publicised cases of agents or institutions not acting in the best interests of students;
• Public infrastructure is often not keeping up with an expanding population of newcomers;
• about migration levels is .

In the context of these trends, there has been a distinct move towards greater quality control in the international education sectors in Australia and Canada. Here are some of the policy developments that have occurred in those countries over the second half of 2023.

Australia

• There is now far more regulation of education agents and the vocational training sector (VET).
• Students can no longer hold “concurrent COEs” (Confirmations of Enrolments) that had allowed them to switch from higher education to lower-cost/quality VET providers.
• The amount of savings that international students must have to get a study visa has risen by 17%.
• More scrutiny is being applied to “high-risk cohorts” (of prospective students) that tend to submit a higher volume of fraudulent applications.
• The “Pandemic Event” visa – a renewable 12-month document allowing students to work in any sector of the economy, for more than one employer if desired – will be ended.
• See even more recent updates here.

Canada

• Canadian colleges and universities are now required to confirm every applicant’s letter of acceptance directly with IRCC, a measure aimed at protecting prospective students from letter-of-acceptance fraud.
• A new framework in fall 2024 will reward institutions “recognised” for providing excellent services and outcomes to international students with priority visa processing.
• IRCC is now considering a number of additional policy changes by end of year, including whether or not to extend a temporary policy (currently in effect) that allowed some students to work beyond a 20-hour-per-week cap during their studies.
• See even more recent updates here.

More to come?

The new quality control measures in Australia and Canada are designed to protect the integrity of the system and international students coming into it.

Another announcement in Canada, however, suggests that it could become more difficult for students who do not graduate from Canadian institutions with prioritised skills to obtain a Post-Graduation Work Permit. The government will review the Post-Graduation Work Permit in the coming months and introduce reforms to “better calibrate it to the needs of the labour market.”

And then there are the rumblings in both countries about the notion that stemming the flow of international students – or drawing more revenue from them – will ease cost of living and housing prices. Underlying those rumblings is a belief that the current volume of international students is overwhelming public infrastructure. So far, this perception has not made its way into official policies but has certainly been a feature of national media coverage in recent months.

UK goes a step further

International students in the UK are coping with a dramatic flip-flop in immigration policies directly affecting them.

When the UK restored post-study work rights in 2021, demand among non-EU students increased significantly, and it seemed that the unwelcoming stance of the Theresa May administration was a thing of the past. (Her administration had restricted work rights to six months, leading to a steep decline in key markets including India.)

Since then, non-EU students have been the drivers of enrolment growth – a great relief to universities coping with the effects of Brexit on EU student mobility to the UK. In 2021/22, non-EU enrolments surged by 24% year-over-year, with new, first-year enrolments growing by 32%. By contrast, the total number of EU students fell by 21% – and 53% fewer first-year students came from the EU compared with the previous year.

But the warm welcome of non-EU students has cooled off under Prime Minister Sunak’s administration. Mr Sunak in 2022 and limiting visas to those accepted by top universities. This didn’t happen, but in June 2023, then-Home Secretary Suella Braverman announced that international students, other than research postgraduates, would no longer be permitted to bring their dependants with them to the UK starting in January 2024 (less than a month from the time of this writing).

Already, the number of non-EU students applying to UK universities is falling. But that’s not all. Just this week, new House Secretary James Cleverly :

“Having already banned overseas master’s students from bringing family members to the UK, I have asked the Migration Advisory Committee to review the graduate route to prevent abuse, to protect the integrity and quality of the UK’s outstanding higher education sector.”

There are media reports suggesting that the review could result in post-study work rights being once again restricted to six months.

When announcing the review of the Graduate Route, and in the span of one sentence, Mr Cleverly drew no line between illegal and legal arrivals to the UK, saying that both would be reduced in a drive to lower new migration:

“The British people want to reduce overall immigration numbers – not only by stopping the boats and shutting down illegal routes but by well-managed reduction in legal migration.”

The UK shadow minister for higher education, Matt Western, responded to the threats to the Graduate Route by saying that prospective students will already be aware of the immigration review:

“It’s extraordinary that when you have a successful export that you would want to damage it. Young people, students looking to travel abroad, they are well connected and well read.”

Finally, international students will have to pay more, and be paid more, if they want to work in the UK. The amount needed to get a Skilled Worker visa has been bumped to £38,700 and those applying for a family visa will now need a salary level of £38,700.

A time of risk, and different competitive dynamics

In Australia and Canada, institutions and agents have been made acutely aware of a need to improve quality controls and recruitment over the course of 2023. Institutions’ ability to receive international students will now hinge on staying on the right side of new regulations and performance indicators.

Will US stand to gain?

And what of the US, the other member of the so-called “Big Four” English-speaking destinations? There is definitely a new energy around international student recruitment on the part of the US government, especially when it comes to the Indian market, which is such a key source of students for Australian, Canadian, and UK educators.

A survey from Studyportals, UniBuddy, and the British Council IELTS of 126,000 students across the globe this year found that the US now leads the Big Four in student satisfaction.

Of the findings, Edwin van Rest, co-founder and CEO of Studyportals says: “There is a different political climate in the US now compared to 2021. The State Department has done a lot of work to make international students a priority and the climate is more welcoming.”

For additional background, please see:

• “Global satisfaction survey shows the US leading Australia, Canada, and the UK”
• “Signs point to cooling demand for UK education in non-EU markets”
• “International education a focal point of debate in Australia as the prospect of further regulation looms”
• “Canada to modernise student visa programme with trusted institution framework”

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