Australia Student Visa: Nepali, Filipino Numbers Surge

Key Points:

1. Indian, Chinese, and Nepali students replace the source countries for international students in Australia. The numbers have surged more than a surprising 300%, with Indian students being more than 200% than there were 10 years ago. 

2. Australia’s International education industry is now worth around AUD 36 billion. International education is now the fourth largest export after coal, iron ore and natural gas in Australia, which is providing a major source of income for the universities and colleges in the country.  

Around 3 decades ago, students from Malaysia, Singapore, and Hong Kong dominated the International student scene in Australia. Which also accounted for about half the student population in Australia. However, if we look at recent times, students from mainland China, India, Nepal, Columbia, Philippines, and Vietnam are slowly dominating the international student population in Australia. 

Many international students are still pursuing graduate and postgraduate studies in Australia. However, there are many others who pay for more basic and cheaper education. Courses such as English language and vocational education for nursing and teaching are also in demand in Australia. However, these types of courses attract shady practices for the exploitation of students for the Australian student visa. Employers in the hospitality industry have abused the system as a source of cheap and easy labour. 

According to Phil Honeywood, the CEO of the International Education Association of Australia, many students in Australia are more interested in working in restaurants and as Uber drivers, other than studying.  These students have also been conned by fellow immigrants to work for free in return for a permanent resident Australian visa sponsorship. Many students enroll into courses such as “Leadership Diplomas” to con the system and get an Australian student visa to work for free. 

As we look at the number of Nepali students entering Australia in the pretense of studying. The suburb of Rockdale is a prime example of such a case. The suburb has been filled with Nepali jewellery, fashion and grocery stores in recent years, as a result of this, it is now home to a huge chunk of migrants and students from Nepal. 

Australia is highly attractive for young Nepalis as the Australian student visa is comparatively easy to get. The Australian student visa costs around AUD 710 to apply. And also requires AUD 700 for an in-country renewal. Australia requires students to show that they have enough funds to pay for their course and their living expenses. Students regularly borrow money from their parents in order to fool the visa authorities. A prime example of such a case is Penny, a Nepali nursing student, who told This Week in Asia how she had borrowed  AUD 5000 from her parents and returned it once she had received her Australian student visa. Penny also explicitly said “For Australia, it’s all about the money and also said that as long as the funding requirements were met, the visa application process was quite easy. 

In order to tackle this situation, Canberra has been keeping a close eye on International Student Immigration and has also raised its English Language Requirements to crack down on the abuse of the system. 

TL;DR

Three decades ago, Malaysian, Singaporean, and Hong Kong students dominated Australian international education, but now, mainland Chinese, Indian, Nepali, Colombian, Filipino, and Vietnamese students are in abundance. Exploitative practices, particularly in cheaper courses like English language and vocational training, exploit students for visas. Many prioritize work over study, falling prey to schemes promising Australian residency. Nepali students, drawn by easy visa processes, contribute to the highly visible demographic shift, notably in suburbs like Rockdale. Easy visa processes, achieved by borrowing funds for the process, increase the manipulation. Canberra is tightening regulations, especially English language requirements, to combat abuse of the Student Visa.