Indian Students Choose Australia Amid US, UK Immigration Tighten

• India accounted for 16% of international student enrolments in Australia in 2024.
• Stricter U.S. and U.K. visa rules are driving Indian students to Australia.
• Australia is strengthening education ties with India through partnerships and events.

Experts are indicating that more restrictive immigration and post-study work policies in the United States and United Kingdom are prompting students from India to consider Australia for their studies in lieu of other countries for their higher education.

Australia has been able to establish itself as the premier destination for higher education internationally due to the quality of its universities, the safety of the students, a fairly liberal approach to post-study work and increasing bilateral academic partnership opportunities with India.

The Australian government's Education Department data revealed India was the second positioned country as an international student enrolment from 2003-2024, and in 2024 alone, Indian students accounted for 16% of all foreign enrolments in Australia in higher education institutions, accounting for 139,038 enrolments.

Vik Singh, Commissioner of Education at the Australian Trade and Investment Commission (Austrade) said, "Australia has remained a key destination for aspiring Indian students for the last many years. Currently, over 1,30,000 Indian students are enrolled in Australian universities, marking a steady year-on-year increase for the last five years. I see that in an upwards trajectory".

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He added, "Indians, in particular, can leverage a more generous post-study work system in Australia than most other international students. Courtesy of the Australia-India Economic Cooperation and Trade Agreement, Indian students can stay for a maximum of four years after completing their degree to work in Australia. So, academic excellence, liberal post-study work options, and a warm and welcoming environment put together can explain the increasing number of Indian students opting to go to Australia".

Mr. Singh mentioned that Australia has quickly become a preferred destination for Indian students due to Australia's overall policies and quality of education. It has been given a boost by the tightening of visa norms in the U.S. and U.K. The U.S. recently suspended student visa appointments and instituted social media checks for applicants while simultaneously reducing funding for universities. The U.K. government recently launched a new white paper titled, Restoring Control Over the Immigration System, stated, among other things, new requirements for sponsoring institutions and the post-study work period was reduced to 18 months from two years.

He stated, "We have two universities, the University of Wollongong and Deakin University, operating with branch campuses in India. We have more branch campuses coming up in Mumbai and Delhi. These would greatly benefit students who wish to leverage a degree from Australia without leaving the country".

In contrast, Australia is deepening its relationship with India. The Commissioner, Austrade noted that not only is Australia one of the first foreign countries to establish branch campuses in India, but Australia also has around 430 agreements of active institutional partnerships, providing dual degree pathways through the Indian institution and the Australian institution.

To fortify this relationship further, the Australian government organized, Festival of Australia' in June 2024, held in Indian and regional cities, providing students direct access to representatives of Australian universities.