The Australian international education industry suffered severely during the pandemic and now Industry needs support from Australian policy makers. Canada, Continue Reading
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The Australian international education industry suffered severely during the pandemic and now Industry needs support from Australian policy makers. Canada, USA, and the UK made aggressive moves even during the pandemic and captured the majority share of the international education market. Australian numbers are at the bottom for the obvious reason of “border closure since long”. Australia has unique strengths including high ranked and innovative universities, favourable weather, Proximity to Asia and required skill migrants. It’s high time for Australia to bounce back. If Australia takes prompt decisions and proactive actions based on the data/market insights and proven facts, a lot of potential to attract quality international students in decent numbers quickly with keeping in mind “the longevity of the sector”.
Let’s start with diving into the current state of the market with student visa grant statistics and what is driving the growth of top-performing study destinations. Then we can map strategies suitable for Australia keeping in mind the strength and needs of Australia. The sustainable growth formula is to create a magnet for international students and then filter the best suitable students based on the targeted number while keeping sustainability and longevity in mind.
The attractiveness of different study destinations among Indian students
In my opinion, the number of new students attracted by the study destinations is the most significant parameter to judge the current attractiveness of study destinations. Hence, I always prefer to focus on the student visa grant number of Indian students.
To understand the big picture of competition among the top English-speaking destinations and attractiveness among Indian students, let’s see the trends before and during the pandemic in Data Table 1, Table 2, Table 3, Table 4, and chart 1. You can find these tables and charts in the Appendix 1 section at the end of this blog.
Some of the important observations from the Table and charts:
You can see a constant rise in the numbers as well as the market share of Canada. Moreover, looking at the last few years’ stats, Canada’s growth is steady near to the 50% market share since 2017 and more than 1,00,000 Indian students each year. Looking at the student numbers in 2019 and 2021, we can assume that Canada aims for nearly 1,50,000 students each year.
When you look at UK numbers, Please remember that the major intake for the UK is September intake and UK processing time is very quick – From one day processing time for a super-priority student visa to 15 days for normal. Hence most of the students get visas for September intake in August. In a recent UKVI meeting with key education agencies, they shared that they got way more growth compared to predicted growth for September 2021 intake and afterward. Also to provide ideas on probable growth, Please check the below numbers for January to June for years 2019 to 2021 with Total numbers for these years. We can safely assume more than 50,000 students for 2021 and most of them are in the higher education sector as PSW only after higher education qualification in the UK.
Which factors attract the growth of Indian students across all study destinations – Magnet for students
Most generous PSW benefits and Pathway to Permanent Residency for students are the important factors attracting Indian students to Canada. Also, this is not a short-term strategy, it’s been working for a decade now. On the other hand, Canada is attracting global business talent including global companies. This may be the reason for the longevity of this strategy. Australian policymakers and stakeholders should do a detailed analysis of this.
Also looking at market trends and various data, it’s safer to assume that approx 45,000 to 50,000 Indian students are enrolling at Canadian universities each year. Considering the entry criteria of Canadian universities in the blog section below, 50,000 students with such a high entry bar is excellent and Australia needs to evaluate strategies to have similar quality of students in high numbers for Australian universities. I believe that Australia has potential and can achieve this if they prepare a strategy and take action. An important element of strategy should be to create a magnet to attract students and then raise the bar. To create the magnet Australia should create a value proposition to compete with What Canada and the UK offer to the international students.
USA returns strongly by just sending positive signals and lowering the bar of student visas unofficially in the Indian market. The new government of the US is sending positive signals to the international students and Pro-immigration policies. 2021 is a solid year for the USA.
You can see a constant rise in the numbers of the UK from 2019 to 2021. The UK’s new PSW has attracted record numbers of Indian students. In addition to PSW, the majority of Indian students value the brand the UK has and its quality of Education along with the positive impact of the long history of Indo-UK education ties. Also, entry criteria for UK student visas are much quicker and easier than Canada and Australia & very much a high student visa grant rate. Most of the time between 2020 and 2021, the UK has more than a 96% grant rate.
Canada and the UK are constantly sending positive signals to international students by providing benefits like PSW for offshore digital education. Canada, USA and the UK kept their momentum going despite the challenges faced due to the Pandemic.
Australia has a visible significant drop in numbers and market share as the Australian government closed borders to protect Australians from the Pandemic. It’s time for Australia to bounce back strongly to support Australian education.
Looking at the trends; Canada will continue to be at the top, the UK and the USA might have tough competition for 2nd and 3rd position, Australia might be at 4th and New Zealand will be at 5th position in the year 2021.
2022 will be interesting for sure!
Attractiveness among students – Quality Analysis – University and student visa criteria
You may find many surveys and market sentiment analysis announcing Canada as the most preferred destination for Indian students. Also, the visa grant numbers in the below tables in Appendix 1 prove the same. I believe that this is a huge advantage for any study destination. Canada has created a magnet by offering the most generous PSW benefits and very high chances of Permanent residency after study in Canada. And now they keep raising the bar based on the number target. Right now Canada is attracting the student with the below profile:
Most common admission criteria of public Canadian universities
IELTS 6.5 Band OR 7 Bands overall with minimum 6.5/6.0 bands in each section.
Backlogs of 3 OR Less.
Overall good academic record – most distinction OR above in academics.
Most common admission criteria of Canadian Polytechnics/community colleges (Similar Australian TAFE Model
IELTS 6 bands in each section mean in most of the cases IELTS 6.5 Band overall OR higher score.
Backlogs of 5 OR Less. Very few institutes accept more backlogs.
Overall good academic record – most first-class and above in academics.
The majority of Indian students apply through the Canadian SDS stream and below is the criteria for the SDS stream:
IELTS 6 bands in each section mean in most of the cases IELTS 6.5 Band overall OR higher score.
One year of tuition fees paid in Advance
10,000 $ GIC for Accommodation
Good academic record
Immigration departments of the USA and UK leave the academic requirement and Language test requirement on the Universities to decide. Hence USA and UK are attracting a mixed quality of students as criteria vary from university to university. Therefore, I largely focus on Canada in this section which shows the benefit of becoming a magnet for international students.
Sentiment among educations Agencies
Navitas has been capturing the views of education agents around the world. The latest survey of more than 1,000 agents in more than 70 countries reveals that Australia has now lost whatever limited reputational advantages it enjoyed during COVID-19. Mr. Jonathan Chew has been a great source of useful data around market trends. Please read the excellent article written by Mr. Jonathan Chew on this URL – https://insights.navitas.com/australias-reputation-reaches-lowest-point-no-clear-plan-for-the-recovery-of-international-students/
First step – Border Opening ASAP with concrete timeline and procedure guidance
Australia has exceptionally done well in terms of protecting citizens and their health during the Pandemic. I loved the Australian approach to protect its citizens during the pandemic. However Australia has achieved vaccination targets now and most of the states are positive about welcoming international students. Most of the source countries have opened the border for international students for a long time. As a first important step, Australia needs to open borders for vaccinated international students ASAP. Students and the whole industry wants to know the exact national border opening plan with dates and guidance. Further delay can cause damage to the Australian international education industry.
We should look at the Canadian example, they took a cautious approach without harming international education. They kept their border open the majority of the time after the 1st wave of the COVID Pandemic. They took all the precautions including tests, quarantine, vaccination requirements, travel through 3rd country, etc. Now they removed all other requirements and kept only one requirement for vaccinated international students and that is the PCR test before boarding the flight. With all of this, the Canadian government protects its citizens as well.
How Australia Can attract best and bright student – impactful quickly and long term strategy
Without any changes also, Australia can attract more international students and can achieve the number target. However, offering more benefits to the students will be helpful to attract the bright and best students. So the quality of the cohort will increase for sure.
As discussed above ROI, Investment required (Tuition fees and living cost), and Entry criteria are the most important parameters to decide the quality and quantity of students. Most of the Indian students consider employment outcomes, more generous post-study work visas, high chances of Permanent residency, and a welcoming environment are important factors as part of ROI and hence these are the important strategic factors to attract more Indian students.
In my opinion; Australia should offer more benefits to the international students to attract more quality students in terms of PSW, offering more points for Australian education in skill migration, etc… Australia needs to re-think its value proposition with the SWOT Analysis.
The UK’s new PSW has attracted record numbers of Indian students. For example, the majority of the Indian students are going for a master’s degree and students can get a PSW of 2 years after a master’s degree of one year.
On the other hand, if international students complete one year of master’s degree in Australia; they are not eligible for PSW. If students complete a Bachelor OR Master degree of 2 years OR More then only eligible for PSW.
So if you look at the value proposition / Return of Investment perspective, students have incentives to choose Canada and the UK. Bright students always do their calculations well and ROI is the most important factor. Hence to attract bright students and improve the quality of the student cohort, generous PSW rights are the most important factor.
Retaining High quality trained students through additional points for skilled migration
High-quality students with high-quality Australian education and decent financial backgrounds are an asset for Australia OR any country. Attracting the best students will help increase the skilled employment outcome as well. Australia needs migrants and migration benefits can attract bright Indian students. Hence If Australia creates a strategy to connect this with the skill migration strategy, It can be a miracle for Australian education as well as for the Australian economy. In my personal opinion, Australia should not miss this opportunity.
Canada is an excellent example connecting international education and skill migration. Also, this is not a short-term strategy for Canada, it’s been working for a decade now.Without such strategy also, Australia can attract more students. However, This strategy will be beneficial in attracting high quality students.
Also please remember Australian university education is costly if we compare it with Canadian and US universities. UK universities are costly, However, a Master’s degree of 1 year in the UK offers PSW rights which is cost-effective compared to 2 years of an Australian master’s degree to gain PSW benefits.
As a long-term approach, Australian policymakers and stakeholders should work on increasing employability after study and during post-study work visas. This can be a game changer.
Empathy for students
A more generous approach required for the continuing international student affected due to Pandemic. Canada took a more generous approach by offering PR benefits to more international students. Surprisingly NZ also took a good approach. Australia can offer a more generous approach in terms of PSW eligibility and PSW duration with the quick processing of PSW visa applications.
What if no action – status quo
Without any changes also, Australia can attract more international students and can achieve the number target. However, offering more benefits to the students will be helpful to attract the bright and best students.
ROI, Investment required (Tuition fees and living cost) and Entry criteria are the most important parameters to decide the quality and quantity of students. Hence No action from the Australian government may result in a slow recovery and increase the chance of lower bar of entry in terms of student visa criteria. As a businessman, I love growth; however, I prefer sustainable growth with happy students and happy stakeholders. I am a big fan of some of the Australian initiatives like tuition protections, compliance protection mechanisms (For example – PRISM, eCOE, encouraging Self-regulating agency bodies like AAERI), eVisa and Global student visa load sharing, etc…
I am highly optimistic about the Australian international education sector and Australian policymakers. I am sure 2022 will be the most exciting year of new milestones and hope.
All the best and Please share your views through comments below !
This blog will be enough for you to get all the insights related to International Student recruitment from India to the 5 most popular English-speaking study destinations before and during the COVID-19 Pandemic.
Some of the important observations from the Table and charts:
You can see a constant rise in the numbers as well as the market share of Canada. Moreover, looking at the last few years it’s steady near to the 50% and more than 1,00,000 Indian students each year. You can see a constant rise in the market share of the number of students who want to study in Canada. Moreover, looking at the last few years the share is steady near to 50% and more than 1,00,000 Indian students travel each year to Canada.
In addition to PSW and Pathway to PR for students; It seems that Canada has gained an advantage because of the downfall in numbers for the US, during the Trump Era – Loss of the USA has been a gain for Canada.
You can see a constant rise in the numbers as well as the market share of the UK in 2019 and 2020.
[bctt tweet=”The UK is the only country that has recruited more Indian students during the Pandemic year 2020 compared to 2019.”]
The UK’s new PSW has attracted record numbers of Indian students. It seems that the UK would have had more numbers of students if the COVID-19 situation had not been there at all. In addition to PSW, the majority of Indian students value the brand the UK has and its quality of Education along with the positive impact of the long history of Indo-UK education ties.[bctt tweet=”Canada and the UK are constantly sending positive signals to international students by providing benefits like PSW for offshore digital education. Canada and the UK kept their momentum going despite the challenges faced due to the Pandemic.”]
The new government of the US is sending positive signals to the international students and Pro-immigration policies. Below given numbers and various surveys reflect the positive mood of the market on the same point. 2021 and 2022 can be the year of the comeback for the USA and may offer tough competition to all other study destinations.
Looking at the trends; Canada will continue to be at the top, the UK and the USA might have tough competition for 2nd and 3rd position, Australia might be at 4th and New Zealand will be definitely at 5th position in the Post Pandemic world (2022). 2022 will be interesting for sure!
Australia has a drop of 56% in visa grants during the year 2020 and a drop of 71% in visa grants during the Pandemic (Q2 to Q4, 2020). In the post-pandemic times, Australia will have to offer more benefits to international students to attract the right number and right kind of students to compete with Canada / UK / USA.
You can see the Market Share % as well as Fresh student visa grants of the top five popular study destinations for 2014 to 2020 in the below tables and chart. Please note that here I have calculated the market share based on the total of these 5 popular English-speaking study destinations only. I deliberately kept separate data for Q1 Vs Q2 to Q4 as market dynamics changed due to the response of destination countries to Pandemic.
Please feel free to share your observations in the comment section of this blog. If you like this blog, please share it with your friends/colleagues.
If you want to know the accurate number of Indian students actually going to study abroad to major destinations (Canada, UK, Australia, USA and NZ) since the last decade with market observation and future possibilities for popular study destinations, then you have hit the right blog. This blog will be enough for you to get all the insights related to international student recruitment from India to popular study destinations.
I am always keeping eyes on-ground realities of the market and statistics of fresh students’ visa grant of immigration departments of destination countries to make better decisions for existing education consultancy/agency business as well as upcoming tech startup (This tech startup / platform aims to solve burning issues of students, education consultants, Universities and peak bodies / associations with digital technology. We will launch this platform soon). I am sharing the insights which I am using for my businesses and hope that this will be useful to your organisation as well.
Note: I have used first time/fresh student visa grants data as it is most appropriate data to measure current attractiveness of study destinations. This is totally different than enrollment data or data of the total number of Indian students in particular study destinations.
Table 1: Number of Indian students going to Top 5 Study destinations each year (Based on first time / fresh student visa grants)
Chart 1: Number of Indian students going to Top 5 Study destinations each year (Based on first time / fresh student visa grants)
One of the quick observations is the constant increase in the number of Indian students going abroad to study despite the student visa requirements of most of the destination countries going higher. This is a big positive signal for the whole sector. You may still remember the quality of the majority of students going abroad before 2010 and if we compare the criteria at that time with the criteria now, there is a huge difference. Another change is the majority of destinations encourage mainly Higher education (Australia, UK, USA and Canada) and Polytechnics (Canada and NZ). You may remember the influx of students to Private vocational education providers in the UK, Australia and New Zealand in the past.
Moreover, we can observe the huge gap between 1st popular study destination (Canada) and 2nd popular study destination (USA) among Indian students.
We can clearly observe the recent decline in Indian students going to Australia and a significant increase in the UK numbers in the below sections of the blog.
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Here I am analyzing country-wise trends, predictions and possible way forward.
Insights on Indian students going to Australia
Below tables are representing recent and month wise data, which can provide you more insights with possible trends in the near future.
Some of the Observations and Predictions for the Australian sector
As I predicted in my previous blog in December, we can see a very high visa grant rate for Higher Education in the Month of December 2019 and January 2020. Fortunately, we saw positive results at our offices in the month of Feb 2020 as well. This is a major positive news for Australian education sector.
We can see a drop of about 33% in the Numbers for Australia in the last 5 months when compared to the same period in the previous year as shared in Tables above. Looking at the competition, we can safely predict a similar decline in the upcoming months. If the same trends continue, Australia will be the 4th most popular study destination (After Canada, UK and USA) among Indian students in the year 2020.
We all have observed the negative effect of the Corona virus outbreak on Australian education sector. Therefore student recruitment from India is the most crucial for the sector.
Possible Ways to Increase Market share for the Australian sector
It would be great if the Australian Government thinks about possible ways to provide more benefits to international students. Numbers for UK and Canada speak louder about Indian students’ love for PSW benefits, return on investment and possibility of migration after study. Canada is the no 1 study destination for many years and the UK will be No 2 popular study destination in 2020 for sure. The UK and Canada both offer a much better return on investment. The UK offers PSW for 2 years, after 1 year of Master’s courses in the UK compared to Australia offers PSW for 2 years, after 2 years of Master’s courses. Australia doesn’t offer PSW after 1-year courses at any education level. Canada offers PSW for 3 years, after 2 years of courses and PSW for 1 year, after 1 year of courses at almost any level for example: Diploma, Certificate, Masters, Pg Dipl. Students going to cities like Toronto and Vancouver also enjoy these PSW benefits. On top of this, Canada offers an easier pathway to permanent residency. Moreover, Canada offers another advantage of the much cheaper Tuition Fees compared to Australia. Therefore Canada is attracting the highest number of Indian students despite the toughest admission entry requirements of Canadian Universities, toughest student visa criteria under SDS and low Student visa grant rate for General stream. In the current competitive environment, it’s advisable that Australia offers more benefits to international students.
Current Australian student Visa grant ratio for Higher Education is excellent. On the other side, we all are aware of inconsistent student visa decisions with all-time low visa grant rate in the month of August 2019 and the impact of the same in the whole market. Inconsistent student visa decisions and very low visa grant rate were discouraging for all stakeholders including students, universities and education agents. Now it would be great if DoHA works on more weightage on profile-based and consistent student visa decisions along with faster processing. It will help Universities and education agents for the screening of students and the kind of students they should encourage. The recent announcement on processing by DoHA may help for faster processing. It would be great if prompt action will be taken for the students’ profiling and visa consistency. It’s easier to assess students’ educational profile and There is no sure shot way for GTE OR Judging the student’s intention. Profile-based assessment keeping in mind (with focus on judging) the intention of students should be sufficient. Canadian student visa model is a good example. SDS stream for the Good profile students and General stream for the rest of the students. Visa grant for SDS is usually near to 95% and visa grant rate for general stream is lower.
Insights on Indian students going to the UK
Below Tables are about (1) the number of UK student visas Granted in all quarters of the year 2019 and 2018 & (2) Percentage Increase in Indian students who were granted UK Student visas for the year 2019 compared to 2018. This can provide you with a better idea on the future recruitment of Indian students in the year 2020 and 2021.
Indian students granted sponsored study (Tier 4) visas for the year 2019 and 2018 (Quarter-wise and Total)
Percentage increase in Indian students granted UK Student visas for the year 2019 compared to 2018 (Quarter-wise and Total)
Some of the observations for the UK sector
PSW announcement was in September 2019 and before that, there was just a discussion that the UK could announce PSW news soon. In spite of that, a big Jump can be noticed in the Q1, Q2 and Q3 of 2019. Also from numbers in Q3, I assume that this big jump must be particularly for September 2019.
300.52% increase in Q4 (2019) indicate the possible big jump in all quarters of 2020 and onwards. I can safely predict that the UK will overtake the USA in 2020 as the 2nd most popular study destination among Indian students.
PSW has attracted Indian students back to the UK as the majority of Indian students value the brand UK and quality of education in the UK & long history of Indo-UK education ties. 2 years of PSW after 1 year of Master’s is an attractive proposition compared to PSW offered by other popular study destinations like Australia and the USA. In addition to the above point, there are many students opting for the UK, as they are not eligible from some other popular study destination like Canada.
Possible Way Forward for the UK sector for the longevity of the UK market
The UK got much-needed growth in the Indian market. Now it’s time to streamline, in order to have the longevity of the market & increasing desire course outcome and course completion ratio. We all want business and growth. however, no one wants a scenario that was faced in the years 2012-2018
From the Business point of view, IELTS waiver (Based on Medium of instruction letters AND/OR marks in English subject of Year 12) is a good tool to get students at an early stage of the application and cut the time. However, this is a useful tool if the education credentials of students can be verified and are accurate. However, it is difficult to verify the results for many Indian institutes and education boards. More work and analysis is required on the use of MOI tool. Moreover, I am confident that London based universities can get students at full capacity even if they have criteria of Minimum 6 Bands OR 6.5 Bands in IELTS. Outside London, this may vary from University to University and may depend on the location, University profile and course as well.
I personally believe that students from Good Education agencies, which have good credentials and history, might do much better as they recruit those students who are much aware and better matched with their Institute. Students from potential non-credential agencies have a higher drop-off and lower conversion ratio. British council trained counsellors and agencies may provide much better counselling to the UK bound students. Unfortunately, the UK doesn’t have any other agency vetting system except British council training. In addition to British council training, Institutes may look at vetting methods of other countries like AAERI Membership, AIRC Membership, ENZRA etc. To Know the potential impact of the Credible Agencies and Non-credential agencies; Universities should do a full review of data of students who arrived on campus between Sept 2019 and Feb 2020 with important insights like; How many students are not enrolled? How many students are not attending classes or not progressing well? and then link those results with education agencies that recruited those students. The result will be clearly visible for sure. In fact, comparing students who arrive with valid IELTS scores and students with IELTS waiver will be useful as well.
Observations for Canada, US and NZ based on the above facts and Market knowledge:
It is clearly observed that Canada is a steady and most popular study destination in India with more than 1,00,000 students’ visa grants each year.
For Canada, positive factors for Indian students are: Post-study work visas, Better chances of permanent residency after study and higher duration under post-study work visa (compared to all other major study destinations), immigration-friendly government, positive local environment for international students, profile-based easy and quick process of student visas etc. It is clearly reflected from the statistics that for Indian students, Post-study work opportunities and Increasing possibility of permanent residency are major factors in selecting a study destination.
You can observe the gradual decline of student visas issued for the US in the year 2018 and major slow down in 2016 and 2017. However, there is not much change from 2018 to 2019. The US is No 2 Popular study destination for Indian students in 2019.
For the US, data in the above tables only show F1 visas, as numbers are very small under M1 visa category for India. For example, Number of students visa under M1 category (Vocational education) for the year 2018 is 628 and for the year 2019 is 583.
The number of students going to New Zealand is still below 10,000 for the year 2019 as well. Although there is a slight increase in the numbers, it is not significant.
We are all aware that the COVID – 2019 become a global pandemic, there will be many uncertain situations for 2020. The COVID-19 crisis is bad for the whole sector.
Please feel free to share your observations in the comment section of this blog. If you like this blog, please share it with your friends/colleagues.
Data Sources:
Important Note: I assume that most of us are interested to Know about Fresh Student Visa statistics for the Australian Higher education sector and know the adverse effects of re-introduction of the UK Post Study Work visas and other factors on Australian Visa Sector. Therefore I have analysed the Indian nationals students’ (Primary applicants only) data in Table 1 to 3 and Charts 1 to 3 (These are the students who applied for Australia student visa offshore). This data is excluding the students with dependents. In Table 4, I have provided Full insights including all sectors for Primary applicant as well as dependents from 2019 till now. You can find the source of the data at the bottom of the blog. If you want me to share similar insights for other source countries or any other Destination country, please share the same in the comment section at the bottom of the blog. Based on the number of requests, I will work on the next blog. Don’t forget to subscribe to my blogs to receive future insights!
Let’s start with the Good news!
Student Visa grant rate has improved in the last few months and it has been a big relief in this sector. In Chart 1 and Table 1 given below, you can observe the Visa grant rate is at 55.9% in August 2019 which rises up to 81.8% in October 2019. Still, it’s too early to conclude anything. But looking at a decrease in the student visa Lodgement and Grant numbers for Australia compared to Grant rates in previous years & competition due to the UK PSW, we can assume positive visa grant rate in coming months.
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Now Bad news!
Australian offshore Student Visa lodgement numbers of Indian nationals (Primary Applicants) are dropping. In Chart 2 and Table 2 given below, you can observe the Lodgement data from August to October for the year 2019, 2018 and 2017. The numbers for these months in 2019 have dropped when compared to the numbers for the same months in 2018. There are 2 major reasons for the same: the UK has re-introduced Post Study Work Visas and highly inconsistent student visa refusal of Australia bound students. You may have observed high fluctuation in Visa grant rate in the above Table 1 and chart 1.
Australian Visa Grant Data for Indian national students- offshore – Higher Education Sector – Primary Applicant
Australian offshore Student Visa Grant numbers of Indian nationals (Primary Applicant) are dropping. In the below Chart 3 and Table 3, you can observe the Visa Grant data from June to October for the year 2019, 2018 and 2017. The numbers for these months in 2019 are dropping compared to the numbers for the same months in 2018. If the Same pattern continues for the full Academic year 2019 -2020, We can predict the Australian Visa Grant numbers between 25,000 to 30,000. However, the next 6 months are critical to gauge the possible adverse effect of the UK PSW and other factors.
Table 4: Year Wise number of Indian students coming to Australia – Fresh Student visa grant
The table given below provides full overview of fresh student visa of Indian students for each sector from 2009 till now.
Source of the data is https://data.gov.au/data/dataset/student-visas
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I have developed this undying thirst of obtaining more and more insights into Indian students going to study abroad, especially those going to Australia. This time, my insatiable curiosity led me to investigate the number of students from each of the different Indian states (e.g. Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh, Delhi, Punjab, Haryana etc…) going to Australia. I tried to gather more or less accurate and authentic data through many sources, including going through official DHA statistics, Austrade / DET Statistics, even enquiring with the Department of Home affairs during meetings and as a desperate measure, I have even googled for this information on many occasions. But all these forays for information were futile and I met with little success in my endeavours. Then, I struck gold! As a last resort, I decided to do a FOI to the Department of Home affairs and at last, I met with some success.
We all, already have a few perceptions about possible numbers from these states. However, having exact insights is never a loss and this kind of data may be helpful in several strategic decisions that we may have to take in the future. Please go through the Data / Insights below and do share your views as comments on this blog. Your comments will make this data and any interpretations thereof, more valuable not just to me, but to our entire community.
Some Interesting Observations:
Numbers from Telangana and Andhra Pradesh are growing. Their combined numbers are more than double that of Gujarat.
Punjab and Chandigarh still remain the regions that are sending the maximum number of students to Australia.
The figures from UP have yielded interesting numbers; more than those from Tamil Nadu.
Table 1: Primary student visa applications lodged offshore between 1 Jan 2017 and 3 May 2019 where applicant’s country of citizenship is India, with the number of students from each of the states in India specified.
Source: Department of Home Affairs, 2019 (RFI 23179.02). Through FOI
Note 1: Figures are from a dynamic source and may be subject to variations. Note 2: Residential address information is not investigated or verified (i.e. cleansed) and is as recorded in the systems at the time of lodgement, or, if not available at the time of lodgement, then the most recent residential address information obtained after time of Lodgement is listed.
Using the same FOI, I also got insights into the number of students appearing for each of the English Language Proficiency tests; – IELTS, PTE, TOEFL etc…
Table 2: Primary student visa applications lodged offshore between 1 Jan 2017 and 3 May 2019 where applicant’s country of citizenship is India, showing the number of students appearing for each of the English Language Proficiency tests; – IELTS, PTE, TOEFL, OET, CAE, etc……
Source: Department of Home Affairs, 2019 (RFI 23179.03)
Note 1: Figures are from a dynamic source and are subject to variations.
Source of Blog: A document received under FOI from DHA
The following Data is derived from ‘student visa’ program reports and pivot tables are provided by the Department of Home Affairs, Australia on the website data.gov.au
Number of International students coming to Australia each year from All countries combined (All offshore student visas)
Australia is attracting many international students; you can observe the steady growth from 125,000 / 150,000 students to more than 2,00,000 students. Wow! Congratulations to all the stakeholders of the Australian education industry!
The sector dealing in higher education is obviously the major beneficiary of this student growth. The independent Elicos Sector comes a 2nd with the highest number of students and the Vocational sector follows as the 3rd.
The Number of Indian students coming to Australia Each year:
India is the 2nd most important source country, only after China. An observation of the following detailed blog clearly delineates this fact:-https://www.competitivecareers.in/rupeshpatel/australia-report-card-2018-correct-number-of-indian-students-going-to-australia/
The number of Chinese students coming to Australia Each year:
China remains the number one source country so far and still persists as the major driver for overall students’ growth in Australia. One can appreciate the almost double growth from 20,000-25,000 students to more than 55,000 students in just a decade. It can thus safely be concluded that the sector for higher education is still the major beneficiary for the growth of students coming to Australia from China.
The number of Nepalese students coming to Australia Each year:
Nepal seems to be the most turbulent source market of students for Australia. We can observe numbers varying from below 1000 to more than 15000 as well. Nepal is the only country having the highest growth rate in the Vocational sector. However, the Higher education sector still ranks at number 1.
The number of Srilankan students coming to Australia Each year:
Compared to China and India, Sri Lanka is like a drop in the ocean; It is a very small market. We can, however, observe a steady growth trend in the last 3 years which makes it a promising market.
The number of students from Bangladesh coming to Australia Each year:
Bangladesh, like Sri lanka, is also a very small market compared to China and India. In fact, it is even smaller than Sri Lanka and no major changes have been noted in the last decade, Numbers usually range between 1000 and 1500 students.
I have tried my best to give a concise overview of the facts and figures that I have collected from the authentic source (data.gov.au). I hope my insights into a subject that I am sure fascinates most people in our industry prove of invaluable help. Signing off till the next blog, watch this spot. I promise you will not be disappointed.
I have developed this undying thirst of obtaining more and more insights into Indian students going to study abroad, especially those going to Australia. This time, my insatiable curiosity led me to investigate the number of students from each of the different Indian states (e.g. Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh, Delhi, Punjab, Haryana etc…) going to Australia. I tried to gather more or less accurate and authentic data through many sources, including going through official DHA statistics, Austrade / DET Statistics, even enquiring with the Department of Home affairs during meetings and as a desperate measure, I have even googled for this information on many occasions. But all these forays for information were futile and I met with little success in my endeavours. Then, I struck gold! Finally, I managed to obtain this information from a very reliable and authentic source. I am sure that all our readers are eager to see the original document and the accurate data that I have obtained and I truly respect this eagerness. However, I am unable to share the source and/or the official document at this time, since it requires approval from the higher authorities at the originating source. I am awaiting permission before I can share the same in the public domain. I will immediately share it through my blogs, updating this one too, once I receive the permission. Meanwhile, I am sharing an estimated state-wise lodgement of primary student visa applications, based annually, on the information received, instead of the original document.
We all, already have a few perceptions about possible numbers from these states. However, having exact insights is never a loss and this kind of data may be helpful in several strategic decisions that we may have to take in the future. Please go through the Data / Insights below and do share your views as comments on this blog. Your comments will make this data and any interpretations thereof, more valuable not just to me, but to our entire community.
Some Interesting Observations:
Numbers from Telangana and Andhra Pradesh are growing. Their combined numbers are more than double that of Gujarat.
Punjab and Chandigarh still remain the regions that are sending the maximum number of students to Australia.
The figures from UP have yielded interesting numbers; more than those from Tamil Nadu.
Table 1: Estimated Primary Australian student visa applications lodged offshore Yearly where applicant’s country of citizenship is India, with the number of students from each of the states in India specified.
Note 1: Figures are from a dynamic source and may be subject to variations. Note 2: Residential address information is not investigated or verified (i.e. cleansed) and is as recorded in the systems at the time of lodgement, or, if not available at the time of lodgement, then the most recent residential address information obtained after time of Lodgement is listed.
If you want to know projected figures i.e. about the approximate numbers of Australian student visas grant (Primary student) from these states, one can easily do the same by deducting 15% to 25%; For the lowest risk state, 15%, and the highest risk states 25%.
From the same reliable source, I also got insights into the number of students appearing for each of the English Language Proficiency tests; – IELTS, PTE, TOEFL etc…
Table 2: Estimated Primary Australian student visa applications lodged offshore Yearly where applicant’s country of citizenship is India, showing the number of students appearing for each of the English Language Proficiency tests; – IELTS, PTE, TOEFL, OET, CAE, etc……
Note 1: Figures are from a dynamic source and are subject to variations.
I am passionate about Digital Marketing, Compliance and knowing about the market insights through authentic analysis and strategies. I have always wanted to prevent personal perceptions to prejudice me or colour my views, thus relying more on concrete, available data from reliable sources.
On 29th of January 2019, our agency, Competitive Careers Pvt. Ltd organized an Australian and Canadian education fair, in which 23 Universities and 300+ students participated. Many University representatives are already aware of my habit of keeping a close watch on the market as well as insights into it and other resources to determine the exact number of Indian students going abroad. Many of them had requested me to send them a copy of my latest insights of the number of Indian students actually going to Australia, Canada and other major destinations, for education in the year 2018. Therefore, this is an attempt to fulfil this request. I have tried to present the most accurate information I could, regarding the number of Indian students going to Australia, not only in the year 2019 but also in some of the previous years. Hence, if you are interested in the same, you are at the right place. This blog is tailor-made for you.
The following data is derived from ‘student visa program’ reports and pivot tables provided by the Department of Home Affairs, Australia on the data.gov.au website (https://data.gov.au/dataset/ds-dga-324aa4f7-46bb-4d56-bc2d-772333a2317e/details)
(Note: In the above figures, Dependents are NOT Included. )
Is the growth from the Year 2017 to 2018 clearly noticeable? ……..yes……….There is a whopping 52.88 % Growth. Looking at the growth in the last few years, we can safely assume that a positive trend is on the rise and is expected to continue for some time in the future. The figures also indicate that the number of students going to Australia for education may soon cross 40,000 per year. Even If the numbers cross the 38,000 figure, this will be the highest number of Indian students immigrating for education, in the history of the Australian education market.
Yearly Data on Australian Students visa of Indian students (As per Financial year: July to June)
If you want to know more details like Students visa for other sectors, Visa grant rate and the number of visas for dependents going along with the students, the below Table will be useful:
Note: The below statistics are represented according to the Australian Financial Year, which starts in July and ends in June. For example, data of the year 2016-17 means data for the period from 1st July 2016 to 30th June 2017.
Following table presents the data on which Australian State /Territory attract more students:
Here NSW, Victoria, and Queensland are attracting a majority of Indian students. A big increase in the number of students going to Victoria and South Australia can be observed during the financial year 2017-18.
Note on Different Data Sources
Vast and varying amounts of data are available like statistics from Immigration departments, IIE Open Doors® data, UNESCO Institute of Statistics, Department of Education etc… All this statistical information is represented and interpreted in different ways. All these statistics are also valid data, but each tends to tell us a different aspect of the same story. So sometimes people of our industry and specifically, the media get confused and often, wrong and misleading statistics are quoted.
My favourite of all the different statistical data on this subject is the ‘Student visa grant’ data from the respective immigration departments. For example, To know the Number of Indian students going to Australia, DHA/DIBP statistics is the best source. This gives us an exact number of new Indian students going to Australia in 2019 and also previously. Other data sources like Open Doors® data, Department of Education etc. include mixed data. They might be useful to know the total number of Indian students in Australia OR any other purpose. The total number of students includes both, the new students as well as students stillstudying in Australia, who have gone in the past few years. For Industry stakeholders, I firmly believe that new students going to Australia each year tell us a better story of how attractive Australia is as a study destination as well as an inkling of the policy setting strategies of the various immigration departments.
I leave any further analysis of these data and the resulting interpretation up to you, the readers and would love to hear your comments as well as feedback. Share your own Analysis here. Also, if you find any error contained in my analysis, please feel free to share it with me as this kind of data accuracy is crucial for all of us.
Current Trends amongst Indian students going to Study Abroad: the facts and figures (number) of Indian students going to the major, global, study destinations each year; over the last decade (2008-2018)
If you are curious about or want to know the accurate number of Indian students, actually going abroad to major study destinations (Canada, US, Australia, UK and NZ) in the last decade, then you have hit the right blog.
Table: Number of Indian students going to Top 5 Study destinations each year
Chart: Number of Indian students going to Top 5 Study destinations each year
Some pertinent observations based on the facts and figures:
It is clearly observed that there is a steady, and continuous increase in the number of students going to Canada.
According to CBIE (Page 6), “In 2017, 75% of the international students in Canada were pursuing post-secondary studies of which 57% were studying in a university program.” Furthermore, it was stated that “At the university level, India superseded France as the second most common country of origin and citizenship of these international students.” This means Canadian universities are recruiting significant numbers of Indian students. This page on Statistics Canada also confirms that almost 35% to 40% of Indian students in the post-secondary are going to Candian universities in 2016-17 and earlier. Unfortunately, There is no such data available for 2018.
For Canada, positive factors for Indian students would be: Post study work visas, Better chances of Permanent residency after study and post-study work visa compared to all other major study destinations, immigration-friendly government, Positive local environment for international students, Easy and quick process of student visas etc… This also reflects that for Indian students, Post-study work opportunities and Increasing possibility of Permanent residency are major factors in selecting study destination.
You can observe the gradual decline of student visas issued for the US in the year 2018. You can also observe a major slow down in 2016 and 2017.
For US, data in the above tables only show F1 visas, as numbers are very small under M1 visa Category for India. For example, Number of students visa under M1 category (Vocational education) for the year 2018 is 628.
You may be surprised with an increase in the number of students opting for the UK . Just imagine, the crowds if UK were to start offering Post-study work visa too, in the near future.
The number of students going to New Zealand is still below 8000, for this year as well. This is against the common perception of an increase in New Zealand numbers after a revised Post-study work visa.
Please feel free to share your observations in the comment section of this blog. If you like this blog, Please share it with your friends/colleagues.
Not even a month ago I published a blog about the correct number of Indian students going to Australia, and I received many emails and calls concerning:
How many Indian students going to the U.S. nowadays?
What about Canada?
Has Australia become the ‘hot destination’ for higher studies amongst the Indian students?
Well, the point is: when I have said, “Yes, Canada and Australia have become the most popular countries for higher education,” I have still observed many times that the fact has been hard to believe not only by students but by many industry associates too. Having transfixed with that, I thought why not to give them the correct number of Indian students going to major study destinations?
So here’re the correct numbers of Indian students going to major study destinations – USA, Canada, UK, NZ, and Australia.
Table: Number of Indian students going to Top 5 Study destinations each year
Evident observation from the table and chart mentioned above:
As seen, in last four years, Canada has gained unmatched popularity as a study destination.
Post-study work visas,
Better chances of Permanent residency after study
Almost fixed criteria for a student visa in Black & White and
An hassle-free student visa process etc.
compared to all other major study destinations, might have been the win-win factors for students and Canada too. I would also be happy to give more reasons for this up surging trend via an email. For many industry stakeholders, the leap in numbers of Indian students going to Canada is surprising. But no worries, I would be answering the reasons behind the trend with my in-depth analysis in my next blog. So keep a watch over it.
In the last couple of years, the number of Indian students going to the U.S. (F1 visa) has declined phenomenally, 28% in 2017 and 16% in 2016. Out of many factors; Trump’s effect, Negative publicity, and Realisation of students about difficult transition to H1-B / Permanent residency from OPT; are considered essential. Overall, uncertainty about the future scope in the U.S. has feared a far higher number of Indian students than imagined.
For seven years, from 2008 to 2014, the trend of Indian students going to Australia has been bumpy. However, from 2014, Australia has also earned the reputation of a popular destination amongst Indian students for higher studies. To know more insights about the Australia market, Please read my blog: Want to know the correct number of Indian students going to Australia? Read this.
From 2013, UK is receiving quite a steady number of Indian students ranging between 10000 to 15000.
It was indeed surprising to notice that how New Zealand is going down in the list of Indian students for higher studies. Government policy changes and some unfavourable news publicity might have been the cause of it.
As seen, the most significant problem with our industry is huge ups and down. As an avid observer of such trends, I believe that even numbers can be backed by appropriate changes in student-oriented visa policy, migration policy, and post-study work rights.
Updated Data for 2018: Number of Indian students going to Top 5 Study destinations:
If you want to know the correct number of Indian students going to Australia from a decade, visa grant rate, which state or territories are high in demand amongst Indian students, and much more than that, then this blog is for you.
At least an hour a day, I read studies and benchmark reports. And I also enjoy meeting people as a part of my business. So pretty much anytime I am around people, I can usually share exciting statistics and facts like:
Number of students today taking the help of digital technology to make informed decisions and thus how we shall weave digital technology in our business operations to help students in making the most crucial decision of their life.
Number of businesses digitizing their operations and the impact of it.
Amount of data we produce every day and so increasing importance of big data analytics.
Likewise, it was just in the past month when I met the representatives of many Australian Universities in our Australian Education Fair. During the chat with some industry friends, I recognized a common concern: “What is the correct number of Indian students going to Australia?” Because a variety of sources have claimed different numbers so not only the representatives of Australian institutes but education agents too got have confused about which one could be correct and reliable. So I decided to present the accurate information regarding the number of Indian students going to Australia.
Following Data is derived from student visa program reports and pivot tables from website of Department of Home Affairs, Australian Government*.
Table 1: Yearly Data on Australian Students visa of Indian student (July to June)
Note: Year starts in July and end in June. So Data of year 2016-17 means Data for Period from 1st July 2016 to 30th June 2017.
Do you see how stable the Australian market is with student numbers rolling around 20,000 to 25,000 ? And that’s also like 10% to 15% sustainable growth. It says higher education is performing very well even with slightly higher growth rate.
Between 2007 to 2009, there is a sudden growth. But then from 2009 to 2013, there is a considerable decline. Well, specifically VET numbers have increased between 2007 to 2009 and caused the problem. Personally, I believe Australia has Vibrant Vocational sector and Promoting Vocational education sector is a good idea. However, identifying right students for VET and managing compliances onshore is a big challenge. Might be, Canadian SPP / SDS Model would be right to follow for VET sector. Such model controls/limits number of participating providers and fix the minimum criteria of students.
Following table presents the data on which Australian State /Territory attract more students:
Aus Rank
University Name
City
State
ARWU - 2017 Ranking
TIMES - 2018 Ranking
QS - 2018 Ranking
US News 2018 Ranking
1
The University of Melbourne
Melbourne
VIC
39
32
41
36
2
The University of Queensland
Brisbane
QLD
55
65
47
52
3
Monash University
Melbourne
VIC
78
80
60
79
4
The University of Sydney
Sydney
NSW
83
61
50
45
5
The University of Western Australia
Perth
WA
91
111
93
95
6
Australian National University
Canberra
ACT
97
48
20
80
7
The University of New South Wales
Sydney
NSW
101-150
85
45
80
8
The University of Adelaide
Adelaide
SA
101-150
134
109
152
9
Macquarie University
Sydney
NSW
151-200
251-300
240
267
10
Curtin University
Perth
WA
151-200
351-400
262
297
11
Queensland University of Technology
Brisbane
QLD
201-300
201-250
247
319
12
University of Wollongong
Wollongong
NSW
201-300
251-300
232
313
13
Deakin University
Melbourne
VIC
201-300
301-350
293
309
14
University of Tasmania
Hobart
TAS
201-300
301-350
313
323
15
University of Technology, Sydney
Sydney
NSW
301-400
201-250
176
294
16
James Cook University
Townsville
QLD
301-400
201-250
367
273
17
Griffith University
Brisbane
QLD
301-400
251-300
325
307
18
University of Newcastle
Newcastle
NSW
301-400
251-300
N.A.
313
19
La Trobe University
Melbourne
VIC
301-400
351-400
360
535
20
Swinburne University of Technology
Melbourne
VIC
301-400
401-450
421-430
433
21
University of Western Sydney
Sydney
NSW
301-400
401-500
N.A.
384
22
Flinders University
Adelaide
SA
401-500
301-350
551-600
471
23
Rmit University
Melbourne
VIC
401-500
401-500
247
486
24
University of South Australia (Unisa)
Adelaide
SA
N.A.
201-250
279
433
25
Charles Darwin University
Darwin
NT
N.A.
301-350
651-700
803
26
Victoria University
Melbourne
VIC
N.A.
301-350
701-750
613
27
University of Canberra
Canberra
ACT
N.A.
351-400
551-600
N.A.
28
Murdoch University
Perth
WA
N.A.
401-500
501-550
625
29
Southern Cross University
Lismore
NSW
N.A.
401-500
801-1000
896
30
Bond University
Gold Coast
QLD
N.A.
501-600
431-440
N.A.
31
Central Queensland University
Rockhampton, QLD
QLD
N.A.
501-600
601-650
N.A.
32
Edith Cowan University
Perth
WA
N.A.
501-600
751-800
706
33
Australian Catholic University
Sydney
NSW
N.A.
501-600
801-1000
N.A.
34
University of the Sunshine Coast
Maroochydore
QLD
N.A.
501-600
801-1000
N.A.
35
University of Southern Queensland
Toowoomba
QLD
N.A.
601-800
751-800
N.A.
36
University of New England
Armidale
NSW
N.A.
N.A.
801-1000
691
37
Charles Sturt University
Bathurst, NSW
NSW
N.A.
N.A.
801-1000
854
38
Federation University Australia
Ballarat, VIC
VIC
N.A.
N.A.
N.A.
N.A.
39
The University of Notre Dame Australia
Fremantle
WA
N.A.
N.A.
N.A.
N.A.
Table 3: Australian State /Territory wise Data (Australian Students visa of Indian student)
NSW, Victoria, and Queensland are attracting a majority of Indian students. A consistent increase in the number of students going to South Australia can be observed, while to Western Australia its’ decreasing from two years. So you can decide which region to explore now.
I leave further analysis of these data up to you and would love to hear your interpretation too. Share your Analysis here. Also if you find any error here, please feel free to share with me as data accuracy is crucial for all of us.
