According to an April 2024 report by The Australian Financial Review, the number of international students in Australia has reached an all-time high, but the student visa rejection rate has also increased. How does this affect Chinese students?
As of February 29, 2024, there were 713,000 international students in Australia, the highest number ever recorded. This has pushed the total number of temporary entrants in Australia to an unprecedented 2.8 million.
Official Australian statistics show that by September 2023, the population of Australia had reached 26.82 million.
Observations from China Education Online’s International Education Channel suggest that the population growth and the increase in international students in Australia are results of a “revenge” rebound of long-term immigration and temporary entrants in the post-pandemic era.
After the global COVID-19 pandemic ended and Australia reopened its borders, a large influx of foreigners filled the job vacancies left by the insufficient domestic workforce.
Since Australia reopened its borders in February 2022, relaxed visa policies have allowed international students to work up to 48 hours every two weeks, up from the previous limit of 40 hours.
Additionally, the validity period of work visas for international graduates has been extended: from two years to four years for those with designated shortage skill undergraduate degrees, from three years to five years for those with designated shortage skill master’s degrees, and from four years to six years for all international graduates with doctoral degrees or certificates.
Against this backdrop, the number of new immigrants to Australia has surged, leading to an oversupply of labor and a shortage of job opportunities.
To reduce the number of incoming foreigners, Australia tightened its visa policies, rejecting over 50,000 international students from December 2023 to February 2024, setting a new record.
A new “genuine student test” will be introduced to further limit international students whose primary purpose is to work while studying in Australia.
In reality, the proportion of Chinese students studying in Australia primarily for work purposes is not high. In comparison, Indian students have a much higher demand for work opportunities.