Australia study visa grants down almost a third by April 2024, govt data

The increasing rejection of study visa grants is adding to the stress on aspirants who seek to take admission to Australian universities. Now, the government data has shown that the study visa grants are down significantly for the first four months of 2024.

Australia's Department of Home Affairs data shows that study visa grants are down significantly for the first four months of 2024. The four-month data compares to a 53% drop in visas granted to offshore students between 2019/20 and 2020/21 as the pandemic took hold.

From January through April of this year, 74,421 study visas were granted to offshore applicants which is nearly a 30% decline (-29.1%) from 104,808 granted in the same period in 2023.

The sectors which were hit hard were language training (ELICOS) and vocational education and training (VET) which recorded -56% and -69% declines in visa grants respectively.

Data is reflection of changes in government's migration policies

New migration settings were introduced around December 2023, and these data points are being seen as the immediate effects of the policies introduced recently.

Troy Williams, the chief executive of the Independent Tertiary Education Council Australia (ITECA), said, "Just as many quality skills training and higher education providers are just beginning to recover from the financial impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic and the associated border closures, the Australian Government's approach to international student visa approvals threatens the commercial sustainability of these organisations. There will be job losses that can be directly attributed to Australian Government policy," as reported by ICEF Monitor.

Universities Australia's Chief Executive Officer Luke Sheehy also said, "Decades of careful and strategic work by universities and the Government has seen Australia grow to be a leading provider of international education. We can’t let this work go to waste. The sector contributed AUS$48 billion to the economy last year, accounting for over half of Australia’s economic growth and supporting the vital work our universities do on behalf of all Australians. Stability and growth in the sector are essential for our prosperity and to ensure universities can meet the nation’s skills needs and continue helping the Government to deliver national priorities."

The University sector in Australia is also fearing job losses due to the government's stance on international students' migration. The University of Melbourne has issued a statement against imposing of a cap on international students.

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