The Australian government has decided to introduce stricter visa rules for students as the number of immigrants reaches at a record level. For that, the country will introduce stricter English language requirements for students and other criteria, with effect from Mar 23.

Along with this, the government will be given the power to suspend the recruitment process of colleges offering admission to international students by violating the rules.

A special ‘Genuine Student Test’ will be conducted to ensure that international students are genuinely coming to the country to study.

To revive the economy after the COVID-19 pandemic, the Australian government offered some provisions, including unlimited working hours for international students. 

Australia had also decided to increase the number of annual migrations for businesses to hire manpower. However, from now on, the government is on its way to withdraw these relaxations and tighten the rules.

Due to the measures taken by the government since September 2023, the number of visas for international students has decreased by 35% compared to the previous year. Now, further reductions are likely.

Looking back, by Sept 30, 2023, the number of net immigration to the country had increased by 60% to 5,48,800. With the increase in the number of people taking citizenship in Australia, the country’s population increased by 2.5% to 2.68 crore.

Along with this, rising house rents have added to the hardships of Australian citizens.

The number of students from India, China, and the Philippines is also increasing in Australia. According to government statistics, there were about 1,00,000 Indian students in Australia in 2022.