Indian Students in Trouble As Australia Doubles Visa Fees

The Australian government has announced that the cost of a student visa for the country has more than doubled. The amount, which was $710 earlier, has now been increased to $1600. The minimum saving requirement for student visas has also been shifted from $16,146 to $19,576. Additionally, holders of Temporary Graduate, Visitor, or maritime crew visas will not be eligible to apply for a student visa whilst they are in Australia.

The reason

The government has claimed that the increased fee will help them fund new initiatives in education, deal with student loans, and provide financial support to struggling students. Clare O’Neil, minister for Home Affairs and Cyber Security, Australia, stated, “The changes will restore integrity to our international education system, and create a migration system which is fairer, smaller, and better able to deliver for Australia.”

Indian Students Affected

With India being the second-largest source country for international student enrolments in Australia – a total of 1,22,391 Indian students in the Jan-Sept 2023 period – the move is bound to affect lakhs of Indian students who were planning to pursue higher education in the land.

Australia has always been one of the top five destinations for Indian students who want to gain international education. Additionally, with strained relationships between India and Canada and the UK announcing stricter immigration rules, various Indian students were looking at Australia as their number one option. However, with the increased visa (now even more expensive than USA or Canada’s visa), lakhs of plans are left affected.

The response

The move has been met with serious opposition by various student bodies in Australia as well as aspiring students from all around the world. Yeganeh Soltanpour, national president, Council of International Students Australia, slammed the new decision, saying that “the possibility of spending all that money only to face rejection is quite disheartening for many students. It has caused many in the community to explore other options and competitive countries.”

Talking to ABC, Phil Honeywood, CEO, International Education Association of Australia, remarked that “we are really in danger of losing a USD 48 billion a year industry”, claiming that the new rule was the “last straw” for the international education sector.

The rule was put into action on July 1, 2024.