When Australia reopened its borders, student visa applications flooded in. In the fiscal year 2022, 218,000 student visa applications were filed from January to June. This set a new high for these months, exceeding the previous high set in 2019. This impressive acceleration was influenced by international students. Out of 218,000 applications, more than 103,800 international students were granted an Australian student visa between January and June. China, India, and Nepal accounted for 49% of all Australian student visas granted.
Number of Australian Student Visa Applications Lodged Shows Pent-Up Demand
The number of international students pursuing higher education in Australia totaled 478,230 for the January-June 2022 period. There was a change of -10% compared to the same period last year. The international student head count for students, from the top 3 countries, studying on a student visa from 2015 to 2022 is represented below.
Number of Australian Student Visas Granted
In 2022, international students accounted for 61% of all Australian student visas granted. This is a pleasant return to normalcy for international students, who accounted for between 62% and 68% of all student visas granted annually between 2016 and 2019. This dropped to 51% in 2020 and 36% in 2021.
Also Check: Australian Student Visa Rejection and Appeal 2022
Increase in Australia Study Visa Applications
In the fiscal year 2022, higher education in Australia and vocational education and training (VET) accounted for 85% of all Australian student visas granted. For these study levels, nearly 196,600 students were granted an Australian student visa. Between January and June, 63% of these students (or 123,000) were granted visas.
From January to June, over 62,200 visa applications for VET were submitted, representing a 9% increase over the previous high. Over 26,700 visa applications were submitted during ELICOS, representing a 25% increase over the previous high. In addition, visa applications for postgraduate research increased 13% over the previous high, with over 4,300 applications received from January to June.
Also Check: Australia Student Visa Process
Top 10 Countries of International Students in Australia
China, India, and Nepal remained a three-headed dragon for international students in Australia. China (23%), India (15%), and Nepal (11%), together accounted for nearly half of all Australian student visas granted in 2022. The total is five percentage points lower than in 2021, indicating that Australia's international student population became more diverse in 2022.
From January to June, all ten of these countries saw a 49% increase in student visas granted compared to the previous months of the fiscal year, with seven markets seeing at least twice as many visas granted.
What's Next for International Students in Australia?
Recently, Australia extended post-study work rights for international students. This expansion will boost Australia's competitiveness as an international student destination market. Overall, the upcoming 2022/23 year in Australia will be an exciting one to watch.
In Australia, there was typically a 20-hour limit per week when classes were in session for international students. The government recently agreed to a proposal to increase the 40-hour per fortnight cap for foreign students while they are studying, with the cap likely to be doubled to 80 hours per fortnight or 40 hours per week.
Also Check: Jobs for international students in Australia
In the year 2022, international students drove this impressive trend and contributed 163,150 of the applications submitted between January and June of this fiscal year. This was a 20% increase over the same months in 2018/19, the previous record high.
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