Australia to limit number of foreign students from 2025

Record migration – driven by students from India, China and the Philippines – has expanded the labour supply, but exacerbated Australia's already tight housing market.

Australia will cap international student intake at 270,000 to ease pressure on the housing market. Photo: Shutterstock

Australia said on Thursday it will cap international student enrolments at 270,000 by 2025, as the government seeks to rein in a record influx of migrants that has contributed to rising rents.

The decision follows a series of moves since last year to end Covid-era student and overseas worker incentives that helped businesses recruit locally while tight border controls kept foreign workers out.

According to Education Minister Jason Clare: "There are now about 10% more international students studying at Australian universities than before the pandemic and the number of international students studying at private training and vocational education and training institutions in this country has doubled."

International education is one of Australia's largest exports, worth $24.7 billion to the economy in the 2022-23 financial year.

But polls show voters fear the influx of foreign students and workers will put undue pressure on the housing market, making immigration one of the potential big battlegrounds in an election less than a year from now.

Net immigration hit a record high in the year to 30 September 2023, rising 60% to a record 548,800, up from 518,000 in the year to June 2023.

Australia has increased its annual migration intake from 2022 to help businesses recruit staff to fill shortages after the Covid-19 pandemic triggered strict border controls and kept foreign students and workers out of the country for nearly two years.

A record wave of migration — driven by students from India, China and the Philippines — has expanded the labor supply and curbed wage pressures, but exacerbated an already tight housing market.

In an effort to curb migration, the Australian government last month doubled visa fees for foreign students and pledged to close a “loophole” in regulations that allows foreign students to repeatedly extend their stay in the country.

Source: https://baoquocte.vn/australia-se-han-che-so-luong-sinh-vien-nuoc-ngoai-tu-2025-284084.html