Indian students are Australia’s second-largest international student population. More than 28,000 Indian students were granted an Australian student visa during the first ten months of 2021/22.1 And nearly half of these visas were granted in January 2022 and beyond—after borders reopened—highlighting the pent-up demand for an education Down Under.
However, though India represents the second largest source market for the Australian international education sector, this student corridor has been rocky. The Indian student market collapsed in 2009/10, and then stagnated for nearly a decade. In the back-years of the 2010s, student visas granted to Indian students began to rapidly rise, but the COVID-19 pandemic abruptly stopped that momentum.
Today, we’re unpacking several trends surrounding the mobility of Indian students seeking education in Australian. We’ll dig into the prolonged recovery that followed the 2009/10 Indian student market collapse, comparing visa grant rates for offshore and onshore Indian students to students from both China (Australia’s top market) and the rest of the world. We’ll also look at where Indian students choose to study in Australia, and whether they are gravitating toward the higher education sector or to vocational education and training (VET).
Key Insights at a Glance
- In 2008/09, more than 50,000 Indian students were granted an Australian student visa. It took a decade for Australia to return to this number.
- Of the 28,000 Australian student visas granted to Indian students so far in 2021/22, nearly 14,000 were granted after borders reopened from January to April 2022, demonstrating the high popularity of a study abroad experience in Australia.
- From July 2021 to April 2022, only 38% of all student visas granted to Indian students were offshore. But from January to April 2022—since the borders reopened—offshore students represented 48% of total student visas granted to Indian students.
- Since 2016/17, over 97% of Indian students granted an Australian student visa were for either higher ed or VET.
- Over 91% of student visas granted to offshore Indian students were for higher ed since 2016/17.
The Prolonged Recovery From a 2009/10 Student Market Collapse
In 2008/09, more than 50,000 Indian students were granted a student visa to Australia. Did you know it took a decade—until 2018/19—for Australia to return to this total? The charts below show Australia’s road of recovery following the collapse of its Indian student market in 2009/10.
India was neck-and-neck with China for Australia’s top source market in 2008/09. But after the Indian student market collapsed in 2009/10, Australia did not see consistent year-over-year growth of student visas granted to Indian nationals until 2016/17. Also, since 2009/10, Indian students have been granted student visas at a lower rate than students from both China (Australia’s top market) and the rest of the world combined.
Several factors contributed to the 2009/10 drop, including the high Australian dollar compared to other destination markets, and highly publicized attacks on Indian students in Victoria.2 During the near-decade stagnancy in Australia, the Indian student market drove explosive sector growth in Canada, the US, and the UK. With borders reopened, rebuilding and strengthening ties with Indian students should be a priority if Australia hopes to increase its competitive foothold in the international education sector.
Offshore and Onshore: How Student Location Impacts Student Visas Granted
Prior to the 2009/10 market collapse, over 80% of student visas granted to Indian nationals were to offshore students. Let’s take a look at the relationship between student location and student visas granted.
It’s not unexpected to see that students already onshore in Australia experience higher visa grant rates than offshore students. However, it’s surprising that Australia’s second-largest source market sees consistently lower visa grant rates than both China and the rest of the world combined. The future for Australian universities lies in attracting more offshore students from India.
The most tumultuous years for Australia’s Indian student market occurred from 2009/10 to 2012/13, when granted student visas bottomed out at just under 18,000. During this four-year period, offshore students accounted for between 14% to 43% of student visas granted to Indian nationals. This slant toward onshore students has returned over the past two years with the border closure, with offshore Indian students accounting for under 40% of granted student visas in both 2020/21 and 2021/22.
There is some good news. Nearly 14,000 Indian students were granted a student visa from January to April 2022, the time in which borders reopened. More than 6,600 of these students were offshore, representing 48% of the granted visas. This uptrend will be important for Australia to maintain and build upon to avoid the kind of market stagnancy seen in the bulk of the 2010s.
Where and What Indian Students are Studying in Australia
Let’s take a brief look at the regions and study levels primarily attracting Indian students to Australia.
Victoria has long been the most popular Australian destination state for Indian students. Over each of the past six years, Victoria accounted for between 33% and 40% of all Indian students coming to Australia.
Due to the COVID-19 border closure, six of eight states saw student visas granted to Indian students drop by 40% or more during the first 10 months of 2021/22 compared to full-year 2018/19. However, South Australia provides some positive trends, as the state has actually grown its Indian student population during the pandemic. During the first 10 months of 2021/22, South Australia saw student visas granted to Indian students grow by 11% compared to full-year 2018/19. The Australian Capital Territory is also on track to welcome more Indian students in 2021/22 than it had before the pandemic.
At ApplyBoard, we have a wealth of resources to help students find the right Australian destination and program.
Indian Student Visas in Higher Ed and VET
Since 2016/17, over 97% of Indian students granted an Australian student visa were for either Higher Ed or VET, with an additional 1% for postgraduate studies. Let’s dive a little deeper into these study levels.
The strength of the VET sector in recent years despite the COVID-19 border closure is exciting to see. More than four times the number of student visas were granted to Indian VET students in 2021/22 than in 2016/17. Reaching more offshore Indian students could be the next avenue for major growth for Australia’s international education sector. Every year since 2016/17, higher ed accounted for over 91% of student visas granted to offshore Indian students.
Looking Forward
Student visas to Australia are booming since borders reopened. And, on the campaign trail, the now-elected Labor Party promised 20,000 additional university places as part of its “A Future Made in Australia” plan.3 This is all great news for the land Down Under, as international education contributed more than $40 billion to the Australian economy in calendar 2019, prior to the COVID-19 slowdown.4
As we highlighted in our 2021 trends report, the explosive growth of the Indian student market defined the 2010s in many destination markets. For instance, Indian students in Canada grew by 10 times between 2010 and 2019. After many stagnant years, Australia seemed poised to capture some of this growth after a rapid increase of student visas granted to Indian nationals from 2016 to 2019. It will be critical for the country’s international education sector to recapture this momentum now that the COVID-19 headwind has passed.
At ApplyBoard, we look forward to working with the new Australian government, our partner schools, and our recruitment partners to improve the accessibility of Australia’s world-class education for students from around the world.
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FOOTNOTES:
1. All data courtesy of the Australian Department of Home Affairs (ADHA). All data reported according to Australian governmental financial years, which span from July of one year to June of the next year (for example, July 2020 to June 2021 was the 2020/21 year). The data used for this article includes subclass 500 and subclass 570 to 576 visas granted to primary applicants only.
2. Melbourne Centre for the Study of Higher Education, Eggs and Baskets: Lessons from the 2009 decline in Indian student enrolments. Oct 2018.
3. THE, Australian opposition promises more university places. Dec 2021.
4. The Conversation, 2021 is the year Australia’s international student crisis really bites. Jan 2021.
