The Bhutanese Leading the way.
The numbers are in, and the data shows that there is a major drop in Bhutanese heading for Australia in 2024 compared to 2023.
In January and February 2024, a total of 1,787 Bhutanese got student and dependent visas compared to 3,169 in January and February 2023.
However, the 2024 figure is still much higher than the last peak of 2020 January and February at 689 visas granted before the pandemic hit.
In terms of the figure breakdown, January 2024 had 1,153 visas granted compared to 2023 January when 2,001 visas were granted. This is compared to the previous peak of 2020 January at 351 visas granted.
2024 February has 634 visas granted compared to 2023 February which had 1,168 visas granted. This is again compared to the previous peak of 2020 February with 338 visas granted.
The slowdown in January and February 2024 follows the drop in December 2023 when only 1,056 visas were granted compared to more than double the number in December 2022 at 2,680 visas granted.
The drop from December (2023), January and February 2024 is even more stark considering the fact that July, August, September and October 2023 saw the highest ever numbers of Bhutanese getting visas at 4,448 compared to July, August, September and October 2022 when 2,521 Bhutanese got visas.
What seems to have slammed on the breaks is the release of the Migration and Strategy and tougher visa rules and conditions.
However, while the overall numbers have come down, there is a new concerning trend which shows a large spike in children from ages 0 to 14 being taken to Australia in unprecedented numbers.
In 2024 January, a total of 238 children between 0 and 14 got visas compared to 93 in January 2023 or the next highest peak of 44 in January 2019.
Similarly, in 2024 February a total of 189 children of the same age group got visas compared to 82 children in 2023 February.
Given that visa numbers in 2024 January and February have halved compared to 2023 January and February, the numbers of children should come down by half in 2024 but it has almost tripled instead compared to 2023.
In January and February 2024, a total of 427 children between ages 0 and 14 got visas compared to 175 in January and February 2023.
The anomaly of larger numbers of children going are visible in the fact that of the 1,787 who got visas in January and February 2024 only 737 are students while 1,050 are dependents.
What is happening now is that the parents, who left earlier without their children, are now settled and ready to have their children with them in Australia.
The positive here is that the children will finally be reunited with their parents, but the downside is that those going with young children are far less likely to come back to Bhutan, as kids used to the Australian system may not be able to cope back in Bhutan.
Meanwhile, in line with earlier migration strategy announcements as of 23 March, Australia has replaced the Genuine Temporary Entrant (GTE) requirement to get a student visa with a more stringent Genuine Student (GS) requirement.
The 300-word statement in the student visa application form will be replaced with targeted questions.
The intended questions will cover details of their current circumstances, including ties to family, community, employment and economic circumstances, an explanation for the choice of course and reasons for choosing Australia as a study destination, and what benefits the course provides to the applicant.
For applicants with a study history in Australia, details of their study history, and for applicants holding a visa other than a student visa, their reasons for applying for a student visa and any other relevant information the applicant wishes to provide are sought.
The student visa declaration will be amended to require applicants to confirm that they understand that while post-study pathways to permanent migration are available, only a limited number of graduates will be eligible, and those who are unable to remain lawfully in Australia must depart Australia.
Chairperson of the Association of Bhutanese Education Consultancies (ABEC), Palden Tshering, said that the above means that students will now have to write their own answers, and it is good for genuine students, but not so for non-genuine students.
In addition to this, Australia’s Minister of Home Affairs, Clare O’Neil, announced additional measures that will be in effect from 23 March 2024.
English language requirements for student visas will be increased from IELTS 5.5 to 6.0 and for graduate visas from IELTS 6.0 to 6.5.
In coming weeks, the highest risk providers, otherwise known as ghost colleges and visa factories, will be issued with warning notices. They will be given 6 months to get their act together, if not, they are to be suspended from recruiting international students.
The Minister said, “Since September, the government’s actions have led to substantial declines in migration levels, with recent international student visa grants down by 35 percent on the previous year.”
She said the above actions will continue to drive migration levels down.
Further actions are expected in the coming months, in line with the Migration Review Report recommendations to reduce the number of international students.
However, Australia is not the only country tightening the flow of foreign students, but the same also applies for Canada and the United Kingdom.
Palden Tshering said in the past, the trend was that when Australia tightened things, Canada would loosen it, but right now all of them are tightening things.
In Canada, effective from 19 March 2024 work permits will only be available to spouses of international students in master’s and doctoral programs and certain medical, education and engineering courses. The spouses of international students in other levels of study, including undergraduate and college programs, will no longer be eligible for work permit.
Starting 1 September 2024 international students who begin a study program that is part of a curriculum licensing arrangement will no longer be eligible for a post-graduation work permit upon graduation. Under curriculum licensing agreements, students physically attend a private college that has been licensed to deliver the curriculum of an associated public college.
The Government of Canada already set an intake cap on international student permit applications for a period of two years. For 2024, the cap is expected to result in approximately 360,000 approved study permits, a decrease of 35 percent from 2023.
It will result in much more significant decreases in provinces where the international student population has seen the most unsustainable growth.
The UK had already announced that starting from 1 January 2024 foreign students can no longer bring in dependents like a spouse or children unless they are doing a PhD or post graduate research program.
With things tightening up in Australia, Canada and UK educational consultancies are now trying to promote other destinations, like USA, Germany, Ireland, Spain, etc.
