Global immigration crackdown ensnares students abroad

International students long the golden goose for universities and colleges in advanced economies - face an increasingly uncertain future as governments seek easy targets to rein in surging immigration.

- SWATI PANDEY, RANDY THANTHONG-KNIGHT & ALICE KANTOR

In the UK, one of the world's biggest destinations for foreign students, the Labour party while in opposition vowed to retain a ban on international students bringing dependents to Britain-the largest source of migration since 2019. In the Netherlands, the government has proposed restricting foreign students' access to Dutch universities.

In Canada, where one in 40 people is an international student, a government clampdown is forcing "puppy mill" colleges to shut down programs. And in Australia, where that ratio is even greater at one in 33, the government has proposed caps on foreign enrolments in universities and is targeting "dodgy providers." The impact is already being feltaggregate visa data for the first quarter of 2024 showed volumes to the UK, Canada and Australia down between 20 per cent and 30 per cent from a year earlier, according to Sydney-listed student placement services and testing company IDP Education, which operates in all three markets.

"Students are the easiest group to control in terms of numbers, that's why they're No.1 on the chopping list and universities aren't particularly powerful constituencies so they're probably also a reasonable political target," said Andrew Norton, Professor in the Practice of Higher Education Policy at the Australian National University in Canberra.

Keir Starmer's Labour party last month ended 14 years of Conservative rule in the UK and hasn't settled on its immigration policy since the July election landslide. Canada and Australia have elections due in the coming 14 months.

Governments are framing the moves as a way to improve the quality of education and stamp out rorting. But critics of the measures say they're also politically motivated as a cost-of-living squeeze and housing shortages since the Covid pandemic sparks a backlash against rapid immigration rates.