Key Points
- 80 per cent of Indian international students say migration prospects lured them to study in Australia.
- International students are transitioning to permanent residency at lower rates than in the past.
- "Clearer pathways may not lead to more international students moving into permanent residency," says expert.
At least 80 per cent of international students from India indicated that the lure of permanent migration influenced their decision to study in Australia, according to research by the Social Research Centre at Australian National University.
Students from Nepal, Malaysia and Vietnam also indicated that migration prospects motivated them to study Down Under.
Yet only 16 per cent of international students go on to become permanent residents in Australia, while in Canada the figure is 27 per cent.
What is the government’s stand?
Australian Home Affairs Minister Clare O’Neil
In my view, international students are where the big dividends are.Minister for Home Affairs Clare O'Neil
"We are training international students in our world-class education system. But after their studies are finished, many are required to leave.
"When students do stay after graduation, they aren’t transitioning well into the labour market. Around 50 per cent are working in lower-skilled roles than they are qualified for,” Ms O'Neil told the Australian Financial Review's workforce summit on Wednesday.
International students are transitioning to permanent residency at lower rates than in the past. Source: Getty / Getty Images/SolStock
“A lot of those students are busy during the day and during the night, delivering us food or making coffee between classes.
“When they graduate, they go home. It would be great if they stayed on and helped us fill some of those chronic skill gaps that we’ll be talking about later this week. Seems to me like a no-brainer,” Mr Clare said at the time.
While clearer pathways have not been defined, the Albanese Government has started work on its commitment to facilitate longer stays for international graduates to attract more students and compete with other global academic destinations like Canada, the US, and the UK.
The government on Tuesday announced that from 1 July 2023, international students who graduate with eligible qualifications will be granted an extra two years of post-study work rights.
Creating clearer pathways to permanent residency
The government has also commissioned a review of Australia's migration system, the outcome of which is set to be released later this year.
As part of the review, Grattan Institute recommended that offering clearer pathways to permanent residency to temporary visa holders would encourage more talented students to come and study in Australia.
The public policy think tank, however, stated that pathways to permanent residency should not be automatic or based on how long temporary migrants stay in Australia.
"Employers would be more confident in hiring graduating international students if they knew they could sponsor them for permanent residency," says Grattan Institute. Source: AAP
“To achieve this, we should target permanent visas offered via employer sponsorship to migrants who can earn good wages – at least $85,000 a year. At present, we target the type of occupation they work in, rather than the size of the salary they can earn,” he said.
Mr Wiltshire said that employers would be more confident in hiring graduating international students if they knew they could sponsor them for permanent residency within a couple of years.
“The migration review that is underway now will provide some guidance on what direction and the difficult choices the government may make,” he said.
'Clearer pathways may not lead to more international students moving into permanent residency'
But Andrew Norton, a higher education expert from Australian National University, said the migration review may offer some clarity, but would ultimately reduce international students’ prospects of becoming permanent residents.
He said the government would fail to achieve higher targets simply because the number of students enrolling in Australian universities is far greater than the number of places allocated for permanent residency.
“Uncapped temporary visa programmes and capped (residency) quotas will always limit the certainty of PR pathways,” he told the International Education Association of Australia symposium earlier this month.
