As per the Ministry of Education, 1.5 million Indian students studied abroad in 2023, largely in graduate and post-graduate studies.
As per Oxford International’s Student Global Mobility Index (SGMI), the US remains the top choice of destination (69%), followed by the UK (54%), Canada (43%), and Australia (27%) for Indian aspirants.
Popular study-abroad destinations such as the UK, Canada, and Australia are adjusting their immigration systems, causing anxiety among aspiring international students and their families.
The upcoming fall intake season further intensifies these concerns, and it is important to decode some of these policy changes and their potential impact by country on student mobility from India.
Study in USA
As per the latest SEVIS data, more than 350,000 Indian students are currently studying in the U.S., making India the highest amongst all nationalities and constituting close to 30% of overall international students studying in America.
Most of the Indian students, studying in the U.S, enroll for graduate and post-graduate programs in science, mathematics, engineering, and management.
Besides a vibrant higher education ecosystem of 4000+ institutions including some of the top ranked universities globally, international students are allowed to work for up to three years after completion of studies, made possible by the optional practical training (OPT) provided by the U.S government.
OPT is quite popular amongst Indian students as it provides them with an opportunity to work in a global environment.
The above is complimented by a high degree of alignment between U.S and Indian Governments on the importance of student visas for fostering US-India academic exchange.
The US consular team in India is implementing serious efforts to reduce the wait times for student visa.
The team is expecting a rise in student visa applications for the year 2024, having issued a record 1,30,000+ student visas in 2023.
Notably, in 2023, India surpassed U.S in the number of GRE test-takers for the first time in the 80 years of its history.
This reflects the continued interest of Indian students in U.S higher education, and how GRE helps Indian students differentiate in their applications.
GRE along with TOEFL iBT which is accepted by 100% of U.S universities have always been the key enablers for Indian students aspiring to study in U.S.
Study in United Kingdom
The UK Government announced some new restrictions on student visa conditions, effective January 2024 wherein except for PhD and postgraduate research students, dependent visas will not be allowed to all other categories of international students.
Further, work visa will be granted to an international student after they have completed their program with a post-course completion job start date.
That said, in good news for Indian students aspiring to study in U.K, a review of the Graduate route published by the Migration Advisory Committee in May 2024 advised keeping the graduate route intact that allows students (except PhD or other doctoral students) to work in U.K for 2 years after completion of studies while PhD and other doctoral students can work for up to 3 years in the U.K.
The Committee, however, highlighted concerns about poor practice by some international student recruitment agents and the UK Government started to introduce more stringent compliance standards for U.K education institutions and their use of recruitment agents.
In the U.K., TOEFL iBT scores are accepted by 100% of universities, including those in the prestigious Russell Group
Canada
Canada announced that it will set an intake cap on international student permit applications.
For 2024, the cap will result in approximately 3.64 lakh approved study permits which will be a decline of 35% from 2023.
In addition, undergraduate students are required to submit a provincial attestation letter (PAL) from a province or territory along with their study permit application, open work permits for spouses are now limited to those of international students enrolled in master’s, doctoral, and professional programs, and Guaranteed Investment Certificate (GIC) to cover living expenses in Canada has been increased from C$10,000 to C$20,635.
Experts suggest that while the changes may restrict a number of Indian students aspiring for undergraduate programs in Canada, these will benefit Indian students opting for master’s, doctoral, and professional programs as graduates from these programs can now avail 3 years of post-study work permits.
Further, IRCC now allows acceptance of four new language test results, including TOEFL iBT for Student Direct Stream (SDS) applicants, giving more choices to aspirants to showcase their English language proficiency. As compared to the normal route, SDS has a much higher visa approval rate besides ensuring the visa is granted within 3 weeks.
Study in Australia
Similar to Canada and U.K, Australia is also tightening its policies around international students. Some key changes include the mandatory appearance for Genuine Student (GS) requirement, an increase in mandated savings to A$29,710 (roughly ₹16.3 lakh) to cover living expenses throughout their studies in Australia and number of work hours allowed during study terms and semesters for international students is capped at 48 hours per fortnight.
However, in a positive development, the Australian Department of Home Affairs (DHA) which had paused the acceptance of TOEFL scores last July, pending a review, has resumed accepting TOEFL scores (test taken at a test center) for all visa purposes effective 05 May 2024.
In addition to the above, there are emerging destination countries such as France, Germany, European Union, Ireland, etc. that have a growing student interest primarily due to good public higher education ecosystem, increasing number of programs that are taught in English and lower cost of living as compared to traditional destination countries.
On the whole, while it might be daunting for aspiring Indian students and their parents to deal with ever-evolving visa and other rules in every country; one must note that there is a strong focus on skilled migrants at nearly all destination markets.
Students must focus on in-demand skills and aim to get a good score in tests such as GRE and TOEFL which can help them get scholarships and a seat in a university of their choice.
Students should also keep multiple options on hand, and therefore a GRE test score which is valid for programs across Sciences, Engineering, Management, Law and Liberal Arts will be useful. Its five-year test score validity is another benefit that the test takers can leverage.
Source : https://www.msn.com/en-in/news/India/studying-in-the-us-canada-and-australia-decoding-new-immigration-rules-for-international-students/ar-BB1pcQem?ocid=BingNewsSerp
