many countries have tightened their policies on international students, and it's not just the students who are affected
2024-09-21
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our special correspondents in australia, canada and the uk, da qiaotao, duan fangji, shuangcheng and our reporter xu keyue
editor's note: earlier this month, after the australian government announced plans to limit the number of new international students to 270,000 in 2025, the australian minister of education announced the upper limit on the number of international students that each university can recruit. the "australian group of eight", including the university of sydney and the university of melbourne, will be forced to cut thousands of admissions. on september 18, the canadian government said it would further reduce the number of study permits issued to international students and tighten work permit qualifications. according to the plan, canada will issue 437,000 study visas to international students in 2025, a year-on-year decrease of 10%. since australia, canada and other countries are major study abroad destinations in the world, and international education has also made important economic contributions to these countries, a series of measures to restrict study abroad have caused widespread controversy in the education and business circles of these countries. recently, the global times talked with international students, schools, education practitioners, real estate practitioners, etc. in relevant countries to investigate the widespread controversy and collateral effects brought about by the above policies.
the group of eight: the government is making a serious mistake
"we were shocked by the way the ministry of education calculated it. i checked it again and again, thinking i had read it wrong." western sydney university vice-chancellor williams was shocked to learn that the maximum number of international students the university could admit next year was 3,400, a number that was nearly 1,000 fewer than this year's admissions.
australia is one of the world's largest destinations for studying abroad, with the largest number of chinese students, accounting for more than one-fifth of the total number of international students, followed by india and nepal. according to the latest statistics from the australian ministry of education, there are currently about 166,900 chinese students studying in australia, including 126,000 studying in higher education schools and 15,000 studying in vocational and technical schools. the enrollment plans of these two departments will be affected by the new policy. if the policy is passed, the number of international students in australia in 2025 will drop by about 50,000 compared to this year.
the "group of eight" (go8) is a famous university alliance in australia. the members of the alliance are eight internationally renowned comprehensive research universities in australia, including the university of sydney, the university of new south wales, the university of melbourne, monash university, the university of adelaide, the university of queensland, the university of western australia and the australian national university. among them, the university of melbourne is the target university for chinese student xing.
xing is studying at a private high school in perth, the capital of western australia, and is now worried about applying for university. in august last year, after finishing her second year of high school at a key high school in beijing, xing came to perth. "at that time, i thought that studying abroad would give me more opportunities to gain international knowledge and experience, but the new policy now makes me feel very embarrassed." she, who is in her last year of high school, told the global times' special correspondent in australia that her original goal was to study finance at the university of melbourne, which is highly ranked internationally, but as the go8 schools are all reducing the number of international students they admit, she feels "getting further and further away from these schools."
xing said: “i have been in australia for a relatively short time, my grades are not outstanding, and i haven’t had the opportunity to win awards or honors for my other interests and hobbies.” at the advice of her parents, she also began to consider alternative plans, such as applying for several majors with lower international rankings, and applying to several non-go8 universities, such as the university of technology sydney.
xing is not the only student affected. many international students in her high school are also worried about the new policy. one student from shanghai said, "if i had known about this policy, i would have prepared for the college entrance examination in shanghai. it is close to home and i can get support from my family in time."
liu, who graduated from a second-tier university in china and is currently studying at a language school in brisbane, australia, hopes to apply for a graduate program at a top university in australia and improve his job-hunting competitiveness through the "famous school" label. "the new policy should have the greatest impact on students like me who are studying at a language school." he told reporters that the new policy has higher requirements for english, and universities will definitely pay special attention to english proficiency when admitting students. liu told reporters that compared with international students from india, the philippines and malaysia, chinese students' english level is not superior, especially in speaking and listening. some universities will arrange interviews in addition to looking at the materials when recruiting students, which makes many chinese students in language schools discouraged.
the head of a sydney study abroad agency told the global times' special correspondent in australia that the new policy has little impact on students who have already registered and studied in australian universities. it mainly reduces the number of new applicants in the future. in general, australian educational institutions will change from "accepting as many as possible" to "selecting the best" under the new policy. the head said: "i think students who are already studying in australian language schools or middle schools will have a relatively greater chance when applying to australian universities. however, it will become increasingly difficult for overseas applicants from china, especially those who want to apply for go8 popular majors."
several australian media reported that the government set the cap to address the pressure on housing and infrastructure caused by record immigration levels. but go8 believes that this approach itself is flawed. "the government is making a serious mistake." go8 ceo vicky thomson told the global times in a written reply that the decision was a "cruel interventionism" and "economic destruction." thomson believes that this "hasty and imperfect legislation" will have devastating consequences for australia's higher education sector, economy, skilled workforce and international reputation.
thomson stressed that international student tuition fees are crucial to maintaining the research capacity of australian universities. she said: "the go8 bears a heavy responsibility in research, accounting for 70% of all australian university research. currently, australian university research relies on international student tuition fees."
canadian local governments: new regulations must be implemented with caution
in addition to reducing the number of international students accepted in canada, there are also a series of measures to restrict work permits for international students. starting this month, except for the two scarce majors of medicine and law, spouses of international students will no longer be eligible for a "post-graduation work permit" (pgwp); secondly, graduates of the "public university-private university partnership" (pcpp, which refers to small private universities teaching public university courses after obtaining permission) that have been very popular in recent years will no longer be eligible for pgwp regardless of their academic qualifications.
the measures are among the latest in the canadian government’s immigration efforts to address housing and living affordability issues. the canadian immigration department said the reduction in the number of international students is intended to ensure that temporary residents coming to canada are adequately supported, while effectively managing the number of temporary residents to “maintain the integrity of our immigration system and protect vulnerable groups.”
according to the new policy, canada will issue 437,000 study visas to international students in 2025, a year-on-year decrease of 10%. however, mcdonald, head of government relations at the canadian association of colleges and institutes, predicts that the actual decline in the number of international students may be even greater. he said: "the new rules bring uncertainty to many international students. when students receive admission notices from different countries, they may choose to study in other countries."
many canadian experts believe that the new rules involve a complex game of interests, especially since some canadian provinces have a relatively simple economic structure and have relied heavily on the "study abroad economy" in recent years. in addition, compared with australia's new rules restricting study abroad, which affect many first-class universities including go8, canada's new rules have limited impact on first- and second-class universities, and mainly affect third- and fourth-class universities and even some so-called "fake universities", as well as some students who want to take the "curve immigration" path and are not really interested in studying.
according to the observation of the global times' special correspondent in canada, some provincial governments in canada that rely on the "study abroad economy" are very cautious about the new regulations of the federal government. take ontario as an example. last year, the province's public university tuition revenue alone increased from 3.4 billion canadian dollars (1 canadian dollar is about 5.2 yuan) to 4.4 billion canadian dollars. the decline in this income will not only affect the operation of teaching institutions, but also affect employment and real estate in the region. therefore, it is called for the new regulations to be "implemented with caution."
in fact, the canadian government issued this new regulation out of helplessness. although the "study abroad economy" is very important to canada, and canada as an immigration country also needs to supplement highly educated immigrants, the excessive number of international students and their families and the uneven quality have been widely criticized. the toronto star reported that due to the massive recruitment of students by higher education departments and unregulated foreign institutions, more and more foreigners regard studying in canada as a "curve immigration" and a shortcut to get their families to work in canada, which has exacerbated the local housing crisis and rising living costs. many international students who reluctantly stay cannot find jobs and housing, and many can only rely on charity mechanisms such as "food banks" to maintain their food and clothing, which has also exacerbated the conflict between locals and international students.
according to reuters, this issue has become one of the most controversial issues in canadian politics, as the canadian federal house of commons election will be held in october next year at the latest. the canadian "globe and mail" analyzed that the domestic public opinion on the out-of-control number of international students in canada is mostly directed at the ruling liberal party, which once "released a lot of water" to pgwp, and quickly approved permanent residence status for 90,000 pgwp holders in 2021 alone. from 2018 to 2023, the number of pgwps issued in canada increased significantly by 214%. now that the election is approaching, the liberal government has "gritted its teeth" to introduce tough new regulations, and it is difficult to change its orders overnight.
british real estate agents: we hope the government can restore the confidence of international students and investors
according to a report by fortune magazine in august this year, many european governments are also imposing restrictions on international students in order to curb the surge in immigration. according to data from the uk home office, in 2023 (october 2022-september 2023), the uk issued a total of about 486,000 student visas worldwide, a year-on-year increase of 2%. but at the beginning of this year, from january to april alone, the number of student visas to the uk decreased by more than 30,000 year-on-year. the number of visa applications from china, india and nigeria has declined most significantly, and the above three countries are also the most important study abroad markets in the uk.
compared with the "study abroad fever in the uk" in previous years, today's changes have not surprised many chinese students in the uk. xiao an, a chinese student from shanghai, told the global times' special correspondent in the uk that although she has graduated from a british university, she is not excited because the major she studied was not her original choice. when she applied for the major, she communicated with the british university, hoping to participate in courses in the field of aviation automation, but was rejected. in the end, she compromised and chose courses related to industrial automation, but found that many course contents had actually been exposed to or partially studied in depth in china, and felt that it was a waste of time and money. in recent years, one of the reasons why many chinese students have given up studying in the uk is that their professional choices are limited, which is particularly prominent in the fields of science and engineering.
the restrictions on the uk's work visa policy are another problem that troubles many international students. rock, who is from shaanxi and works in architectural design, graduated from a university in london two years ago and spent about 1,000 pounds to apply for a post-graduation work visa for british international students, which allows him to work legally in the uk for up to two years. during this period, he found an internship and a job at the design institute. but when his visa was about to expire, his employer told him that he could not apply for a work visa for him because the immigration department required a minimum annual salary of at least 38,000 pounds, which is equivalent to the salary of a formal employee who has been in the industry for 3-4 years. the design institute told rock frankly that the current economic outlook in the uk is uncertain, business expansion is already under pressure, and hiring foreign employees requires additional taxes, so it is not cost-effective. now, rock is ready to return to china to find employment opportunities. he said: "the uk's study abroad and immigration policies are difficult to attract young talents, and the country's human resources are simply unable to fill the market demand."
more and more international students are unwilling to go to the uk for further studies, which has also brought impacts to local study abroad agencies and real estate agencies. in birmingham, mr. zheng, the head of a study abroad agency with more than 15 years of experience, told reporters that the current business is mainly affected by factors such as the rising tuition fees of international students in universities, the decreasing number of study abroad applications, and the high cost of hiring local staff. this situation has lasted for nearly two years. he also mentioned that the enthusiasm of british universities for recruiting chinese students is not as good as before, so the communication and cooperation efficiency between the two sides is also much lower than before.
in manchester, davis, the manager of a real estate agency, told reporters that although there are still many chinese students studying abroad in the area, the number has significantly decreased compared to seven or eight years ago. at the same time, domestic inflation has intensified, driving up real estate prices, and real estate agency business has become much more difficult than before. davis hopes that the british government led by the labour party can reawaken the confidence of international students and investors and warm up the market, so as to drive the improvement of the british local economy. ▲# hundreds of reviews#
