Australia increases minimum savings limit for student visa, Indians to be impacted

Australia on Wednesday (May 8) announced another hike in the minimum savings requirement for international students to get a student visa, as part of efforts to manage record migration.

The country further warned various colleges to remain cautious against fraudulent student recruitment practices.

The international students from Friday (May 10) will be required to show proof of savings of a minimum of A$29,710 ($19,576) to access their visa. This is the second increase in minimum savings requirementin around seven months.

It was increased to A$24,505 from A$21,041 in October.

Australia's crackdown on migrants and student visas

The step has been taken after multiple actions were adopted in recent months with the aim of tightening COVID-19 restrictions in 2022 which led to a sudden influx of migrants and increased pressure on an already tight rental market.

In March, Australia increasedEnglish language requirements for student visasand steps were taken by the government to stop the prolonged stay of the students.

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Home Affairs Minister Clare O'Neil said that they had sent warning letters to 34 education providers for "non-genuine or exploitative recruitment practices".

She added that those education providers can be imprisoned for up to two years and banned from recruiting students if they are found guilty.

"Dodgy providers have no place in our international education sector. These actions will help weed out the bottom feeders in the sector that seek to exploit people and trash the reputation of the sector," said O'Neil, in a statement.

In Australia, international education is one of the largest export industries and its worth was A$36.4 billion ($24 billion) in 2022-23.

However, record migration - because of increase in the number of international students - has placed the government under pressure as rental prices soared across the country.

The government is aiming to reduce the number of migrants in Australia by half in the next two years.

"We are significantly reducing migration levels - we are in the middle of the biggest drop in migration numbers in Australia's history, outside of war or pandemic," said O'Neil.

How will increasing the minimum savings limit impact Indian students?

The step is likely to hit Indian students in Australia hard. In the wake of reports suggesting targeted visa denials to Indian students, a former Australian diplomat to India said that such steps can impact bilateral relations.

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In 2023, Australia witnessed a record number of migrants, and students from India, China and the Philippines headed the inflow.

There has been a 48 per cent decrease in the visas granted to Indian students between December 2022 and December 2023, as per a report.

India remains the second-largest country from where international students are travelling to Australia. In between January-September 2023. 1.22 lakh Indian students were studying in Australia.

(With inputs from agencies)