13 July 2023The Prime Minister has announced a big hike in visa fees and the compulsory charges migrants face to access the UK’s health system to pay for public service pay rises. Visa fees will rise by 15 per cent and upwards (see below) and the Immigration Health Surcharge is set to increase by 64 per cent, in a move that those who work with migrants on lower incomes warn will push many into debt at a time when price inflation is causing the cost of living to spiral upwards. The full details of when fee increases will commence are…

While most UK universities have increased the tuition fees they will charge international students next year, few have dared to increase them above the rate of inflation, new data reveals. Experts said that institutions may have worried that trying to keep pace with inflation – currently nudging double figures in the UK and many other nations – would be a risky strategy in such a competitive market. Figures from The Knowledge Partnership’s (TKP) Courses 360 database show that the majority of a sample of 154 public universities raised their full-time undergraduate international fees for 2023-24 entry, but only 18 (12…

Student Recruitment Agents in International Higher Education looks comprehensively at how agents fit into the sector and their practices.  In the book, editors Vincenzo Raimo, Pii-Tuulia Nikula and Eddie West outline the benefits and detriments that can come with working with education agents, along with chapter contributions from various stakeholders.  For students, it says, the benefits can be plentiful, mostly around easing the “complexities of finding a suitable institution and study destination” abroad.  “[This is] as well as finding out how the application, admission and visa processes operate,” the trio wrote. The relationship between institutions and agents, the book indicates,…

International student benchmarking surveys done during this time rated our nation poorly for the support we provided. A megaphone statement by our then prime minister Scott Morrison that overseas students should “just go home” only added to this reputational damage.As was so often the case, when the Morrison government finally decided to reopen the borders to international students, its motivation was soon brought into question. Without any consultation with international education stakeholders, it decreed that students coming back here on full-time study visas would be permitted to work unlimited hours. For obvious reasons, corporate Australia welcomed the announcement. With working…

Over the weekend, CEO of the International Education Association of Australia, Phil Honeywood penned an opinion piece in The Australian Financial Review. His point is to warn the public that Australia’s reputation as a great educational destination is at risk. The Koala has been paying attention to the subtext of such stories coming out at the moment as most are finding ways to speak directly to reviews currently coming up to decision time, these being:  the inquiry into the International Education and Tourism sectors by the Joint Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade; and the Review of the…

The Federal Government is currently facing challenges that could see a crash in student visa numbers, resulting in a costly aftermath, writes Dr Abul Rizvi. IN THE PAST 40 years, whenever student visa numbers have increased very rapidly, this has come to an end with an almighty crash with far-reaching consequences for both students and education providers. Often, the Australian taxpayer had to pay to clean up the situation. It happened in 1989-90. Addressing the aftermath of that took almost a decade. It happened again in 2008-09 and again in 2019-20. While each of these “crashes” was triggered by particular…

Universities “ignore at their peril” calls by a group of Conservative MPs to cut international student numbers in the UK and bar some institutions from recruiting them, although a Tory former minister warned that such plans would undermine the UK economy. The New Conservatives, a group of newer backbench MPs on the right of the party, often from “Red Wall” constituencies, attracted headlines by setting out a policy agenda to slash net migration aimed at putting pressure on prime minister Rishi Sunak. Their agenda included the complete axeing of post-study work visas and blocking the “poorest performing” universities outside the Russell Group from recruiting any overseas students. Tom Hunt, the…

Useful and informative polling. Money quote:…leaders need to demonstrate there’s a coordinated, well-resourced plan to respond to the pressures created by growth. In my view, that has been sourly lacking from all levels of government. This should also be a wake-up call to leaders from all three levels of government that if investments in infrastructure – like housing, healthcare services, and transportation – are not expediated to meet the growing population, opposition to immigration could increase thereby creating conditions for the rise of a more nationalist/populist political response. —- I can’t remember the last time immigration featured prominently in national…

The IIE’s Spring 2023 Snapshot on International Educational Exchange highlights that for the 2023/24 academic year, US higher education institutions are looking towards India. According to IIE data, in 2021-22, the top 10 senders of students to US higher education institutions were: ChinaIndiaSouth KoreaCanadaVietnamTaiwanSaudi ArabiaBrazilMexicoNigeria In 2021-22, Chinese enrolments fell by -8.6%, in contrast to an 18.9% year-over-year leap in Indian enrolments.  – Advertisement – Experts believe that the increasing focus on India is due to the “unpredictable Chinese student market”. Dr Esther D. Brimmer, NAFSA executive director and CEO, told ICEF Monitor: “The US is in a global competition for talent…