Why's Australian crackdown rattling Indian students? Whopping 25% fake visa applications

This is what happened several months ago. A teenager living in the housing society where I reside was sent to Australia to study at a university in Sydney with much fanfare. The parents, whom I often met as part of a group, would tell us how easily the boy got his admission with the help of "some well-meaning friends," adding that they had obtained an education loan to ensure he could study at a graduate school.

On reaching Sydney, the boy's parents—especially the father—would tell us how a place to stay had been arranged by a "very close friend" at virtually no cost, and that the boy was "extremely happy." We would be shown photos of the boy at various spots in the city as evidence of his happiness.

But as time passed, the father began to complain that his son had to "walk a lot" from where he stayed in order to catch public transport. "He gets tired on return," he would tell us, adding that food was another problem. "He has to prepare his own food, which he has never done. Besides, while we can afford outside food, since he is a pure vegetarian, he isn't very comfortable with what's available on the counter."

A month or so later, we found that the boy had returned. The reason? He was "unable to adjust," and his mother was quite worried about him. "She advised him to return," the father said, adding, "We have been promised by the university to return the advance fees deposited for his studies… Good that he is back..." Ironically, the parents never revealed which agent, if any, had organized the boy's student visa.

While this boy returned after failing to adjust to a foreign environment, a news item published in the Times of India, authored by my ex-colleague Bharat Yagnik, suggests that Australia has now clamped down on Indian students, with the country joining the US and Canada in tightening immigration norms for Indian students, and several universities halting applications from six states, including Gujarat. The universities which have cracked the whip are Federation University, Western Sydney University, Victoria University, and Southern Cross University. Apart from Gujarat, the affected students are from Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, and Jammu & Kashmir.

The news item quotes what it calls visa consultants and foreign education experts—especially from Gujarat—pointing out that they are "rattled." In their estimate, "20% of students from the state heading abroad typically choose Australia, a figure likely to drop with these new restrictions."

Foreign education consultant Bhavin Thaker is quoted as saying, "This has dramatically reduced the number of opportunities available to students. Of every 100 students who plan to study overseas, at least 20 are directly impacted. With Canada and the US already tightening immigration policies, and now Australia going the same way, the list of accessible countries is shrinking. While there's no official government statement yet, the message is quite clear."

Visa consultant Lalit Advani is cited as claiming, "The decision by Australian universities to restrict applications from certain regions within India will impact genuine students. The majority of applicants are sincere, and they can be easily identified based on their academic scores, background, and intent. Blanket bans only add to the frustration."

No sooner had I read the news item than I forwarded it to my college friend Neeraj Nanda, who runs South Asia Times, an online periodical in Melbourne, and phoned him up to find out what was happening, and what the Australian side of the story was. Nanda, who was my colleague at Link Newsweekly in Delhi in the early 1980s, told me that this is an "old story," pointing out that the authorities in Australia have discovered how Indian students submit fake documents to study in Australia.

"The largest number of foreign students come from India and China. While Chinese students generally return, Indian students try to stay back. What I know is, most of these students coming with fake papers are from three states—Gujarat, Haryana, and Punjab. It is the job of the agents appointed by the Australian authorities in India to verify the documents and send them to the respective universities for admission. Some of these agents may be running this racket," he told me.

According to him, "Earlier also, there was a crackdown on those submitting fake papers to gain admission, though this time, as the Times of India story suggests, there appears to be a blanket ban from the states which send the highest number of such students."

A quick search suggested that the Australian Department of Home Affairs reported that approximately 25% of student visa applications from India are now considered fraudulent or non-genuine. Many Indian students, particularly from Punjab, Haryana, and Gujarat, who commenced studies in 2022, did not continue their enrollment. The trend suggests that some students may be using the student visa pathway primarily to gain employment opportunities in Australia.

In 2023, Western Sydney University informed agents that "a large number of Indian students who commenced study in 2022 intakes have not remained enrolled, resulting in a significantly high attrition rate”—one reason the university decided to pause recruitment from Gujarat, Haryana, and Punjab. The ban lasted for two months—May and June 2023. A stricter ban or scrutiny has now been imposed.

Meanwhile, according to reports, the Australian government has also increased the financial requirements for student visa applicants, requiring proof of savings of at least A$29,710 (approximately ₹16.3 lakh) to qualify for a visa. 

These restrictions—negatively impacting legitimate students and straining Indo-Australian educational ties—may have become difficult to remove unless addressed through diplomatic or policy interventions.