The number of foreign students, especially from India, is rising again in Australia after a sharp decline in 2010 following attacks on Indians. According to the immigration department, over 1,83,000 international students were granted visas in the nine months to March 31 - up 4.5% compared with the same period in 2010-11.

In 2011-12 until March 31, of all student visas granted, 19.5% were to Chinese nationals while 14% were Indian nationals. Indian numbers jumped 43%, compared with the previous year, to reach 27,500.

Offshore grant rates for Indian nationals rose considerably to 61.5% during January-March this year compared to the previous three quarters which were 39.6%, 45% and 53.8% respectively.

According to a report, Monash University migration expert Bob Birrell said many of these students would have originally come here to study cookery and hairdressing, but were caught out when the government cracked down on courses that were seen as providing easy access to permanent residency.

Also, there was a sharp decline in requests for student visas from India after attacks on Indian students in 2010. The Indian government had raised strong protest against these incidents.