E-Paper
Indian students face tougher path to Australia as visa approvals plunge and applications continue to slow
Indian students are struggling to secure Australian student visas, with a 16% decrease in approvals for higher education.
Indian students are facing increasingly difficult odds of securing Australian student visas, with latest government data showing a sharp decline in visa approvals even as India remains one of Australia's largest international education markets.
According to the data released by Australia's Department of Home Affairs, applications for higher education visas from India declined during the 2025-26 financial year, contributing to an overall 3 per cent fall in offshore student visa applications. The slowdown coincided with a broader decline in demand from key source markets, led by a 26% fall in applications from China.
Nepal and Bangladesh registered increases in applications, but higher refusal rates meant visa approvals fell across all of Australia's six biggest source markets.
India was among the countries most affected by lower visa approvals. Overall higher education visa grants fell 16% compared with the previous financial year, despite applications remaining above pre-pandemic levels.
Visa approvals fall despite steady overseas demand
Overall, Australia granted 16 per cent fewer higher education visas during 2025-26 than in the previous financial year. The data indicates that visa approvals have returned to pre-pandemic levels even though offshore applications remain about 10 per cent higher than in 2018-19.
The slowdown became more pronounced in June 2026. Australia issued fewer than half as many higher education visas to offshore applicants compared with June 2025, signaling a sharp tightening in visa processing.
Indian students were among the hardest hit. Visa grants to Indian applicants in June dropped 75 per cent from a year earlier, while only 46 per cent of higher education visa applications from India were approved during the month.
Higher fees add to concerns
The visa data predates Australia's decision to increase the student visa application fee from A$2,000 to A$2,500 from July 1, a move that education consultants fear could further discourage prospective students, as reported by Times Higher Education.
The latest figures come as Australia's federal government maintains international student allocations for public universities in 2027. While public universities retained the same allocations as in 2026 and some private colleges received modest increases, recruitment has remained below available limits.
According to the federal education department, only six of Australia's 37 publicly funded universities had reached 80 per cent of their allocated international student intake for 2026.
According to Times Higher Education, the latest figures suggest that tighter visa processing, coupled with rising application costs, is emerging as a bigger challenge for Australia's international education sector than enrolment caps.
