South Asia Correspondent
New Delhi
INDIAN students in Australia are ranked among the highest risk groups for visa violations, according to a government review which found they were up to three times more likely to breach conditions than the average foreign student.
A review of the student visa program assessment levels, conducted by the Department of Immigration and Citizenship last September across all applicant countries, ranked Indian students alongside Bangladeshis and Cambodians as a level-four risk - the second highest risk category. No country currently ranks as a top level-five risk.
The upgrade resulted in a significant tightening of the rules for Indian students, which is likely to dampen demand for Indian student enrolments more than any short-term impact from recent publicity over assaults on students in Australia, education agents say.
Harmeet Pental, South Asia director of the Australian university-owned IDP Education agency, said he had seen no evidence of a drop in enrolments for the July university semester among Indian students, though that could change next year.
As many as 14 Indian students have been assaulted in Australia in the past month, sparking angry protests in India.
But Mr Pental said of greater concern was the impact new visa restrictions would have on the growth in the numbers of Indian students attending university.
Indian students must now prove they have enough money to survive for the duration of their study and pass more stringent English language tests.
Mr Pental said the crackdown failed to distinguish between "quality" university students and the almost 80 per cent of all Indian students who came to study vocational education training courses such as cookery and hairdressing, seen by many as a backdoor means of gaining permanent residency.
Gulshan Pathania, president of the Association of Australian Education Representatives in India, said while visa breaches were overwhelmingly committed by vocational students, university students were also being punished.
The number of Indian students studying in Australia has risen dramatically in recent years, from 11,313 in 2002 to 96,739 last year.
Immigration risk levels for Indian students were upgraded after a DIAC audit found that in 2006-07, 4.66 per cent of the 58,268 Indian nationals granted visas breached their conditions, compared with an average rate among foreign students of 1.32per cent.
In 2007-08 the unlawful rate among Indian students was 1.48per cent of a total 87,145 Indian visa-holders, compared with 0.99 per cent for the average foreign student.
The Immigration Department insists the visa restrictions will not affect the applications of genuine students.
Additional reporting: John Stapleton
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