Australian Universities see drop in student visas from China

The number of students from China applying for student visas to study at Australian universities for the following summer has dropped dramatically. Changes to Australian skilled immigration are thought to be the cause of the decline in student visa applications.

Chinese student visa applications to Australian universities have dropped by 40 percent for the next summer session. Technical and Further Education colleges have seen a decline of 80 percent in Chinese student visa applications.
The marked drop in student applications could cause a crisis in Australia's ducation industry as Chinese students represent approximately $6 billion in revenue. Chinese students make up an estimated 27 percent of Australia's foreign student population.
The drop in Chinese students is blamed on recent changes to Australian immigration law. On 01 July 2010, the Australian government reduced by 50 percent the number of skilled occupations which are eligible under its popular General Skilled Migration programme.
The Australian skilled occupation list while much reduced since 1 July 2010 has far more occupations on it than the Canadian occupation list. The Australian skilled occupation list has 181 occupations compared to 29 occupations under the Canadian Skilled worker programme.
Canada, the United States and a number of other Countries are trying to attract overseas students as well. Australia needs to work hard to continue to attract students from China and around the World.

Canadian Immigration Minister encourages Chinese immigration to Canada


Immigration Minister Jason Kenney visited Beijing recently one of the stops during his visit to Asia. He mentioned that China was "…the number one source country for immigrants to Canada…" The immigration minister went onto to say:
"Canada has benefited enormously from immigration from China."
Immigration Minister Kenney also had the following say about Chinese visitors to Canada:

• The first quarter of 2010 saw China ranked first in visas and extensions issued to visitors.
• There were14% more visitors from China in the first quarter of this year compared to the first quarter of 2009.
• There were 46% more visitors from China in the first quarter of 2009 compared to the first quarter of 2005.

Immigration Minister Kenney also had the following to say:
"That means more Chinese nationals are visiting their family here in Canada than ever before. With the implementation of the Approved Destination Status, which allows Chinese travel agents to advertise and organize tour groups to Canada, that number will only rise."
There has been a substantial increase in the number of students studying in Canada. There were 50,000 students living in Canada in 2009. This represents an increase in 300% in the number of Chinese students living in Canada in the last ten years. The Canadian immigration minister also had the following to say about Chinese students in Canada:
"We are committed to increasing the number of Chinese students attending Canadian colleges and universities;"
"…and in the course of my visit to Beijing, I made an important announcement about how our government will encourage even more students to study in Canada."
The Immigration minister mentioned that while Canadian Immigration wished to encourage immigration of genuine Chinese students, visitors and immigrants the Canadian Government also wanted to reduce levels of immigration fraud:
"While many consultants do good work, we want people to know that it's not necessary to hire a consultant to come to Canada."
"And with the help of the Chinese government, we want to put a stop to the ones who are engaging in fraud."
The list of cities around the World that the Immigration Minister Kenney included in his trip include, Paris, Delhi. Manila, Canberra and Sydney. This shows that Canada is serious about attracting the right sorts of immigrants from around the World.