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To get to Australia on a student visa, the majority of applicants enrol in a university \u2013 yet tens of thousands of them instead end up in the vocational education system.<\/p>\n
How does this happen? An immigration agent described the typical process based on real cases they had seen.<\/p>\n
The student is from Haryana in India\u2019s north, where multiple Australian universities this year briefly suspended recruitment of students because of fears too many from the region were \u201cnon-genuine\u201d temporary entrants.<\/p>\n
Let\u2019s call the student Priyanka, a common name from the region. She takes a common path for students as they work towards permanent residency in Australia \u2013 the aim for many of the 102,000 Indians and their families who arrive for study in the year to June.<\/p>\n
Initially, Priyanka applies to study in another Western country well-known for its international education. She is refused entry twice because that country\u2019s immigration department did not believe she was coming temporarily.<\/p>\n
So, instead Priyanka turns to Australia, where her application to study is approved by one of the country\u2019s oldest universities. To get that approval, she had to prove she had sufficient funds to remain in Australia for a year.<\/p>\n
To satisfy this requirement, her family claims to have an \u201cagreement to sell\u201d their house \u2013 a common practice in India for poor families like Priyanka\u2019s wishing to get their children access to a wealthy country like Australia.<\/p>\n
Once students like Priyanka are in Australia and have passed a \u201cgenuine temporary entrant\u201d test, the sale does not usually proceed. The \u201cgenuine temporary entrant\u201d test is a statement all international students must make to explain why they do not intend to remain in Australia permanently.<\/p>\n
Priyanka\u2019s statement is very convincing: she says her family\u2019s combined income last year was just over $A21,000, and that she wants to study a Bachelor of Business at the university so that she can return to India for an entry-level position in her country\u2019s electronics industry.<\/p>\n
Priyanka\u2019s parents also submit their combined tax return as part of the application; it shows they earned $A13,000 last year. This makes Priyanka\u2019s \u201cconfirmation of enrolment\u201d particularly confounding: her initial tuition fees for the first year would be $16,000. Her \u201ctotal tuition fee\u201d over three years of a Bachelor of Business degree would be $87,000, paid to the university \u2013 fees her family certainly could not afford if she proceeded.<\/p>\n
But Priyanka never gets the bill because she never starts. She was meant to begin her study at the university this year.<\/p>\n
Instead, once in Australia, she came to Melbourne and enrolled in a reputable vocational college in the CBD, studying kitchen management, at the far more affordable rate of $3600 in total tuition fees.<\/p>\n
Unlike some ghost colleges, Priyanka\u2019s school is well-attended. Her cookery certificate IV began in April.<\/p>\n
Next year, she will move onto a $4500 diploma course at the same college. At a further cost of $1000 to lock in further study, she also takes out a future enrolment in a Graduate Diploma of Management, starting in 2025, with a little-known provider in Melbourne\u2019s outer west.<\/p>\n
Priyanka will finish that study in 2026.<\/p>\n
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