Students have been sold a dream by agents and universities

How did international education become so tightly intertwined with immigration? Across the Western world, governments are increasingly ‘clamping down’ on immigration, introducing policies that often directly target international students.

Take United States President Donald Trump’s onslaught on immigration during just his first week in office as a concrete example. While he has bowed to Elon Musk and the tech giants when it comes to H-1B visas so they themselves are not bereft of talent, the prospects for international students studying in the United States don’t look great.

The Netherlands has limited degrees taught in English and Canada has capped international student numbers. And, while legislation to cap numbers in Australia was defeated, through an unholy alliance between the Coalition and the Greens, it looks as if the Labor government still got their way by imposing a slowdown on the issuing of visas when higher education institutions reach a certain threshold of international students.

The origins of this shift can be traced back to 2012 when then United Kingdom home secretary Theresa May revoked post-study work rights for international students.

Under the new rules, international students had only six months post-graduation to secure a skilled worker visa. At the time, May said: “International students not only make a vital contribution to the UK economy, but they also help make our education system one of the best in the world.

“However, it became clear that the previous student visa system failed to control immigration and did not protect legitimate students from poor-quality colleges. The changes we are announcing today will refocus the student route as a temporary one, reserved for the brightest and best. Students will come to the UK for a limited period to study, not work, and make a positive contribution while they are here.”

While the immediate impact was minimal, this policy change had long-term repercussions on the global education landscape.

Global competition

Australia quickly realised that post-study work rights gave it a significant competitive edge in recruiting international students. They leveraged this advantage, making post-study work a key selling point. Australia’s international student market is predominantly driven by agents – over 75% of students come through agent referrals.

It didn’t take long for the UK to recognise Australia as a serious competitor. The United Kingdom was at risk of losing its position as the second most popular destination for international students, according to research from the Centre for Global Higher Education at the UCL Institute of Education published on 19 July 2018.

Professor Simon Marginson, the report’s author, analysed UNESCO data and found that between 2011 and 2016 the number of international students entering the UK stagnated, while Australia and other competitor nations saw significant growth.

Marginson noted: “We are witnessing a seismic shift in the global student market. Although UK higher education remains highly regarded worldwide, the government’s restrictions on international student numbers and post-study work visas over the past five years have stifled growth. Meanwhile, other countries have aggressively promoted their international education sectors.”

According to Marginson’s report, international student numbers in the UK increased by just 2.6% from 2011 to 2015, compared to a 27.9% growth rate in the US during the same period, attributed to the Obama administration’s more open policies.

In 2016, Australia surpassed the UK in attracting students from outside Europe, with its international student numbers growing by 12%-14% annually. Marginson warned that without a change in UK policy, the country would continue to lose global market share. By 2018, he suggested, Australia may have already surpassed the UK in overall international student numbers, including those from both Europe and the rest of the world.

Graduate Route

Following this, intense government lobbying led to the reinstatement of post-study work in 2019 under Boris Johnson’s government, with the introduction of the Graduate Route. It was felt that the abolition of two-year post-study work visas in 2012 was seen by universities as a deterrent to international students, given that rival nations such as the US, Canada and Australia maintained such visas and that it was a particular factor in the dramatic fall in the number of Indian students coming to the UK.

There was great celebration within the sector, and the UK began heavily promoting education primarily based on the ability to work post study, despite the fact that the majority of international graduates historically returned to their home countries.

The British Council spent over £1 million (US$1.25 million) promoting the Graduate Route in key source markets, shifting the conversation away from the quality of UK education to post-study work opportunities.

At the same time as the UK and Australia were doing battle over post-study work rights, Canada emerged as a key study destination for international students, particularly those from South Asia, as it offered a clear path to immigration – something neither the UK nor Australia could meaningfully provide.

The focus of international education thus moved away from teaching quality, research and student experience. Instead, universities and agents began marketing education as a pathway to work visas and eventual immigration.

Agents played a central role, often helping students extend their visas by offering additional courses, allowing them to remain in the country for longer. Plus, a number of agents expanded their offer to education provision, particularly in Australia where city centre private college ‘campuses’ offered predominantly business courses of varying quality. This allowed them to take the full course fee, not a percentage of it.

During this time, many students engaged in part-time work to repay student loans, which, at the time, made sense with interest rates at an all-time low. Lower interest rates and the availability of affordable debt led to a surge in international student numbers, particularly from Africa and South Asia, and increased the number of so-called ‘bogus students’ who were more interested in work than study. Universities, growing agent networks and the rise of agent aggregators only exacerbated the issue.

Pandemic complications

The pandemic further complicated matters. While the UK managed to keep its borders relatively open, Australia enforced strict lockdowns. This led to students frequently transferring between courses to maintain their visas.

Over time, this course-transfer model became a legitimate way for students to extend their stay, resulting in some international students studying in Australia for well over a decade. The Australian government ended so-called visa hopping in July 2024 in its efforts to reduce immigration.

In Q4 2024, 342,500 temporary bridging visas were issued ‘down under’, an increase of 131,000 on the previous year. Although the number of student visas in Australia has peaked, the rise in bridging visas driven by former students refusing to leave, seeking asylum or challenging visa rejections has more than compensated for the decline. This surge is undermining the federal government’s efforts to curb fraudulent student visa applications while also straining the appeals process.

The pandemic also saw the rise of agent aggregators and sprawling sub-agent networks, which experienced little oversight during the pandemic from the universities that contracted with them and led to an explosion in international applications for universities.

At the time unsubstantiated rumours circulated that some aggregators were paying agents or subagents for student applications to increase their pipeline of prospective students. The ensuing surge in international student applications added significant pressure on university international offices tasked with processing them across all major English-speaking destinations.

Aggregators, which take a percentage of agent commissions or charge membership fees, thrive on volume. The more applications they submit, the better their chances of success, leading to a ‘throw enough mud at the wall and some will stick’ mentality. Flush with venture capital and high valuations during the pandemic, these aggregators had massive marketing budgets, further driving up the number of international applications.

Between 2018 and 2023, the number of international students in the UK grew from 580,000 to 758,000 – a 31% increase – bringing in an estimated £2.7 billion. This figure roughly compensated the sector for the loss in value of UK domestic fees due to inflation over the same period.

What went wrong?

It’s ironic that while many universities claim to value education for education’s sake, they and their agents are primarily using work opportunities to attract international students. This raises an important question: What has gone wrong with the system?

Moreover, while universities are happy to promote post-study work opportunities, they offer little support for international students transitioning back to their home countries. The Universities UK International Graduate Outcomes 2024 report stated that just 3% of international students said their university careers service ‘helped them find a job’, up from just 2% in 2019.

Once their post-study work period ends, many students find themselves unable to secure skilled work visas and are either forced to return home or risk becoming illegal overstayers.

Every day, Asia Careers Group SDN BHD receives emails and messages from international graduates nearing the end of their post-study work visas, desperate to secure jobs that would allow them to stay legally in their country of study. They have been sold a dream by both agents and universities, but for many, that dream is far from reality.

Louise Nicol is founder of alsocan and Asia Careers Group SDN BHD.

This article is a commentary. Commentary articles are the opinion of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of University World News.