Australia saw a large number of international students who decided to withdraw their student visa applications last year.
According to figures provided by the Australian government, more than 15,300 international students withdrew their student visa applications in 2024, VisaGuide.World reports.
Such a number represents 3.6 per cent of the total filed student visa applications and shows a significant increase compared to the previous years. Withdrawn student visa applications stood at only around 4,156 in 2019 and 5,700 in 2023.
Concerned about these numbers, higher education policy expert Andrew Norton commented on the matter. As VN Express explains, Norton said that the increase in Australian student visa withdrawals may reflect that some international students are giving up on pursuing their studies in Australia.
One of the main reasons why international students are choosing to withdraw their applications, as Norton suggests, is the long processing time.
As Norton revealed, in June of last year, the average processing time for student visas stood at 94 days for those wanting to reach the country for higher education and 171 days for those wanting to reach the country for vocational education.
Taking into account such processing times, Norton said that it is understandable if applicants want to cut the losses that come along with the application process and move on with another plan.
The number of withdrawals is expected to be somewhat similar in 2025 now that Australia has imposed stricter student visa requirements, but that does not necessarily mean that Australia will see a drop in international students.
Record Number of International Students Flooded Into Australia in February 2025
Despite hundreds of student withdrawing their student visa applications last year, the interest in studying in Australia remains high so far this year.
Recent data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics shows that a record number of international students entered Australia in February 2025 alone.
As the Bureau of Statistics disclosed, a total of 201,490 foreign nationals entered Australia on student visas last month, representing a 15 per cent increase compared to February 2019 which has been holding the record until now.
As a former deputy of the Home Affairs Department revealed, currently, there are around 700,000 international students within the territory of Australia pursuing their studies.
In addition to sharing these figures, the former deputy said that the government has no effective tools to control student numbers, suggesting that additional measures will be needed in order for Australia to be able to cut down the number of foreign students.