Australian unis limit Indian students over sham visas

Australian universities are cracking down on students from some Indian states amid a rush of fraudulent visa applications.

There are concerns in the government and the higher education sector that the integrity of Australia's immigration system is at risk, with migrants seeking to game the student visa system as an easier pathway to access work rights.

Since the re-opening of borders to international students after the COVID-19 pandemic, applications have rebounded faster than expected.

Applications from Indian students in particular are expected to exceed pre-pandemic highs of 75,000 after Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Indian counterpart Narendra Modi signed a wide-ranging agreement making it easier for citizens to travel and study between the two countries.

An investigation by The Age and The Sydney Morning Herald found five universities - Victoria University, Edith Cowan University, the University of Wollongong, Torrens University, and agents working for Southern Cross University - are putting in place bans on Indian students to pre-empt greater restrictions being imposed by the Home Affairs Department.

Home Affairs applies ratings to countries they deem to have a higher risk of entrants not abiding by the terms of their visas.

The department told the newspapers that since the easing of COVID border restrictions in 2021 they had "witnessed an increase in incomplete applications and presentation of fraudulent information and documentation in student visa applications".

Applications from south Asian countries surged after the Morrison government removed limits restricting student visa holders to a maximum of 20 hours of work per week.

In February, Home Affairs rejected 94 per cent of applications from India to study in Australia's vocational sector, compared to less than one per cent of student applications from countries including the US, the UK and France.

Insiders have accused education agencies, who help recruit prospective international students in exchange for commissions, of misleading conduct in order to attract more applicants.

In March, Canada's border security agency expelled more than 150 Indian students for entering the country on forged college admission letters.

The students claimed to have been duped by an immigration consultation agency in India that provided them with the forgeries.

A federal parliamentary inquiry into international educational is holding its first hearing on Tuesday.