The Effect of Policy Changes on International Students

In 2023 and 2024, the policy landscape relating to international education has been a whirlwind of government announcements and policy changes which have affected the sector and students alike. The impact of policy updates has been widespread and acutely felt in study destination countries.

This article will evaluate data from IDP’s Emerging Futures: The Voice of the International Student survey to show how policy updates are likely to affect international students. It will show whether students are aware of various policy updates, how much impact the updates are likely to have, which policy changes are having the most impact, and what students may do as a result of the changing policy landscape in their original destination of choice.

In our most recent Emerging Futures survey, carried out in February/March 2024, we provided details of significant policy updates in Australia, Canada and the UK that would be likely to affect the respondents. We asked Prospective and Applied students if they were aware of the changes across a variety of subjects.

Savings/finances/fees

All three countries had made changes to financial requirements or visa fees and associated charges for international students:

Post-study work rights and eligibility

There had been numerous policy changes and announcements in relation to international student eligibility and framework settings for post study work.

Family/dependants

Canada and UK made announcements and changes in relation to the families and dependants of international students.

Other policy updates and changes

There were also policy announcements and changes relating to a number of criteria including English proficiency, caps on student numbers, and prevention of visa switching during studies.

Globally, 33% of all the Prospective and Applied student respondents said the impact on their study abroad plans had low to no impact at all. (13% low, 11% very low, 9% no impact at all).

Of the respondents who had indicated either Australia, Canada or the UK as their preferred destination, the highest impact on study abroad plans was felt by those who had chosen Canada.

Are students changing their plans due to policy changes?

We asked Prospective and Applied students who had indicated either Australia, Canada, or UK as their preferred destination to choose a statement that most closely reflected their reaction to policy updates in that country. The options were:

• I will continue with my study plans in my chosen destination

• I am now more inclined to apply to or choose another destination.

• I am reconsidering my study abroad plans.

• I am still unsure of how the policy updates will impact me.

By destination

Prospective and Applied students who had indicated theUK as their study destination were the least put off by the policy updates with 71% saying they were going to continue with their plans. Of those respondents who had chosen Australia, 66% said they were going to continue, and of those who had chosen Canada, 65% said they were going to continue with their plans.

When it came to changing their plans, of the respondents who chose Canada, 8% were considering withdrawing or deferring their study abroad plans, and 9% were inclined to choose another destination. Of those who chose Australia, 8% were considering withdrawing or deferring their study abroad plans, and 7% were inclined to choose another destination. Respondents who had chosen UK as their preferred destination were least likely to be changing their plans, with 7% being inclined to choose another destination and 7% considering withdrawing or deferring their study abroad plans.

Some respondents were not certain of how the policy updates would affect their plans to study abroad: 19% of those who had chosen Australia were unsure, 18% of those who had chosen Canada were unsure and 15% of those who had chosen UK were unsure.

By source market

Using the responses from the five biggest country cohorts that answered this question – India, China, Nigeria, Philippines, Indonesia respectively – students from China (79%) were most likely to continue with their study plans in their chosen destination despite policy changes, followed by students from India (77%), Nigeria (64%), Indonesia, (58%) and Philippines (54%).

Of these five source markets, students from Nigeria (10%) were most inclined to be choosing another destination as a result of policy updates, followed by the Philippines (9%), China (8%), Indonesia (7%), and India (4%).

Of these markets, 16% of students from Indonesia said they were reconsidering their study abroad plans, followed by 13% from the Philippines, then 10% from Nigeria, 7% from China, and 4% from India.

Students from the Philippines (25%) were most unsure of how policy updates would impact upon their plans, followed by 20% from Indonesia, 17% from Nigeria, 15% India, and 7% from China.

We asked the Prospective and Applied students who told us they were reconsidering their study abroad plans to rank the alternative options. Globally, the respondents preferred to ‘study at a different overseas destination’, followed by ‘study locally in home country at a branch campus of an international institution’, then ‘study fully online at an international institution’ and the lowest ranked alternative was ‘study at a local university or college’.

Interestingly, out of the five biggest country cohorts answering this question (China, India, Nigeria, Philippines and Indonesia respectively), all but China ranked ‘study at a different overseas destination’ as the preferred option. Chinese students, however, ranked ‘studying at a different destination’ as the lowest of the four options and instead ranked ‘studying locally in home country at a branch campus of an international institution’ as the preferred option.

Which Policy change has influenced a change of mind among students the most?

When students indicated they have changed their mind about studying in their preferred country because of policy changes, we asked them which update had been most influential in their likely decision to choose another destination.

Of those students (Prospective and Applied) who indicated Australia as their preferred destination, 52% said the increased amount of required savings to be eligible for an international student visa was the most influential policy update in relation to their change of mind, followed by the reduced duration of post-study work rights (24%), then higher minimum English proficiency (13%) and the altered age limit for temporary graduate visas (11%).

Of those students (Prospective and Applied) who indicated Canada as their preferred destination, 46% said the minimum cost of living financial requirement increase is likely to have the most influence their change of mind, followed by withdrawal of post-study work rights for students enrolled in PPPs (20%), then the cap on student numbers (16%), potential limits on availability of open work permits for dependants of international students (10%) and the expanded work rights for international graduates who study in Canada (8%).

Of those students (Prospective and Applied) who indicated the UK as their preferred destination, 40% said the increased visa fee and Immigration Health Surcharge was the most influential policy on their change of mind, followed by 19% saying the prevention of visa switching from student to a work visa, then 15% citing the changed salary threshold for a Skilled Worker visa as the most significant change, with 13% saying the change of policy on bringing dependents has been the most influential and 13% citing the review of the Graduate visa as the main reason.

The data shows that the top influencing policy changes behind students’ possible changes of mind and choosing another destination are predominantly relating to finance.

The most recent Emerging Futures data shows that many students are aware of the policy announcements and changes that are likely to affect their international education journey. However, there are still significant numbers of students who may not be fully informed, so it is important for institutions and agents to ensure students have all the knowledge they need to make the best choices about their study destination.

Around a third of all Prospective and Applied students said the policy changes would have little to no impact on their study. This means that approximately two thirds of the cohort said they would experience either medium or high impact to varying degrees. Again, this shows that institutions and destination managers must do as much as they can to allay prospective students’ fears and make sure they have the most up-to-date information available at every stage of the funnel. The right content, advice and information can ultimately reassure prospective students that their first-choice destination remains suitable or enable a student to change their plans with confidence.

At the time of this Emerging Futures research, students who had chosen Canada as their study destination were experiencing the highest level of impact due to policy changes. However, the survey was in the field before major changes occurred in Australia, including visa fee increases and the announcement of caps on international student numbers. So, it will be interesting to see the effects of these changes and of potential positivity in the UK following the welcoming rhetoric of the new Labour Government.

This Emerging Futures research showed that it is the financial elements of policy change that are the most influential, and most likely to be the cause of a prospective students changing their mind about where to study. This reinforces our knowledge that students are increasingly price sensitive and establishes that institutions must continue to work hard to enable student mobility – international education must never be only for the super-rich and students will need to see quantifiable returns on the investment.

Thankfully, the majority of Prospective and Applied students who had chosen Australia, UK or Canada as their study destination told us they were going to continue with their plans. This is gratifying and reinforces the notion that international education is aspirational and transformative. However, institutions, stakeholders, and decision makers must be proactive and vociferous in strategies to influence policy for the benefit of international students and to ensure students globally are able to achieve the outcomes they desire.

Simon Emmett, CEO of IDP Connect, said, “The political discourse around international students is in sharp focus right now and what has been particularly interesting is to witness how the changes are stacking up in all the major destinations.

“International students have found themselves in a time of heavier regulation, greater scrutiny and increasing pressure, which creates an uncertain setting for them to commence their study abroad journey.

“It is up to us, as an industry, to continue to create a positive and welcoming environment for students, so they can make their study choices with clarity and certainty.”

Looking towards our next Emerging Futures survey, which will be launched on 23 October, we will be finding out more about how students are being influenced by policy changes and what are the factors that might make them change their minds.

The Emerging Futures survey results contain a wealth of student data, which is available to Core Partners via their IQ dashboards. To find out about Emerging Futures and the benefits of being a Core Partner contact IDP today.