“The rejection rates right at the visa stage are galloping, and there are higher cross-checks in Germany, Australia, and Canada. The cross-checks from visa officials have upped, and calls are going to the candidate’s education institutes for document checks,” said Nishant Khanna, director, Webberz Educomp Ltd, which helps students secure admissions in foreign universities.

Khanna highlighted that the number of applications in public colleges is high because the fees are cheaper but now even private universities are exercising greater caution. According to media reports in March, Canadian authorities were preparing to deport 700 students who used fake admission offer letters from universities to secure visas.

Forged documents tarnish the reputation of private universities, leading to increased scrutiny from governments and universities, consultants said, adding that they can hurt the prospects of Indian students headed to foreign shores. More than 700,000 went abroad for higher studies in 2022.

Besides forged documents, there is also a rise in cases of students taking up jobs and becoming untraceable. Mint wrote earlier that Indian students allegedly dropped out after taking university admissions in 2022 and moved to cheaper vocational institutes.

In May, two Australian universities, Federation University in Victoria and Western Sydney University in New South Wales, stopped recruitment of Indian students from some states, issuing a note to education agents who facilitate admission for students.

Federation University has stopped the processing of student applications from Punjab, Haryana, Jammu & Kashmir, Uttarakhand, and Uttar Pradesh until further notice, whereas Western Sydney University has paused the recruitment from Punjab, Haryana, and Gujarat for May and June.

Earlier in April, at least four other universities (Victoria, Edith Cowan, Torrens and Southern Cross) paused the intake from select Indian regions. Two more universities (Wollongong and Flinders) amended their application process in March for overseas students from countries considered “high risk”.

Immigration consultant Ajay Sharma said countries are looking at plugging loopholes. “There is a 10-25% increase in Indian students heading abroad from pre-covid times. Countries have to relook at working hours for students because now even their own citizens need jobs in the midst of a recession,” Sharma said.

He noted that after covid, visa acceptance rose as countries opened up after two years. But last year, they realized that the intake was higher than they wanted, compromising student quality.

For instance, Australia, where students could work a maximum of 40 hours a week, scrapped the time limit when covid broke out. In July 2022, it brought back the limits, this time capping it at a slightly higher 48 hours a week.

“There were cases where students went for certain universities but absconded after a few semesters. They started working for food and retail chains as part of an inexpensive and unrecognized labour force,” Ankur Dhawan, president, UpGrad Abroad, said about some students who went to Canada. Last year, Canada decided to temporarily lift the 20-hour-a-week work restriction for international students due to labour shortages.

Updated: 10 Jun 2023, 12:26 AM IST