Australia will soon open to the world, but many Chinese students aren't in a rush to return

Australia will soon welcome back fully vaccinated international students. But those stranded in mainland China, who are temporarily studying online or who have deferred their studies due to the pandemic, warn they won't be flooding back anytime soon.

Billy Lyu has deferred his studies due to Covid-19. Source: Supplied

Highlights

• Chinese students make up a third of the international student sector - Australia’s biggest service export
• Australia’s international education sector is worth around $20 billion, half of what is was worth in 2019 before the coronavirus pandemic
• Despite Australia’s borders reopening to international students by the end of the year, some Chinese students are weighing up their study options and reconsidering their move to Australia

 

When Yitong Tao set out to attain his Australian law degree, he never thought he’d get through two years of it without having set foot on campus.

After the federal government announced that fully vaccinated international students could fly to Australia by the end of this year, Mr Tao likened his chances of returning anytime soon to “winning a lottery ticket”.

An earlier attempt to return in February this year failed when the University of Sydney student tried to enter Australia via a third country.

“I stayed in Thailand for two weeks. On the fourteenth day, I heard on Australian news that there was a large-scale outbreak in Sydney."

中國教育部留學服務中心上月底發佈一則通告，表示將恢復對跨國境線上課程 (即網課)不獲學位認證的規定。 Source: AAP

Instead of making his way Down Under, Mr Tao returned to mainland China where community transmission of COVID-19 had been brought under control due to strict government measures.

International students like Mr Tao are now holding their breath when Australia declares its borders “open”.

"If we can return, it will be great. If we don't, we won't be surprised,” he said.

Students in no rush to return

As of late October, government data showed four in ten student visa holders were stranded overseas, unable to enter Australia.

Two-thirds of those in mainland China, Australia’s largest source country for international students, chose to continue their course online.

Under pilot plans announced by the New South Wales, Victorian, ACT, South Australian and Queensland governments, a limited number of international students will be able to trickle into the country each week by the end of the year.

Source: Supplied by Yitong Tao

But not all those stranded are eager to quickly come back.

University of Sydney’s Sunny Lee said she would only consider returning if she could complete her internship on-site in Australia.

If I return, I need to bear high living expenses. If I go back and can’t access face-to-face learning or complete my internship on-site, the losses will outweigh the gains.

She said her university regularly surveys students’ intention of returning to campus.

“I don’t think of them as significant anymore. I see a lot of information [about plans to bring international students back].

“Much of it doesn’t end up being realised. So, I don’t hold huge hopes.”

Source: Supplied by Sunny Lee

International student Emily Li was given an exemption to return to Australia as a holder of business innovation and investment rather than a student visa.

With both parents based in Australia, the psychology student from Monash University said she was reluctant to leave mainland China and nervous about catching coronavirus.

“I had no choice … It’s dangerous everywhere and I didn’t want to [travel and] take the risk,” she said.

Ms Li said many of her classmates have already given up on returning.

“Many international students affected by the pandemic in Australia felt they received very little support. Many of those around me have chosen to go to the UK to study or just finish their current degree [online],” she said.

“A life disrupted”

Billy Lyu had plans to work in Australia after completing his studies at the Australian National University.

But due to the “social isolation” of online classes, he decided to take a leave of absence from his studies.

Source: Supplied by Billy Lyu

Although he has expressed a desire to one day come to Australia, his life plans have been disrupted by the pandemic.

“I feel like I’m off-track. I don’t know what I should be doing with my extra time,” he said.

Study abroad agent Alex Chen said there are many students in Mr Lyu’s position who were unsure of what to do despite the Australian government’s announcement on the reopening of its borders to international students.

“The news will not particularly impress students. We’ve heard a lot of goods news recently, but how much of what they say will actually be implemented?” Mr Chen asked.

At first, everyone thought the news was pretty good. But then they changed their minds. Unless the government says, ‘you can enter the country immediately,’ not much has changed.

Mr Chen said Australian universities face increasing competition from global institutions with campuses and partnerships with universities in China, such as the University of Liverpool, University of Nottingham and Duke University.

Overseas students, most who originally hail from China, are weighing up their options. Source: Unsplash / Fred Moon

“If you’ve received an offer from in Australia or elsewhere, they’ll accept those students and offer them equal postgraduate places,” he said.

Applications by international students to study in Australian universities have more than halved while borders remain closed according to new data.

International student recruitment marketplace Adventus found in comparison, the international student market grew by 148 per cent in Canada, 150 per cent in the UK and 422 per cent in the US.

CEO Ryan Trainer told Digital Nation, “Universities across the US, UK and Canada are benefiting from Australia being taken out of the mix and seeing a significant surge in international student applications”.

But despite the tense relationship between Australia and China, and the impact of the pandemic, the latest statistics show that there are still a considerable number of Chinese students choosing to study at Australian universities.

Education Minister Alan Tudge. Source: AAP

A federal government report shows that as of July 2021, 140,786 Chinese students have entered Australian universities, a decrease of only 2 per cent compared with the same period last year.

Data from the Group of Eight (Go8) in Australia found Chinese students were still keen on top universities in Australia.

Go8 CEO Vicki Thomson previously stated that as of July last year, the number of Chinese students enrolled in the “Big Eight” had increased by 3.9 per cent to 107,000 students compared to prior to the pandemic.

Universities Australia deputy chief executive Anne-Marie Lansdown believes “the fundamental attractiveness of an Australian education has not changed" despite the closure of Australia’s international borders.