The visa hopping ban has no impact on highly skilled migrants

Migrants who switch between student visas have worse chances in the labor market. That means the government’s recent ban on visa hopping is unlikely to result in a significant loss of talented migrants, a new study from the e61 Institute has found.

The study compared the jobs and salaries of international students who received a second student visa and those who did not, and found that during their time as graduate visa holders, visa hoppers:

• earn, on average, 20% less than other graduate visa holders

• Earn 10% less than other graduate visa holders working in the same profession

• You will earn a similar salary to other graduate visa holders who return to their home country after their graduate visa expires

• Compared to other graduate visa holders who have switched to permanent visas, they are more likely to work in relatively low-skilled jobs, such as retail or hospitality.

“Our analysis shows that while the gap has narrowed in recent years, students who apply for visas continue to earn less on average than international graduates who have obtained permanent residency,” said e61 research manager Silvia Griselda.

“Even if you compare international students in the same jobs after graduation, those who end up switching between visas are the ones earning lower wages.”

“This suggests that the ban on visa hopping will primarily affect lower-income migrants, who are often employed in low-skilled jobs – and is unlikely to result in a loss of high-skilled migrants.”

“Encouraging lower-paid migrants to return home will increase the average qualifications of international graduates in Australia, enabling more of them to gain permanent residency and bringing significant economic benefits to Australia.”

The research also found that students from low-income countries are the most likely to apply for visas, particularly Nepal, Pakistan, Bangladesh, India and Sri Lanka, followed by Vietnam and Indonesia.

The study found that visa hopping increased as it became increasingly difficult to obtain permanent residency, with the proportion of visa hoppers among all graduate visa holders increasing from about 2.5% in 2009 to over 25% annually 2018 increase.

“These results support the argument that visa hoppers obtain a second student visa to stay in a high-income country like Australia in the hope of obtaining permanent residency and not just for the purpose of further study,” said Harshit Shah, PhD Internship Analyst at e61. The e61 Institute is a non-partisan economic research institute

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