Immigration Policy Debates Playing Out in Australia, Canada, and the United Kingdom
While there's been significant attention in recent months on immigration enforcement actions and policy debates in the United States, immigration is also a dominating theme of political discourse in the other three "Big Four" countries—Australia, Canada, and the United Kingdom. Read below for a roundup of some recent developments.
Australia
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese of the Labor party secured a second term in Australia's federal election, prompting mixed reactions from international education stakeholders, according to The PIE News. During the campaign, both major parties had promised student visa fee increases and caps on international student enrollment numbers.
Canada
The newly elected Liberal government under Prime Minister Mark Carney has committed to reducing the number of nonpermanent residents, including international students, by about one-third over the next three years, ICEF Monitor reports. Meanwhile, Times Higher Education reports that several Canadian universities have reopened graduate program applications specifically for U.S. students, hoping to attract talent disaffected by recent developments in U.S. higher education.
United Kingdom
The UK government has announced plans to shorten the post-study work period for international graduates from two years to 18 months and is exploring imposing a levy on international student tuition revenue, according to University World News. The government will also tighten compliance requirements for institutions sponsoring international students.
At the same time, a House of Lords committee is urging the government to lower visa costs for foreign researchers, particularly those from the United States, to prevent missing the opportunity to attract scientific talent, Inside Higher Ed reports.
Times Higher Education notes that a record number of U.S. students have applied to UK undergraduate programs for 2025–26, with applications up 12 percent from the previous year.
