Australia has quietly launched a crackdown on international students from several countries after a “concerning” rise in fraudulent applications.
International students from India, Nepal, Bangladesh and Bhutan will face heightened visa scrutiny after the federal government quietly moved the South Asian nations into the highest-risk category on Thursday citing “emerging integrity issues”.
The four countries, which together accounted for nearly one third of all international student enrolments last year, have been moved from Evidence Level 2 to Evidence Level 3 in a “highly unusual” out-of-cycle change, said former Immigration Department deputy secretary Dr Abul Rizvi.
A Home Affairs spokesman confirmed that “on January 8, 2026, Evidence Levels (EL) of several countries in South Asia were altered”.
“This change will assist with the effective management of emerging integrity issues, while continuing to facilitate genuine students seeking a quality education in Australia,” he said.
“It recently became obvious that student applicants who couldn’t get into those other three countries are increasingly applying to come to Australia, and in many cases we’ve seen an increase in fraudulent financial and academic documents,” he said.
“By placing a number of these countries into the highest risk rating level then it automatically enhances any filtering of the student visa applicants to ensure bona fide study motivation.”
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