Four million Indian students went abroad to pursue international studies

Most international students in OECD countries come from Asia. In 2021, close to 60% of international students in the OECD came from Asia, mostly from China and India. According to a recent report from OECD titled ‘International Migration Outlook: 2023. China and India are the top two countries of origin for international students in OECD countries, with 8,85,000 and 4,24,000 students, respectively.

Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) is an association of 38 member countries from North and South America to Europe and Asia-Pacific.

The United Kingdom, rather than the United States, is the top country receiving new international students for the fourth year in a row. Japan, Australia, and Canada complete the top five recipient nations.

Several OECD countries have announced sweeping changes or reforms to the migration policy framework in the past year including rules for international students.

The United Kingdom government announced restrictions on student visa routes in May 2023. Only international students in post-graduate research routes will be able to bring family members. In the face of record-high immigration numbers in 2022 – due in part to a fast-growing number of dependants of international students, which increased by 750% between 2019 and 2023 – the UK had to take these steps.

Spain has improved the conditions for students to work during their studies and to stay and work post-graduation to encourage employment and self-employment among international graduates from Spanish universities. The changes allow foreign students to work 30 hours per week, up from 20, to gain more work experience in the Spanish labour market during their studies and more easily transition from a study permit to a work permit after graduation, including for self-employment.

Australia has extended post-study work rights for international graduate students from an Australian higher education provider in targeted sectors (health, teaching, engineering, and agriculture).

Korea has launched a fast-track programme for permanent residence and naturalisation of outstanding foreign scientific and technological talents to retain international top students and promote their integration.