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Exploring the Link between Visa and Immigration Policies and

International Student Recruitment

Dr. Anita Gopal Visiting Scholar March 25, 2015

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Objectives

!  Outline the context of the research.

!  Provide an overview of the trends/literature on visa and immigration policies in Canada, Australia, the U.K., and the U.S.

!  Discuss new insights to expand current theories and research on internationalization.

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Context

!  International students are moving across borders in greater numbers to: !  Seek advanced degree opportunities !  Increase their employability !  Expand their intellectual, social, and economic opportunity !  Obtain access to Western culture and its tools

!  Educational attainment is an indicator of human capital and is linked to a nation’s prosperity and economic competitiveness.

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Context

!  Higher education institutions welcome the independent source of income through international student enrollment.

!  Many countries rely on revenue from international student tuition to bolster their economies.

!  Attracting international graduate students has also become a trend to produce “designer immigrants” on the path for “two-step migration”.

!  Trends are changing in certain countries due to strict regulations around border security and anti-immigration sentiment.

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Visa and Immigration Trends: Canada

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•  Ontario attracts the largest number of international students (40%) amongst all provinces and territories. •  British Columbia accounts for about 28% of the international students. •  Quebec accounts for almost 15% of the total number of international students in Canada.

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Visa and Immigration Trends: Canada

Source: Citizenship and Immigration Canada 7

Visa and Immigration Trends: Canada

!  International students have become a key piece to Canada’s immigration strategy.

!  They contribute to economic growth, long-term prosperity, and global competitiveness.

!  International students are an ideal population because they are already familiar with Canadian society.

!  Citizenship and Immigration Canada’s goal is to transform Canada’s immigration system to one that is faster and more flexible.

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Visa and Immigration Trends: Canada

!  Canada Experience Class Stream (CEC)

!  International students can work off-campus up to 20 hrs per week

!  Post Graduation Work Permit (PGWP)

!  Provincial Nomination Program (PNP)

!  Federal Skilled Worker Program (FSWP)

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Visa and Immigration Trends: Canada

!  “Express Entry”- Introduced in Jan. 2015, will streamline the CEC, PGWP, PNP, & FSWP. It promises to revolutionize immigration in Canada.

!  Canada’s International Education Strategy: !  Calls to double the international student population by 2022.

!  Highlights the importance of Immigration Canada engaging the education sector (international students advisors) for a smooth visa process for students.

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Visa and Immigration Trends: Australia

!  Australia is advantaged geographically since it is one of the only Western English speaking nations in the South Pacific and attracts many international students from Asia.

!  2005-2007- Australia implemented the Study Migration pathway as part of its skilled migration program.

!  2008- 51% annual growth in technical and vocational education and training programs.

!  2010- Offshore visa’s fell by one-third. 11

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Visa and Immigration Trends: Australia

!  2011- The Australian government implemented new visa and quality assurance regulations for higher education providers: !  International students can stay in Australia up to 3 years.

!  Students can work up to 20hrs/wk.

!  Streamlined Student Visa Processing (SVP) system was introduced.

!  Commonwealth Register of Institutions and Courses for Overseas Students (CRICOS) systems. !  Provider Registration and International Students Management

System (PRISMS)

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Visa and Immigration Trends: The U.K.

!  2002-2008- Highly Skilled Migrants Program

!  2008- Points Based System (PBS)

!  April 2010- Theresa May (British Conservative Politician and current Home Secretary) calls to curtail immigration and introduce tougher entry criteria for international students and their dependents.

!  2011- David Cameron announces plan to curve immigration, international student entry, protect its borders and local British jobs.

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Visa and Immigration Trends: The U.K.

!  2012- Post Study Work Scheme was discontinued for non-European international students.

!  Students must go home and apply for re-entry.

!  Weak linkage between British universities wanting to internationalize through student enrollment and government immigration policies.

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Source: http://www.ukcisa.org.uk 16

Visa and Immigration Trends: The U.S.

!  2003- The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) was created. It solidified the link between border security and terrorism and changed higher education.

!  DHS implemented the Student and Exchange Visitor Information System (SEVIS).

!  National security concerns took precedence over the needs and goals of educational institutions and the students coming to the U.S. International student enrollment sharply dropped.

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Visa and Immigration Trends: The U.S.

!  The U.S. government then worked to reduce student visa processing times and restore visa approval rates to pre-9/11 levels.

!  Males from the Middle East between the ages of 16-45 endure tougher scrutiny.

!  Focus on enrolling highly talented international graduate students in the STEM fields.

!  International students are permitted to complete one year of optional practical training (OPT) under the F-1 student visa classification or 29 months for those in STEM fields.

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Visa and Immigration Trends: The U.S.

!  In 2009, 62% of foreign doctoral students remained in the U.S. on temporary visas 5 years after graduation, with the majority being from India and China.

!  No direct pathway to citizenship, unlike Australia and Canada.

!  Poor link between visa and immigration regulations at the national level and higher education institutions’ mandates to enroll international students.

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Discussion

1.  How is citizenship being reformulated in a globalized word (e.g., International graduate students as future immigrants). What are the implications?

2.  Is globalization creating conditions that countries have little choice but to embrace?

3.  What are the implications of “allowing the right people with the right educational, linguistic, and professional skills and cultural background to migrate”?

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Discussion

4.  How are decisions made concerning how many international students to admit, from where, and with what status?

5.  Given that national security in higher education has become an important topic, how is this translated into the international student experience?

6.  What can we learn about international higher education from Canada, Australia, the U.K. and the U.S. in terms of theory and policy?

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Concluding Thoughts

!  Visa and immigration policies are tightly linked to politics, the history of a nation, economics, national security, the controlling of borders, and the discourse of immigration in general.

!  Notions of citizenship are changing given the increased movement of people across borders.

!  Canada, the U.K., and the U.S. should learn from Australian policies in terms of how to encourage institutions of higher education to be involved in the visa process.

!  New theories need to be formulated given the current trends in internationalization.

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THANK YOU

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