Australia touches a raw nerve after Indian students lose visas

Melbourne: A total of 55 Indian students in Australia were sent back home by immigration authorities, who cancelled their visas over “breaches” like failure to maintain an enrolment.

These Indians were among over 150 overseas students whose visas were cancelled on returning to Australia in the last financial year, ‘The Australian’ reported on Wednesday. They were intercepted by immigration authorities at the airport over visa breaches and deported back to their home countries within 72 hours, ‘The Australian’ reported.

Apart from 55 Indian students — the largest group to have had their student visas cancelled at the airport — 37 Chinese students were among those deported. Of the 470,221 people, who arrived on student visas to Australia, almost 9,000 were questioned by immigration officials, according to latest data released by the Department of Immigration and Citizenship.

In 2010-11, the most common breach leading to cancellation of a student visa at the airport was failure to maintain an enrolment or no longer attending classes. Of the 159 students whose visas were cancelled, 151 were sent home within 72 hours.

The data showed that around 84 students had vocational education visas or higher education visas which stood at 66. Federation of Indian Students of Australia (FISA) spokesman Gautam Gupta was quoted as saying by the paper that the airport crackdowns were “perceived to be retribution because students protested” against attacks on Indian students in 2009.

PTI