As part of its review of student visas, Australia is said to have marked out four South Asian countries by raising the amount of risk they pose. A new report released this week said that the oceanic country quietly started to crack down on international students from certain countries because of what it sees as fake visa applications.
An exclusive story from News.com.au says that India, Nepal, Bangladesh, and Bhutan are the four countries that will be affected the most by the process.
A spokeswoman for the Department of Home Affairs confirmed to the story that “on January 8, 2026, Evidence Levels (EL) of several countries in South Asia were changed.” In turn, this would make the time it takes to get a visa longer.
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According to a news story in Australia, Dr Abul Rizvi, who used to be the deputy secretary of the Immigration Department, said that the four South Asian countries hit by the process sent almost a third of all foreign students to the country last year. Because of this, the federal government changed their Evidence Levels (ELs) and gave them the best grades possible.
Reports from News.com.au say that the change was made because of “emerging integrity issues,” which Dr Rizvi called “highly unusual.” Countries, including India, moved from Evidence Level 2 to Evidence Level 3 in the group with the most danger.
According to the spokesman for Home Affairs mentioned in the Australian news story, the change was made to make it easier for “real students seeking a quality education” to come to the country.
The study said that the Australian government thought the foreign education system and Student Visa Program had the “right settings” to make sure that all students had a good time while they were there and got a good education.
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What does it mean that Australia’s Simplified Student Visa Framework gives you a better Evidence Level rating?
In simple terms, the process for getting a visa would be tougher if the grade were higher. According to what Dr Rizvi told News.com.au, the visa handling worker would spend more time going through paperwork by hand and going above and beyond if there was a higher risk.
“They will call schools to check transcripts, and they might call the bank to check financial statements,” the former Immigration Department worker told an Australian news source.
After the most recent change, India, Nepal, Bangladesh, and Bhutan were changed from Evidence Level 2 to Evidence Level 3, in Australia’s Simplified Student Visa Framework (SSVF), Evidence Level 3 is the highest risk ranking. Because of this, the applicant’s cash situation, school background, and English language test will be looked at with more care.
Dr Rizvi told News.com.au that the last time this happened was in July or August 2025, when China moved from EL1 to EL2, putting the Asian country on the same level as India and Nepal. He said that recent news stories about a huge scam involving fake college degrees may have been another reason for the move against India in the new year.
As part of their investigation into the fake degree business, the Kerala Police seized 100,000 fake certificates from 22 universities. In the end, people like Australian Senator Malcolm Roberts said that Prime Minister Antony Albanese’s government wasn’t doing enough to stop foreign students with supposedly fake degrees from coming to Australia to study and work.
“It’s possible, but I think very few of the people who apply to study in Australia would have gotten a fake degree in India because they don’t want to get caught,” Dr. Rizvi told News.com.au.
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How many Indian kids are there in Australia?
The official website for the Australian Government’s Department of Education says that there were 833,041 foreign students learning in Australia from January to October 2025. More than one hundred thousand of these students came from India, making it the second-most important source of foreign students for Australia.
From January to October 2025, 140,871 Indian students came to Australia to study. Of these, 31,197 were new applicants and 109,674 were returning students.
From January to December 2024, a little less than 139,351 Indian students were in Australia. Of those, 33,539 were new students and 104,812 were continuing students.
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