As the "big four" anglophone study destination countries — the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada and Australia — all tighten their policies toward international students, it is striking to note that many of their main source markets in Asia are seeking not only to retain more of their own students, but also to recruit far more international students.
The practically unprecedented decision by the big four to simultaneously restrict international enrolments, against a backdrop of increasingly hostile public attitudes toward immigration, comes in the wake of a global pandemic that severely disrupted international student flows. This has already led to marked shifts in the migration patterns of Asian students. Analysis after analysis shows that they are gradually turning away from English‑speaking destinations.
For example, a recent report from Common App, a nonprofit specializing in admissions to American universities, revealed that the number of Indian students applying to American universities fell by 15 percent in 2025-26 compared to the previous academic year. The intention of the Trump administration to raise the cost of sponsoring an H-1B skilled worker visa to more than 100,000 dollars, if it comes to fruition, will inevitably further dampen demand, as will proposals to limit international students' stays to a maximum of four years starting in September.
In the United Kingdom, recent figures published by the Home Office show that sponsored study visa applications for the year ending July 2026 are down 11 per cent compared to the previous year. Australian statistics indicate that the number of international students fell by 0.5 per cent last year, due to a 15 per cent drop in new enrolments. And international enrolments in Canada are estimated to have fallen by nearly 30 per cent for the 2024-25 academic year alone.
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