SYDNEY/KATHMANDU: A large number of young people in Bhutan, a landlocked Himalayan monarchy, are fleeing to Australia as it reopens its borders to overseas students following the epidemic.
Bhutan has experienced a sharp increase in student immigration to Australia, with over 12,000 long-term migrants arriving there in the 11 months leading up to May alone. These migrants represent around 1.5% of the population of this small South Asian nation, which has a double-digit young unemployment rate.
Most of the recent arrivals have settled in Perth, Western Australia, where they have enrolled in courses such as childcare, hospitality and accounting. Tashi Kipchu, a 25-year-old education consultant, is one of many who came to Australia last year in search of better opportunities.
"Right after Covid, everything died. People don't see an opportunity out there," said Kipchu, who studied marketing at the University of Western Australia.
Migration from Bhutan to Australia has been minimal until 2017, when student immigration began to increase, aside from a tiny humanitarian intake. With official data showing a five-fold increase in student visa requests from Bhutan in the fiscal year that concluded in June, this speeded up once Australia's borders were reopened in 2022.
The influx of students in that short period has made Australia home to one of the largest communities of Bhutanese expatriates outside of South Asia. While they represent just a small part of Australia's 600,000 international student population, the surge comes as the A$40 billion ($27 billion) education sector tries to make up for business lost from a dearth of foreign students during the pandemic. Students from key market China, in particular, are returning at a slower pace than hoped.
"Australian universities are keen to diversify - they got the message from the government that they shouldn't rely too much on just China, India and Nepal," said Phil Honeywood, Chief Executive Officer at International Education Association of Australia.