Arriba! Why is Australia a trendy destination for Latin American students?

We are hearing more and more Spanish and Portuguese in Brisbane CBD’s surroundings. In fact, the South American presence in Australia is going beyond Zumba, Capoeira and tacos. During the past 7 years, the number of Latin American students has been steadily growing in Australia.

Between 2006 and 2014 the number of students visas granted to Latin Americans rose 34%. The Department of Immigration and Border Protection reports that about 8.1% of all students visa granted correspond to Colombians, Peruvians, Venezuelans, Chileans, Brazilians, Ecuadorians and Mexicans. However, around 19.9% of all the students visas granted correspond to China alone.

It is believed that Latin American countries prefer to send young professionals and researchers to study abroad in prestigious universities rather than build a better education system. The idea is to bring back the necessary skills to help developing their countries. Some countries such as Colombia and Brazil, often offer scholarships based on academic excellence and Australia sponsors scholarships to assist to overcome poverty in Latin America.

But, why Australia? Why those young students don’t go to Europe or the United States? The reality is that both places are much cheaper and closer to South America than Australia, but the quality of the higher education, the solid economy, the low unemployment rates and labor regulations that allow the students to work up to 20 hours per week, have made Australia the place to be.

More generous visa conditions are also a factor. A student can pay the actual tuitions fees in Australia by working with a student visa; unlike USA where working is forbidden under that type of visa. Therefore, most students in USA work illegal, causing not only chaos in the social structure but putting the students at risk of being deported.

To sum up, the economic benefits of Australia and the quality of its universities enhance the potential of whomever wants to progress and bring new skills to Latin America.

By Adriana Rueda

Source: The Department of Immigration and Border Protection