Australian universities barring Indians from certain States due to visa fraud: Australian envoy

Australian High Commissioner Barry O’Farrell said that the “uptick” in fraudulent applications had led to universities in Australia to bar applicants from six Indian States.

Urging students wishing to study in Australia to be cautious of “migration agents” who fill false information in their applications, Australian High Commissioner Barry O’Farrell said that the “uptick” in fraudulent applications had led to universities in Australia to bar applicants from six Indian States. These include Punjab, Haryana, Uttarakhand and Uttar Pradesh, as well as Jammu and Kashmir.

Mr. O’ Farrell, who ends his tenure in India shortly, said that India can never been “ignored” again in Australia given the growing diaspora there, and insisted that Australia welcomes Indians from every part of the country.

“What we see is a failure by migration agents who are letting down students by not completing their forms accurately. We have seen an uptick of false information and fraudulent applications and as a result a very small number of [Australian] universities have turned the tap off on migration agents responsible,” Mr. O’Farrell told journalists at an event organised by the Indian Association of Foreign Affairs Correspondents (IAFAC).

He said that students must insist on seeing a copy of the visa and admissions applications filed on their behalf by agents.

Mr. O’Farrell, a politician and former Governor of New South Wales Province, was appointed High Commissioner to India by the then Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison in 2020. He is expected to be succeeded by a career diplomat, Phillip Green, who is currently Australia’s Ambassador to Germany.

Referring to the diaspora event in Sydney last week that Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Australian PM Anthony Albanese addressed, Mr. O’Farrell said that the India-Australia relationship is at the “best ever” levels and that the Indian community in Australia had an important role in strengthening ties.

Indian migrants form the second-highest population of residents in Australia with a population of more than 7,00,000 and about 86,000 Indians study at Australian universities. He also said that recent initiatives including the Economic Cooperation and Trade Agreement (ECTA), as well as an FTA under negotiation, the common vision of the Quad and the Indo-Pacific, as well as hopes of building resilient supply chains had brought the two countries closer together.