Spurred on by 'dollar dreams' and the desire to make a splash in a foreign land, Indian students continue to fly in droves to Australia. This, despite the recent stringent immigration laws making permanent residency slightly difficult.

While some immigration experts predict the student surge to continue for some more time, past and present Indian students in Australia fear a host of problems like a job crunch and high living costs in big cities like Melbourne and Sydney, already bursting at their seams, continuing to haunt fresh migrants.

The encouraging part of the whole Australian education scenario remains the comparatively easy permanent residency through 'traditional' courses like commercial cookery and hair-dressing which continue to be in high demand.

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In a bid to allay fears in the minds of prospective Australia students, Jagdeep Singh, a reputed student visa consultant of Chandigarh and Gurpreet Wadhera, Head, English Programs at BetterThink Ludhiana, the language division of Top Careers & You (TCY) share their expertise and a former information technology student, Gurinder Birring, chipped in with his experiences from Melbourne.

What are the top careers and courses in demand these days?
Gurinder: The popular courses among Indians are the ones that help them accumulate enough points to file for a PR. They are cookery, community welfare, horticulture, etc. The points for these courses keep changing from time to time depending on industry demand.

How important is the English language for Indian students?
Gurpreet: The significance of knowing the English language has never been as dire as it is being felt now. With our government getting strict on unscrupulous travel agents, people have realised the value of going abroad the legal way.

Taking a test in English proficiency -- the International English Language Testing System (IELTS) -- or enrolling in an English-speaking course puts prospective immigrants, especially the students, to a foreign land on sound footing.

We at BetterThink not only help our students get the required bands but also equip them for life. Number of free practice tests in IELTS and English language are available on www.tcyonline.com, the online initiative of TCY. I always advise my students to attempt as many tests as possible to improve their band score and command over the language.

Gurinder: The objective of a student should not be just to pass the IELTS and come here. Most of our students have a hard time over here when they are not able to understand the classroom lectures.

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True, understanding an Australian accent takes time but our students should come prepared before boarding the flight. I would suggest not wasting any time once they get a visa. The smart act would be watch some Australian movies at home and study this country's culture.

The bottom line is, language should not be a barrier.

What is your advice to Indian students who fail to adjust in cities like Sydney and Melbourne, and sometimes have to come back?
Jagdeep: I think the problem is more with the motive with which students move to Australia or anywhere overseas. They need to be counseled that the phase of their life they spend overseas is going to be a difficult part but eventually one that will help shape their future.

Another is the financial aspect. If the parents are not financially strong enough to send their wards for oversees studies, they should not do so.

With so many Indian students flocking to Australia, has the education segment reached a saturation point for foreign students?
Gurpreet: Australia is in high demand when it comes to higher education, as students have a choice on variety of specialised available courses. Despite such a glut of foreign students in the recent past, more and more students are choosing Australia as their overseas study destination. It offers an education experience with a difference.

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Jagdeep: As per latest estimates, about 30,000 Indian students got Australian visas last year. If you compare it with the US, it is about 80,000 a year. Australia still has a great potential for the Indian students. The only thing that worries Australian authorities is the quality of Indian students going there. What is painful is that some of the Indian students do not comply with the visa rules and regulations.

How would Australia cope with the job market demands during the next five years?
Gurpreet: The Australian government has realised the need to address the gap in supply of and demand for trained professionals. Now, with the changed laws, the demand-supply gap in certain professions would narrow down.

Gurinder: The job opportunities are quite good and believed to get better in the future. There is a high demand for skilled labour in the Australian job market.

Don't you think getting permanent residency (PR) would now be difficult for foreign students with Australian immigration laws becoming more stringent?
Gurpreet: Yes, it would be a little difficult, but not impossible. The student will need to apply for his skills assessment, medicals, police checks as quickly as possible, and then lodge an application for one of three types of permanent visa: Skilled - Independent; Skilled - Sponsored and Skilled - Regional.

If a student does not satisfy the criteria for a permanent visa immediately, he/she may also apply for a Skilled - Graduate visa.

This will give him/her up to 18 months to complete the requirements or gain any necessary work experience. Moreover, now with higher IELTS band it would be slightly difficult to get a PR, but not impossible.

Jagdeep: While it would become a little difficult to get a PR for foreign students, it will not be impossible. Australia, like any other country, wants people with skills, especially those in high demand. The future migration policies would be devised to get the students to work in the field of skill category applied for migration.

Gurinder: Actually, Australia needs more and more people, but the government has a couple of concerns: Most of the people coming here want to live in big cities, but the government wants them to move to rural areas or small towns and contribute to their growth.

Migrants also need to have a good standard of English along with some sort of skills. Even for skilled people they want them to have some relevant experience. Now, all the changes already made in the laws or about to be made revolve around these concerns.