Border Anxiety: Visa Gridlock and Cost Concerns Shaping Global Student Flows

By Tim O'Brien Senior Vice President, New Partner Development

Our March 2025 survey of 1,200 education agents, the largest in higher education, reveals two key themes dominating agent concerns.

Affordability – more than ever before, students, particularly in China are choosing much more carefully as global economic conditions soften.
Visa challenges (availability, denials, or delays)
These issues, exacerbated by recent U.S. policy disruptions, are reshaping student decision-making globally.

These concerns are reshaping global student flows in real time – have a look at our interactive student visa charts to see more. In China, long the bedrock of most institutions’ international student cohort, students are exploring options to make the most of their investment by taking part of their program at home – or exploring study in Malaysia, Korea and Hong Kong both of which have experienced massive increases.

In South Asia, students still aspire to long term study in the US, UK and Australia but they are also looking to other destinations—buoyed by more affordable tuition and less volatile immigration regimes.

Agents, attuned to these shifts, are representing more institutions in a wider range of locations. The pipeline once dominated by a few Anglophone destinations is becoming multipolar.

While the opportunity to study in a world leading institution is as compelling as ever, for universities in the “big four” English-speaking countries, the message is clear: status alone is no longer enough.

Implications for Traditional Destinations

Institutions in the UK, U.S., Australia, and Canada must:
- Clarify their value proposition, especially around career outcomes.
- Think strategically about pricing, see our blog on how cost of study compares from country to country.
- Expand flexible models, including hybrid starts and remote options.
- Make transnational education (TNE) a strategic priority.

The New Reality

Global mobility remains strong—but increasingly decentralised. Success now depends on agility, affordability, and regional engagement

Explore how INTO is supporting universities through broadening recruitment channels and helping students lower the cost of their study through studying at home for longer.