Well, the truth is that it’s not just a trend. It’s more than that and the lateset numbers, presented by the Australian government, shows that clearly. A comprehensive statistical report on the student visa program provides amazing insights on that matter which even us were suprised.

Among other statistics, the report shows that  of the 56,834 former student visa holders who transferred to other visas in the first half of 2010-11, almost 30% continued their studies in Australia and were granted another student visa!
According to the report, student visa applications fell by 18.9% between 2008-09 and 2009-10, but since it’s still not less than the number of application in 2007-2008, we think this is just a temporary change.
One of the main reasons for this decline has coincided with the global financial crisis, which influenced the whole world. Other reasons are coincided with ongoing college closures creating uncertainty about the stability of Australian education providers, the welfare of international students studying in Australia,  the rising value of the Australian dollar and the recent changes in the visa processing to improve the integrity of the student visa program (Well, don’t you think it’s a good time to try the free visa assessment?)
There have also been changes to the skilled migration program which have effectively decoupled the student visa program from permanent residence.
We were also very glad (but not surprised) to know that applications that are complete are generally processed faster than incomplete applications. So, again, we suggest you not to take any unnecessary risks of wasting time, it’s to important to neglect it.

If you want to read the full statistical report you can find it here.