At least two varsities in Australia have cancelled certificates of enrolment granted to international students as refusal rates for study visa applications from Pakistan and India increase.

University of Wollongong and La Trobe University are the two universities, according to the Times Higher Education.

Visa Guide reported that issuance of study visas has reached record lows, especially for Indian and Bangladeshi students.

The development comes after newly elected Prime Minister Anthony Albanese announced the migration strategy in December last year.

“To make things fairer, the Strategy will limit ‘visa hopping’ between different temporary visas that do not offer a pathway to permanent residency,” said a press release.

The government prioritised student visa applications based on institutions’ risk levels.

Such a decision affected some 18 varsities considered as “higher-risk providers”. The situation is expected to remain for another two months until the risk ratings are expected to be updated, the Association of Australian Education Representatives in India said.

The report added that the country rejected 21 per cent of the visa applications from international students in the second half of last year, “with refusal rates reaching 37 per cent for applications from Pakistan, 39 per cent from India, and 52 per cent from Nepal.”

The Koala International Education News reported an email from the Wollongong University, saying that students who were unlikely to meet the new criteria should either withdraw their offer and receive a refund or defer their offer.