Indian migrants reveal what they really think about Australia

A surging number of Indians have moved to Australia, enticed by the prospects of lucrative employment, top-tier education, and a more laid-back lifestyle. 

The Australian government has largely welcomed the influx with open arms as it eyes closer trade relations with a 1.4 billion-strong consumer market.

As of June 2022, there were 753,520 people born in India living in Australia, which is more than double the number recorded a decade earlier. 

Following the United Kingdom, the Indian-born population is now second-largest migrant community in Down Under.  

Daily Mail Australia spoke to Indian migrants in Harris Park and Parramatta, in Sydney’s western suburbs, with many confessing to using Australia’s student visa route to secure permanent residency. 

However, this avenue has become tougher after the Albanese government tightened student visa rules in March.

As part of the changes, it has reduced the number of student visa approvals in a bid to stop the widespread rorting of the international education system. 

It also has enhanced powers to suspend high-risk education providers from recruiting international students who intend to leverage their student visas to stay in the country as low-skilled workers.

Known as ‘ghost colleges’ and ‘visa factories’, the providers can be issued with warning notices and given six months to improve their practices. 

If they fail to do so, the providers will be suspended from recruiting international students.

However, the government remains keen on attracting highly skilled Indian migrants, with Anthony Albanese and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi signing a migration (MOU) pact in 2023 – a year after the two nations also penned a lucrative free trade agreement.

Australia exported about $19.3billion in goods to India in the 2022 financial year. Just one year after the FTA was signed that figure soared to $33billion.

With diplomatic relations becoming increasingly cosy, the MOU allows Indian graduates from Australian universities who are on a student visa to work and advance professionally for up to eight years without needing visa sponsorship. 

Meanwhile, a new pilot program known as MATES will make it easier for young professionals and graduates from India to work in Australia. 

The programme will give Indian university graduates and early career professionals the opportunity to live and work in Australia for up to two years, with 3,000 places available.

Eligible fields will include renewable energy, mining, engineering, information and communication technology, artificial intelligence, financial technology, and agricultural technology.

So what does Australia’s fastest-growing migrant group think about their new life Down Under?

Diksha Verma is studying for a Master of Applied Information Technology at Victoria University.

Since arriving in Australia in 2022, she has been working part-time at a grocery store while looking for a full-time role in IT.

‘I’m very happy,’ she told Daily Mail Australia.

‘I’m getting many opportunities that I wouldn’t have gotten in my home country. I would definitely love to gain more experience here.’

Ms Verma and her husband are currently sharing an apartment with another Indian family.

Despite the housing crisis, she said it was easy to find a place to live.

‘It was a bit easy because there are many agencies and we can go online and find houses on Gumtree,’ she said.

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Ms Verma said the ‘spicy, yummy food’ is what she misses most from back home and has concerns about the the Australian government’s plan to crack down on visas.

‘The news is that the government is going somewhat against international students, so obviously, I’m getting nervous,’ she said.

‘If the government is going against the international students and they’re taking strict action, that will be not not good for us.’

Ms Verma said life in Australia and India are very different.

‘Life is so fast here,’ she said.

‘Every person is just heading from home to work and work to home, there is way less social life here.’

She has some advice for other Indians looking at moving to Australia.

‘Be prepared mentally. Be strong,’ she said.

‘If you don’t have a good mindset, you’re going to struggle. I wish I could have known that as strong as you are, you should leave your fear apart.’

Deep Sanghavi moved to Brisbane in 2019 to begin a master’s degree in accounting but later found himself a job as a wedding planner.

The main piece of advice Mr Sanghavi would give new Indian migrants looking at making the move would be to focus on their studies and doing what they need to get permanent residency. 

‘That’s the major thing, if you’re not focused on that there’s no point in coming to Australia,’ he said. 

‘An Indian kid might pay around $60,000 to $90,000 just in fees to come to Australia. If you’re paying the money you should be thinking about getting the residency otherwise it’s a waste.

‘The international students pay around four or five times what the Australian kids pay… and we’ve got to pay the money upfront.’ 

While Mr Sanghavi loves living in Australia, he said ‘it’s not everyone’s cup of tea’ and each individual should weigh up whether the move is right for them.

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He said he is in the process of applying for permanent residency, and hopes to stay in Australia long-term. 

‘I’ve studied accounting, but I’m not working into that field so I’m going to do something related which helps me out for my residency.’

Mr Sanghavi supports more migration to Australia, saying international student help stimulates the economy and keeps the country running. 

‘I feel they need it. If you want to run the government, you need more migration. The major contributors to the Australian economy are the international students,’ he said. 

He explained many Indian migrants are wooed by the pay. 

‘The pay is definitely better, that’s why everyone’s out here I feel. Because if you do the same kind of work back home you don’t get paid good money.

Himanshu Raikar first came to Sydney as a student in 2018 and quickly realised he wanted to stay.

With more than five years of work experience already behind him, he quickly found a job with a government department.

He said the work-life balance and ‘relaxed’ culture has been a huge benefit and given him more time to spend with his wife and son.

‘In India, you will see that people are much more focused on skills, and they need to be more focused on your personal growth and development,’ he said.

‘Here it’s quite different. Employers give you time to grow within the role and within the company, and focus on your hobbies and passions so you get that good balance.’

Despite missing the festivals and his family back home, Mr Raikar said moving to Australia was the best decision of his life.

‘There is no downside to this decision at all, everything is uphill,’ he said.

‘No country is perfect, every country has some things that they can improve on but as far as I can see individually, this country has a lot to offer.’

One of the biggest challenges Mr Raikar has faced is securing housing.

‘I’m actually in that phase of purchasing a property now, but we’re finding that a bit of a struggle, even though my wife and I are both what I like to call good professionals,’ he said.

‘Because of the spike that we’ve seen in the housing market, we were not able to shortlist our expected property and we had to settle for a lower-quality house.

‘It’s not the best way to start out buying a property here, but we had to start somewhere and it’s better than renting.’

While Mr Raikar isn’t too politically minded, he said he supports more migration because of its overall positive impact.

‘In every country, I feel that migration boosts their economy,’ he explained.

‘If there are more students, they pay more educational institutions… of course, I’m in favour of that.’

Nishant Udani moved from Mumbai to study a Bachelor of Community Services in Brisbane, after finishing high school in 2019.

‘In India the education is really very good but there’s a lot of competition to get into the better universities. It’s so hard,’ he said. 

‘The other way is to go outside the country. That’s what made me decide to come to Australia, so I can go to a good university and get my desired degree.’  

Mr Udani said he’s still unsure whether he will stay in Australia after he finishes his studies because he has such a big family back home, but for now he’s loving life. 

‘I’m happy with my decision to come to Australia,’ he said.

‘I started working. It’s been very good, I’ve worked in different industries and I’ve learned about different things. 

‘At first I only had a little bit idea about a particular thing but once I started working in it my brain expanded and I came to know about more things I can do.’ 

Mr Udani has been renting the apartment in south-east Queensland since 2020, but a lot of his friends are still struggling to secure housing. 

‘I’ve been living in same unit for the last four years and like I like it,’ he said. 

‘At that time was market was not like this. The market was very stable and it was very easy to secure housing.

‘At the moment my friends are looking for housing and I know they’re struggling because it’s way too expensive, and on top of that it’s hard to find a place to live.’  

Mr Udani said new Indian migrants should know how that ‘life is hard here compared to India’.

‘Back home you have family and friends to support you but over here you’re one man army and you are to do everything by yourself,’ he explained.

‘If you’re ready to be a self-dependent person, then you should come to Australia and study and get a future over here.’ 

On the government’s plan to reduce immigration levels, Mr Udani said they said the Prime Minister has bigger issues to focus on.

He said targeting the billion-dollar industry would not be good for the economy and may even lead to labor shortages down the track. 

‘There’s plenty of work but there are less people, and and to get to get economy running you need more people,’ he said. 

‘Migration is not the only problem, there are other problems as well. Instead of focusing on one factor you should look after all the factors.

‘Instead of focusing on migration, I would suggest he focusses on the housing crisis.

‘I feel that Brisbane is getting congested and the city doesn’t have enough infrastructure and housing to accommodate this big population.’ 

Shame Mani moved to Sydney last year for a better lifestyle.

‘I left India seven years ago. I have worked in Singapore and Dubai as well. So overall, in Asian countries, work can be hectic, but here it’s more of a relaxed lifestyle,’ he explained. 

After coming out alone, he said one of the biggest challenges has been finding a new social circle as an introvert.

‘There’s fresh air and less noise pollution, and overall, it’s a better lifestyle here. But people coming from far places, they lose their social circle, their friends and family, so it’s a trade-off,’ Mr Mani said.

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‘Over there, there is a very symbiotic social circle where friends and neighbors try to help each other in difficult situations, but over here, I don’t have that big social circle.

‘Human beings are social animals, so we need that social circle. And people like me do try to make friendships but it’s not long lasting, it’s transient.

‘But I have friends who are very extroverted and make friends wherever they go, so for them, life is easy. I have friends who have been living here for the last nine years and have had no problems with loneliness and depression and missing home.’

He said securing housing was a ‘nightmare’, but he recently found a property in Sydney.

‘I lived in Middle East, so finding a house over there was not that difficult,’ he said.

‘I appreciate there’s a systematic process here… but if you go for any inspection, there is always a long queue. There’s a rigorous criteria or process to get a house.

‘Some owners even check your weekly income and where you work.’

Mr Mani’s top tip for new potential migrants is ‘come with some work experience’.

‘If you’re looking for a work in IT or accounting or whatever your domain is, come with a work experience from your home country because just ending up in a fancy job here is going to be bit difficult without strong references and connections,’ he said.

‘Most of the people coming here from India are students, so their journey is different. I am a professional so it’s a bit different.’

Mr Mani told Daily Mail Australia that he has now got enough ‘points’ to apply for permanent residency, which is a ‘big status symbol’ within the Indian community.

‘I see Australia as a very beautiful country,’ he said.

‘I love history and architecture and all that, so in that sense I enjoy being here. But in the long-term I see Australia as a good place to work if I have a social circle.’

In terms of the crackdown on student visas, Mr Mani said: ‘Countries like Canada and Australia need people from outside’.