Aisling Li travelled to Melbourne for the first time in February, setting off on a path towards earning her associate’s degree in graphic design at the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology (RMIT). The flight from Li’s hometown in Xiamen, Fujian province, was full – a small sign that Chinese residents were keen on heading back to Australian shores after many had spent considerable time away during the pandemic. “Studying online would make me feel so sleepy, so I knew if I was going to [continue studying], I wanted to go somewhere that would offer in-person classes,” Li said, noting that RMIT’s reputation also lured her to the programme. Li previously earned a bachelor’s degree in the United States, but the last year of her studies took place remotely, from her hometown. “The pandemic had been pretty tough for everybody. Now I think it’s pretty good, because [Melbourne] is not locked down any more. People just can go on the street, buy whatever they want and get back to their normal life,” she said. International students have slowly made a return to Australian universities since mid-December, and early data shows that numbers are up by 75,000 since the end of last year, according to the Australian Department of Home Affairs (ADHA). This is the most significant increase in student population numbers since the pandemic began. Yet, nearly one-third of international students – approximately 120,000 – are still outside the country. Of this number, Chinese students are the largest cohort, numbering about 77,000. However, the number of Chinese international students within Australia has increased, totalling 55,000 at the end of February, which is up from about 40,000 in mid-December, according to the ADHA. Chinese graduates return to find Western degrees no longer an ‘advantage’ But not all Chinese students are so enthused about coming back. Despite spending two years studying online, Skye Cheng and her parents didn’t immediately jump at the idea of her returning to Sydney. “I’m really not sure, since I haven’t been vaccinated yet. This semester will be my last, and I might consider doing a master’s [in either] Melbourne or Sydney,” Cheng said. Cheng began her bachelor’s degree in 2019, but when the pandemic hit she made the difficult decision to travel back home to Guangzhou. Even with Australia’s borders reopening to students in early December, she and tens of thousands of other Chinese students remain on the fence about returning down under. Some are concerned that the coronavirus situation could once again worsen. “If we are going to [take classes online again] and have to wear masks and keep social-distancing, with so many regulations [to consider], then what is the point of going to Australia,” Cheng said. Initially, Cheng contemplated the idea of pursuing her master’s in Britain, but with coronavirus cases remaining high, her parents didn’t think it was safe enough. Some Australian institutions have also offered financial support to encourage international students to return. The University of Melbourne, which has approximately 21,000 international students currently enrolled, with the majority coming from China, has offered a transition package for incoming students, which includes a one-off AU$4,000 (US$2,935) grant. “ This package has been designed to help ease the burden of international travel costs and assist students in getting settled and connected in our local community,” said Professor Michael Wesley, deputy vice-chancellor international at the University of Melbourne. There are still about 300,000 fewer international students in Australia than there were before the pandemic, says Peter Hurley, policy fellow from the Mitchell Institute, a non-profit research organisation. Beijing again warns overseas students on dangers of studying in Australia So far, students from across the globe have returned to Australian borders, with Indian and Nepalese students returning the fastest. “Indian and Nepalese students are far more likely to access the [Australian] labour market than other large cohorts, like Chinese students,” Hurley said. “The federal government is encouraging students to return through visa refunds and the temporary removal of work restrictions for international students.” The biggest difference between other groups and Chinese cohorts is that the border first closed to mainland students in February 2020, around the same time that most students would have been out of the country due to summer break, whereas other countries had until March to return, Hurley explained. Benny Shen, who is pursuing his master’s at the University of Sydney (USYD), remained in Sydney throughout the pandemic. He said the past two years were challenging, having had to deal with uncertainties and the prospect of not being able to travel home, which is an ongoing reality for many Chinese students. “I had never felt so helpless … if you could at least know what to expect, and have a timeline, then things could have been a lot easier to overcome,” Shen said. “I would love to stay in Australia because it is a very great environment. But obviously, I think a lot of students would love to have the flexibility to go home and see their families, as well.” For Chinese citizens, returning home remains problematic, due to a lack of flights and the quarantine costs upon their return to China. Beijing continues to require anyone entering the mainland to undergo a mandatory quarantine ranging from two to four weeks. While big institutions will suffer the biggest losses, they also have the greatest ability to find other sources of revenue Peter Hurley, Mitchell Institute But for the 23-year-old Shen, his attitude towards life in Australia has managed to remain relatively positive, and he attributes this to the diversity of the community and the flexibility he has at work. For many years, Australia’s lifestyle had been a huge selling point for international students, helping it become a multibillion-dollar industry. But while the sector was worth AU$40 billion in 2019 , it shed almost half its value last year, to AU$22.5 billion, according to Hurley. “It is a mixed bag, and it will be interesting to see what happens in regard [to revenue loss] over the next few years. While big institutions will suffer the biggest losses, they also have the greatest ability to find other sources of revenue,” Hurley said. A USYD statement said the enrolment of international student was strong in 2021, “exceeding our conservative targets”. Chinese students in Australia face surveillance by Beijing for views: report “It’s still early days for semester one … but early results are positive, and we expect international enrolments to be close to pre-pandemic levels.” Enrolment figures at most universities in the country will be released after census data comes out this year. “We’re not anticipating a significant loss of fees. We’re incredibly fortunate our students have been willing to stick with us through the pandemic, and while we can’t guarantee we will be able to maintain this position, we are very proud of our results,” the USYD statement said. Institutions such as USYD have returned to teaching on campus but still continue to offer remote learning for students who remain abroad. USYD noted that it was among those encouraging students to return to Sydney. Looking forward, Hurley seemed optimistic, saying: “Universities are big institutions, and they will be able to manage [the financial hit] so long as they know that there will be an eventual increase in international students.”