The Market Monitor Digest (week 29/2025)

Ireland: Record number of students hosted by English Education Ireland in 2024

By The PIE News, July 14, 2025

Ireland's English Language Education (ELE) sector welcomed over 128,000 students in 2024, generating €792 million to the economy, despite shorter stays, rising costs, and intensifying global competition. The sector demonstrated remarkable resilience in 2024, welcoming 128,761 international students from over 125 countries. The report was prepared by BONARD.

New Zealand: Making NZ top destination for international students

By New Zealand Government, July 14, 2025

The Government’s going for growth in international education, releasing its plan to double the sector’s economic contribution to $7.2 billion by 2034. International education is one of the largest exports, injecting $3.6 billion into the economy in 2024.

US: US colleges brace for international enrolment decline

By The PIE News, July 14, 2025

Amid the unpredictability of Donald Trump’s second presidency, IIE’s 2025 Spring Snapshot has revealed an uncertain picture of international student enrolment for the coming academic year, with US institutions anticipating an end to the sustained growth of recent years. International student applications for the year showed a near-even split: 32% of institutions saw increases, 32% remained flat, and 35% saw declines.

US & South Korea: Flywire and UBION partner to on tuition payments for students in Korea

By Study Travel, July 15, 2025

Global payments platform Flywire has announced a new partnership with Korean edtech provider UBION to simplify tuition payments for international students studying in Korea. The collaboration will integrate Flywire’s secure cross-border payment technology into UBION’s education services, creating a streamlined experience for students, parents, and universities.

Brazil: New regulations on distance learning broadly welcomed

By University World News, July 14, 2025

Brazil’s new regulatory framework for distance learning has been broadly welcomed in the higher education sector. New legislation setting out to both strengthen the quality of distance education and limit its use in certain programmes was introduced in legislation signed off in May. It prohibits 100% remote undergraduate courses and ensures that only 30% of the workload of in-person programmes can now include distance learning activities.

Indonesia: Indonesia opens non-formal education visas to foreigners

By Antara News, July 16, 2025

Indonesia’s immigration authority has announced that foreign nationals are now eligible to apply for a limited stay visa (VITAS) to pursue non-formal education in the country. Acting Director General of Immigration Yuldi Yusman said in a statement on Wednesday that stay permits under the new visa category, indexed as E30 (for non-formal education), can be granted for one or two years.

Australia: Australia visa data shows decrease in grants and applications

By Study Travel, July 16, 2025

The latest data on student visa grants and applications from Australia’s Department of Home Affairs shows a decrease overall for the international education sector and ELICOS and vocational visas at record lows, following the implementation of highev visa fees and a new visa priority system.

US: International student visa issuances dropped in May

By Inside Higher Ed, July 17, 2025

The U.S. Department of State issued 12,689 fewer F-1 visas in May 2025 compared to the May before, which could forecast a decline in international students able to attend U.S. universities this fall. Recently published data from the State Department shows a 22 percent drop in F-1 visas issued across the world and a 13 percent decline in J-1 visas.