From Classroom to Citizenship: Higher Education’s Role in Migration Policy

Post-secondary institutions around the world have become key migration players through the recruitment, selection, surveillance, and integration of international students.

As countries face labour shortages and their immigration policies shift, international students are increasingly seen as ideal future workers. Research conducted by CMS Postdoctoral Research Fellow Dr. Lisa Ruth Brunner and her colleagues examines how Canada, Australia, and Germany have integrated higher education into migration policy, reshaping universities and colleges as key players in immigration through a process known as edugration.

Key Findings

• Many countries increasingly merge education and migration policies, viewing international students as ideal immigrants—a policy trend called ‘edugration.’
• Higher education institutions around the world are now major migration actors. Universities and colleges not only attract potential immigrants through international student recruitment. They also control access to immigration pathways through admission, graduation, and tuition policies. Governments also rely on schools to collect immigration data and promote integration. These new roles are shifting higher education’s societal role.
• Edugration approaches differ. Some countries, like Canada and Australia, use high international student tuition fees to subsidize public higher education. This can distort education and labour markets. Other countries, like Germany, do not charge high tuition. Instead, they focus on selective recruitment to fill workforce demands.

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Recommendations

• Governments should ensure that public colleges and universities have enough funding and freedom to focus on their main job — teaching and research — without being expected to do the work of immigration offices.
• Governments should either take away immigration responsibilities from higher education institutions, or provide schools with enough support and funding to offer reliable, high-quality services.

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Implications for Current Events

Between 2014 and 2024, the number of study permit holders in Canada grew by over 200%, surpassing one million in 2023. Initially seen as a triple win for students, provinces, and the federal government, concerns about housing, affordability, and labour outcomes shifted the conversation. In 2024, the government capped study permits, reducing them to 437,000 in 2025—a 10% drop. This has led to frustration and a sense of “broken promises” as students face uncertain immigration pathways, with some turning to asylum.

In 2024, Australia hosted 853,000 international students—3% of its population. Rising housing and migration concerns prompted a 2025 enrollment cap of 270,000 and pushed visa fees to AUD 2,500—the highest globally. In Germany, immigration policy changes aimed at attracting skilled workers also raise concerns about integration and job access. These shifts show how student visa policies are now reshaping both immigration systems and the purpose of higher education globally. Dr Lisa Ruth Brunner and colleagues warn against relying on higher education institutions as immigrant ‘integration’ actors as well as immigration decision-makers and call for clearer, more coordinated and transparent residency pathways for students.

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About the Authors

Lisa Ruth Brunner is a Postdoctoral Research Fellow in the Centre for Migration Studies at the University of British Columbia. She is also a Public Policy Consultant with the Affiliation of Multicultural Societies and Service Agencies of BC (AMSSA). She conducts critical, interdisciplinary research on international migration, citizenship, and education in Global North settler-colonial contexts. She has over a decade of professional experience as an international student advisor and has been a Regulated Canadian Immigration Consultant since 2014.

Marjorie Rugunda is a PhD student in the department of Gender, Race, Sexuality and Social Justice at the University of British Columbia. She holds a BA degree from Rhodes University, South Africa and a Master’s degree from the University of Calgary. Her current research studies how institutions within Africa represent entrenched colonial legacies that shape contemporary social and political relations in (post)colonial contexts. 

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This publication is part of the CMS Migration Insights Series. The research briefs synthesize peer-reviewed, published academic research by CMS affiliates.