Offshore Enrollment in Higher Education and Migration: Some Insights from Australia

Antonina Levatino, Universitat Pompeu Fabra

This paper presents first empirical evidence on the relationship between enrolment in transnational higher education (TNE) and subsequent skilled migration to the country of the institution that provided the educational services. Based on macro-level panel data, the analysis conducted show a close link between skilled immigration and offshore enrolment in Australian higher education in the previous years, suggesting that countries may successful use the provision of higher education outside their borders to enlarge skilled migrants’ recruitment. Although further research on the issue is needed, this paper represents the first step in the exploration of an issue of particular interest for both developed and developing countries, constituting an original contribution to the current debate on skilled migration, student mobility and new trends in the higher education sector.