Bhutan's jobs woes drive an exodus to Australia

SYDNEY/KATHMANDU, July 28 (Reuters): The reopening of Australia's borders to international students after the pandemic has triggered an exodus from Bhutan, as young people seek opportunities abroad amid growing economic unhappiness in the landlocked Himalayan kingdom.
Student migration to Australia from Bhutan has soared, with over 12,000 long-term arrivals moving there in the 11 months to May alone, representing about 1.5 per cent of the tiny South Asian country's population, which has a youth unemployment rate in the double digits.
Most of the recent arrivals have settled in Perth, Western Australia, where they have enrolled in courses such as childcare, hospitality and accounting.
Tashi Kipchu, a 25-year-old education consultant, is one of many who came to Australia last year in search of better opportunities.
"Right after COVID, everything died. People don't see an opportunity out there," said Kipchu, who studied marketing at the University of Western Australia.
Aside from a small humanitarian intake, migration from Bhutan to Australia had been negligible until 2017 when student arrivals started to pick up. That accelerated after the reopening of borders in Australia in 2022, with official data showing student visa applications from Bhutan jumping fivefold in the fiscal year ended June.
The influx of students in that short period has made Australia home to one of the largest communities of Bhutanese expatriates outside of South Asia.