The Push Factors from Bhutan
There are various reasons for
migration from Bhutan and chief among them are unemployment, moving to
experience a better life, and frustration with the current job and system. These
are the main three push factors.
Bhutan's unemployment rate has
continuously increased, and it now stands at 5%. The jobless are primarily made
up of young people, who account for 22.6 percent of the unemployed. Those who
have recently passed their standard 12 tests or have finished a diploma or
certificate program fall into this category. However, due to a lack of
employment opportunities, they are unable to work. Many people wish to relocate
to Middle Eastern nations, and a select number also want to obtain a student
visa to study in Australia.
The second reason comes from
middle-aged persons who have seen and heard about life in Australia, where the
rules and lifestyle are highly kind and accommodating. The variety of
Australia's population provides more optimism and a higher standard of living.
Modern conveniences that are taken for granted in Australia are considered a
luxury in Bhutan. Washing machines and dishwashers, for example, are necessary
in Australia but are considered a luxury item in Bhutan. Another example is the
coffee culture, which in Bhutan is an unusual and luxury beverage but is a
regular beverage in Australia.
The third reason is more common among
Bhutanese who have a stable government employment. They have well-paying work
and a consistent source of money, but they are dissatisfied with the system and
their current position. With a government position, where individuals are
concerned with doing the right thing, but in age-old conventional traditions, bureaucracy and red tape concerns are constantly there. As a result, these
people from these ranges search for a way out, a way to stop being a part of
this terrible cycle and flee.
The Pull Factors from Australia
Bhutanese, like other people from third-world
nations, have traditionally seen Australia as a wonderful location to move to.
For Bhutanese who have heard from others who have been here before, stories of
gold-paved streets almost seem true.
Australia has greater employment opportunities
and options, which ultimately leads to greater money-making chances. Bhutan also
benefits from a favourable exchange rate between the Australian Dollar and the
Bhutanese Ngultrum. No work is considered menial if it is doable, and there is
profound dignity of labour that is absent in Bhutan. There is minimal
difference in the wage rates between the blue-collared and white-collared jobs,
and almost similar lifestyle can be led by people working in any field. There
are many jobs that can easily be undertaken by migrants requiring minimal
communication skills, experiences, and training. Many of these jobs require
basic skills and almost no prior experiences but pays quite well. Cleaning,
Kitchen Hand are some of the examples.
Secondly, there is more opportunity to
earn more money. Working for an hour gets almost AUD 20 at the minimum, while
the same cannot be said for Bhutan which has Nu. 215 (equivalent to AUD 3.84) as
the minimum wage per day. So there is an increase in the purchasing power of
migrants who come from underdeveloped countries. The foreign currency
remittance by these Bhutanese to their home country forms an integral part of
Bhutan’s economy. In 2020, foreign currency remittance from Australia was the
second-highest contributor, amounting to Nu. 2.679 B, an increase by 208
percent from the previous year. And out of this, 80% came from Australia.
Thirdly, it is the opportunity to
avail better services that attract Bhutanese to migrate to Australia. Here,
the services are also at par with the increased purchasing power of the
migrants, and the availability of the latest and original products. Australia
has service facilities that are decades advanced than Bhutan’s, like the
tap-and-go payments, or the efficient public transportation system.
Australia, a Coveted Destination for Bhutanese
The trend shows a gradual rise with a sharp increase in the number of Bhutanese in Australia in 2017 and a drop in 2020. The increase in 2017 is attributed to an investigation in the Education Consultancy and Placement Firms (ECPF) which brought about reforms with streamlined services, and support from the Banking sectors for student loans and account-balance portrayals. Thus, there were many young and unemployed people taking up the risks to try their ‘luck’ in this Australian Dream.
There is a steady increase until 2020,
after which it drops a bit. This drop is just in the number of students who
commenced their studies, not those who enrolled for courses.
But how do Bhutanese travel to
Australia. What visa options are available for probable migrants to Australia?
Avenue for Travel to Australia
Except for the asylum seekers arriving
by boat, all other entry to Australia is strictly monitored and implemented by
the border control branch of the government. There are three main options to
gain entry to Australia as migrants.
The Working Holiday Visa is mainly
aimed for seasonal workers and backpackers, especially via Australia’s
agreements with certain island nations and few countries. Since Bhutan is not
in agreement with these options, there is no possibility for Bhutanese to use
this stream to enter Australia legally.
The second is the Skilled workers programme, where people with background, experience and qualifications in the
required skills can apply for this visa. The immigration department releases a
list of occupants that are required which are currently not covered by the
existing Australians. Bhutanese can also try entry through this visa, but
unfortunately, most of the degrees and certificates that are carried by
Bhutanese are no fully recognized by Australia, so entry through this stream is
very narrow.
This brings in the third and common
avenue for Bhutanese to enter Australia, the coveted Student Visa. This visa
allows anyone to study and work for limited or unlimited hours based on your
study type. There are some other requirements, but chief among them is the need
of proof that you can sustain yourself during the duration of your study in
Australia.
Why the Student Visa
This visa option in the best for
Bhutanese temporary migrants to Australia due to the increase in ECPFs in
Bhutan and the availability of student loans and ‘show money’ provided by
financial institutions.
The option of working hours for
students coupled with the chance of a Post Graduate visa after your studies
increases the duration of their stay in Australia. The substantial increase in
Bhutanese vying for a student visa to study in Australia can only be attributed
to the following three factors among many.
Firstly, increased services by ECPFs. The
ECPFs are those registered consultancy services that provide study and
migration advice for a small fee. 2017 saw an increase in the establishment of
new ECPFs which leads to more people availing their services. Almost all major
universities in Australia only accept applications via their registered agents and
many offshore Bhutanese usually want to use Bhutanese migration agents.
Secondly, banking institutions also
were instrumental in this mad rush towards Australia. Those potentials applying
for a Student visa are required to submit bank statements to prove that they
can sustain themselves financially in Australia for the duration of their stay.
This amount crosses almost Nu. 3.5 million (AUD 63,000) which is impossible for
students to ‘show’ bank accounts for. Here some financial institutions have
jumped into the bandwagon by providing some months of bank statements but
extracting huge interests in the process. This is done legally, almost like a
bank loan, but without the ability to withdraw from one’s bank account, except
to print bank statements.
It is a win-win situation, where the
student can ‘show’ bank accounts during the visa process, while the financial
institutions also make a profit. The ease with which such documents can be
processed gave rise to the younger generation trying their hand in the student-visa
process.
The third reason is the elevation of
the middle class by themselves. The middle class are those civil servants who
have grown up in rural Bhutan, got educated and secured a good job, enough to
feed themselves, but not enough to plan for retirement years. And Australia
provides fulfillment of that dream to buy land and build houses in urban
centres. And the requirement of a master’s degree for career advancement,
coupled with the need to shell out the school fees themselves, propels them to
plan to study overseas, where they can study and work simultaneously. Stories
from those who have already travelled this path reach back to Bhutan, with
assurances that the work they do besides study will not only be able to pay
their tuition fees but also save to send home and buy real estate. This is a
typical situation among the civil servants who work in government jobs. Going
to Australia is always the answer.
But migration to a new place far away from home and security also provides some challenges to be overcome.
Culture, Identity and Belonging
For migrants, the first issues they
face is the change in culture, with an identity crisis and getting lost in the
vast ocean of diversity. For Bhutanese who are inherently Buddhist by religion
and come from a close-knit society, Australia with its diverse culture and a kaleidoscope of identity is certainly sure to shock them. The fast-paced life
and diverse experiences that they face daily is always a factor playing in
their identity role.
Bhutanese do come together to
celebrate occasions and partake in community activities, but due to nature
of the work most cannot afford to have flexible timings to attend such
activities. But there is always a strong sense of belongingness to the home country,
which is often portrayed by celebrating national days and religious
celebrations in communal gatherings.
Dawa (name changed upon request) is an
international student pursuing his master’s degree in Education from a reputed
University in Melbourne. But he also works night shifts and public holidays as
a Cleaner for a shopping mall. He had to leave his children back in Bhutan but
came with his wife who also works as a cleaner in another shopping mall. Forget
about meeting other Bhutanese, they even do not get to meet each other, except
for a few hurried chats and calls, because of the difference in their shift
timings.
Being a part of a society is
important, but here in Australia where everyone is busy and too much occupied
to earn money, it seems a waste of opportunity to waste weekends and public
holidays on gatherings.
New Ideas and Newer Experiences
For many Bhutanese, coming from a
third-world country to a first-world country is an eye-opener, with a myriad of
ideas ad experiences that they can partake. Many of these ideas are extremely
convenient and thought-provoking, and even different. Taking the case of the
public transportation services which is very organized and efficient is almost
non-existent in Bhutan.
The idea of using tap-and-go
contactless transaction is years ahead of Bhutanese and is mind-blowing. Not
only are they safe, but they are also very convenient.
The aged care experience by a colleague Pema (name changed on request) is new. For Bhutanese where joint families are a norm, sending the elderly to nursing homes is a different concept.
Acceptance by the Diversity of Australia
Culturally Australia is a diverse
country, with people from all nations, countries, religion, and differences
living in peace and harmony. For Bhutanese who come from a country with a
single religion and race, it is different to be among these diversities. Even
the celebration of the third gender or the various other genders that is
recognized is a new phenomenon for Bhutanese. And to top it all, the openness
of the people regarding the body is also a new experience.
Bhutanese living in Australia have
also started to use abundant profanities in their communications, which is
normally more than they are usually used to. All these lead to the integration
of Bhutanese into the Australian mainstream, but will also take away the essence of being Bhutanese.
Migration and Development
And lastly, many Bhutanese aim to gain
a permanent Residency (PR) after a short stint on a student visa. This is
understandable looking through the standpoint of the work back at home. As I
already mentioned, someone working a full shift can earn a year’s savings back home in a fortnight here in Australia. And many also point out that these
are done by working in unskilled manual labours, like cleaners and driver.
Most students who come to pursue a master’s
degree work as cleaners at first. So, their skills and experiences working in
Australia cannot be directly transferred back home when they leave for good.
The only security would be the savings and foreign remittances they send with
which they can either buy land or build houses.
Last Word
Keeping in mind the necessity to
uplift their living standards, most middle-class office workers in Bhutan
choose to migrate to Australia on temporary visas especially Student Visa, so
that they can work for a few years, earn enough money to live a comfortable
life ad return to their home country. In this way they take back experiences
and skills that may not directly translate to an income-earning activity but
can certainly lead to poverty elevation.
So, in conclusion, due to the lack of other mechanisms, Bhutanese resort to using the Student Visa to travel and work in Australia legally. And during their temporary stay in Australia, they assimilate into the society and question their identity and the sense of belongingness. They also earn money, learn new skills, and ultimately return to Bhutan, but not before paving a way to elevate their economic condition in their home country.
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| Students from Bhutan learning to swim, 1970. Photo: Immigration Museum, Melbourne, Australia. |
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