Report · Visa & Immigration · May 2026
LATAM Student Visa Report
Brazil, Chile, Argentina, Colombia, and Rest of LATAM, by sector
Source: DHA BP0015, locked at 31 March 2026 · 12 pages · PDF
Headline finding
72.1%
Brazil VET grant rate, FY 2025-26 YTD (down from 99.9% five years ago)
Free download
12-page report, PDF
No email signup. No gating. Download and read.
What this report covers
Six-year analysis of subclass 500 grant rates across Latin America. Country profiles for Brazil, Chile, Argentina, Colombia, and 15 smaller LATAM markets. VET and ELICOS deep dives. Sector-by-sector breakdown for every financial year from FY 2020-21 to FY 2025-26 YTD.
The Australian student visa pipeline from Latin America has split into two distinct trajectories. Brazil and Colombia, the two largest LATAM source countries, recovered strongly through to FY 2022-23 but have since pulled back materially as grant rates have fallen. Chile, Argentina, and the smaller markets that make up the rest of LATAM have held grant rates noticeably higher across the period. This report explains where the pressure is concentrated, why country aggregates conceal more than they reveal, and what the data is telling VET providers, ELICOS providers, and migration agents working in the region.
Key findings
-
Colombia VET grant rate has fallen from 99.9% to 57.1%
The single largest movement in this dataset. Down 43 percentage points in five years.
-
Brazil VET has fallen from 99.9% to 72.1%
On volumes that doubled and then doubled again. The volume and grant rate curves are now moving in opposite directions.
-
Chile and Argentina VET have held around 80%
Same region, same regulatory framework, very different outcomes. Both are eight to ten points above Brazil on the channel that matters most.
-
ELICOS shows a boom and a bust, not a steady decline
Colombia ELICOS peaked at 28,248 applications in FY 2022-23. Year to date FY 2025-26: 2,360. A 92% drop from peak.
-
Argentina ELICOS is the late entrant to refusals
Held above 92% through FY 2023-24, then dropped to 79.4% in the current year. The steepest single-year fall in this dataset.
What’s inside
Executive summary
The bifurcation thesis. Five headline findings. Overall grant rate trajectory chart across all five country groups.
VET: where the pressure sits
Four-country grant rate comparison. Application volumes by country. The Brazil and Colombia versus Chile and Argentina pattern.
ELICOS: the boom and the bust
The 30x volume expansion from FY 2020-21 to FY 2022-23 and the subsequent collapse. Three observations on the grant rate trajectory.
Country profile: Brazil
KPIs, six-year trend, sector breakdown for FY 2025-26 YTD. The supposed clean LATAM market is no longer clean.
Country profile: Colombia
The most distinctive trajectory in LATAM. Engineered volume growth followed by sharp grant rate decline.
Country profile: Chile
A stable mid-sized market with no boom and no bust. The most consistent LATAM source country.
Country profile: Argentina
A late entrant to refusals. The FY 2025-26 ELICOS drop to 79.4% is the steepest single-year fall in this dataset.
Country profile: Rest of LATAM
Mexico, Peru, Ecuador, Venezuela, and 11 others. Mexico is the cleanest large market in the group at 94.8%.
Appendix: full data tables
Applications and grant rates by sector and country group, all six financial years.
Methodology
Source, definitions, country grouping, and charting conventions.
Read the analysis
Brazil is the LATAM story nobody is telling
If you prefer to read the analysis inline rather than download the PDF, the companion blog post covers the headline findings with interactive charts and the practitioner implications.
Read the blog post →Ready to read the full report?
12-page LATAM Student Visa Report
Country profiles, sector deep dives, full data tables. Free PDF, no email required.
Download PDF →About Educli
Educli is a workflow management and compliance platform for migration agents and education providers operating across Australia, New Zealand, and Canada. We help regulated practices systemise case management, agent oversight, and compliance reporting. Reports like this one are produced from primary data sources to give practitioners the operational context they need to make decisions.