ABSTRACT
India is one of the fastest-growing economies with a rising middle class. It also enjoys a demographic dividend owing to the expanding youth population. Simultaneously rising is the number of migrants from India, especially international student mobility (ISM). The outflow of Indian students to Anglophone countries such as the US, the UK, Australia and Canada has doubled in the last two decades. Recruitment and consultant agencies are an integral part of the student migration infrastructure in India. However, recent news reports have highlighted the lack of regulation and structure of the working of these agencies and their marketing influence over youth aspiring to pursue an education abroad having led to an increase in misinformation and deceits among student migrants. This study aims to unravel the recruitment experience of 20 Indian international students to further understand how recruiters influenced the decision-making of these students and the different kinds of challenges they have faced due to the involvement of recruiters in their migration journey.
