They arrive in Australia, full of hope and eager to complete their university studies.
But a report has found many international students struggle to cope financially in Australia because of sanctions imposed on their homeland countries.
The Council of International Students Australia has released a study, focusing on the hardship faced by around 300 students from Iran.
It's calling on the federal government to set up an emergency fund to help international students facing problems that are out of their control.
Michael Kenny reports.
Australian banks have long had a policy of not conducting transactions with Iranian banks, as part of the international sanctions imposed on Iran over its nuclear program.
That means students from Iran can't transfer money from bank accounts in their homeland.
Instead, many Iranian students have to use money exchange companies to transfer their bank funds here.
The report by the Council of International Students Australia found 90 per cent of the students from Iran who were surveyed, said they struggled to get money from Iran to Australia.
The council's study also found a dramatic downturn in the value of the Iranian currency over recent years has caused a lot of extra hardship.
Similar problems also arose for students from Libya under the Gaddafi government.
The welfare officer for the Council of International Students Australia Heather Richards believes the federal government should introduce an emergency fund to help international students from countries facing the effects of economic sanctions.
"They could for example take say one to five dollars off the money that students pay for their visa application and put that in a fund. They could potentially say take a dollar from the money international students have to pay for their student health coverage and put that in a fund. There are multiple places that this money could come from and with 600 thousand international students in the country and if each of them was contributing one dollar then suddenly you'd have a fund that would be able to help students."
Ms Richards says the council's study found the financial hardship caused by economic sanctions imposed by the Australian government was having a negative impact on the health and well being of many international students.
70 per cent of the Iranian students who were surveyed said their mental health was suffering, as a direct result of the sanctions and more than 80 per cent said it impacted upon their ability to study.
Monash University student Amir Esmkhani arrived in Australia over two years ago to embark on a Masters degree in information technology.
He says one of the biggest problems he has faced is the de-valuation of the Iranian currency.
"When I lodged my application to study in Australia, every Australian dollar was almost 10,000 rials, but now it is nearly 40 thousand rials- it's almost four times as much!"
Amir Esmkhami says this has in turn made it difficult for he and his wife to pay for high rental costs in Melbourne.
Like many international students, he says he has struggled to get his homeland qualifications as a high school teacher recognised in Australia.
Instead, he has ended up working in low paying jobs to try and pay the bills.
Another Iranian student Farzad Shahmoradi says he has faced similar problems while studying at the University of Newcastle for an undergraduate marketing degree.
He also says the de-valuation of the Iranian currency has made it difficult for him to meet basic living expenses.
Mr Shahmoradi says he would also now struggle to raise enough funds for his plane fare back to Iran once he graduates because of the impact the fluctuating currency has had on his savings.
"For all of the Iranian students now, it's so hard to go back home. Last year or even two years ago, you just paid around $1000 or $1500 and maybe even in our currency, that's not too high. But now the price is around double, so it's too hard when you go back home, you might pay $4000 or $5000, you know."
Fellow Iranian student Amir Esmkhani says he hopes to apply for permanent residency in Australia once he completes his postgraduate studies.
He says his ten-year-old son has formed friendships at his Melbourne primary school and he believes many Iranian students and their families could make a strong, long-term contribution to the Australian economy.
"I see my son's future here. And for me too, I see myself as more compatible with Australian culture than with my home culture. At least at the moment, the political climate in my country is not really so good. To tell you the truth, we didn't come here primarily for studying. We came here to experience a different life and to live in freedom and the only way I could do that was through a student visa because I couldn't apply for permanent residency here."
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