TOUGH new immigration rules for foreign students are hitting Australia's economy, with more than 125,000 fewer international students expected to come in the next 12 months, costing more than 31,000 jobs nationwide.

Confidential Immigration Department figures showing new visa applications suggest that Victoria, the state that is most reliant on foreign students, will be hardest hit, with 40,250 fewer students in the next year.

Modelling by Access Economics suggests this will cost 10,100 jobs in Victoria and punch a $1.17 billion hole in the state's export income, more than a quarter of the total value of the state's biggest export industry.

The figures show a 47 per cent drop in the number of visa applications from India alone in the nine months to the end of March.

The Australian Council for Private Education and Training believes export income nationally will take a $3.6 billion hit from the fall in student numbers.