Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Minister Marc Miller announced a temporary two-year “intake cap” on international student permit applications Jan. 22, 2024. He said the move is expected to result in approximately 360,000 approved study permits this year, a decrease of 35 per cent from 2023. The cap for new study permit applications to be accepted in 2025 “will be re-assessed” at the end of 2024, he said.
Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) said in a press release that current study permit holders and study permit renewals will not be affected by the cap, nor does the cap apply to students pursuing master’s or doctoral degrees, or elementary and secondary education.
Looking ahead, IRCC also said that during 2024-2025 the government will “continue to work with provinces and territories, designated learning institutions and national education stakeholders on developing a sustainable path forward for international students, including finalizing a recognized institution framework, determining long-term sustainable levels of international students and ensuring post-secondary institutions are able to provide adequate levels of student housing.”
“Today, we are announcing additional measures to protect a system that has become so lucrative that it has opened a path for its abuse. Enough is enough,” Miller said in IRCC’s Jan. 22 announcement. “Through the decisive measures announced today we are striking the right balance for Canada and ensuring the integrity of our immigration system while setting students up for the success they hope for.”
Notably, the government unveiled related changes to the eligibility criteria for Canada’s post-graduation work permit program. Starting Sept.1, 2024, international students who begin a study program that is part of a “curriculum licensing arrangement” will no longer be eligible for a post-graduation work permit upon graduation. (Under curriculum licensing agreements, students physically attend a private college that has been licensed to deliver the curriculum of an associated public college.)
“These programs have seen significant growth in attracting international students in recent years, though they have less oversight than public colleges and they act as a loophole with regards to post-graduation work permit eligibility,” IRCC said.
As well, “in the weeks ahead open work permits will only be available to spouses of international students in master’s and doctoral programs,” IRCC announced. “The spouses of international students in other levels of study, including undergraduate and college programs, will no longer be eligible.”
The federal government also said graduates of master’s “and other short graduate-level programs will soon be eligible to apply for a three-year work permit.” This is a change as the length of a post-graduation work permit is currently based solely on the length of a person's study program, “hindering master’s graduates by limiting the amount of time they have to gain work experience and potentially transition to permanent residence,” the government said.
With respect to the new national intake cap, Ottawa said it has established provincial and territorial caps, weighted by population, “which will result in much more significant decreases in provinces where the international student population has seen the most unsustainable growth,” e.g. in Ontario.
IRCC said it will allocate a portion of the national cap to each province and territory, which will in turn distribute its share of the cap among its designated learning institutions.
As of Jan. 22, every study permit application submitted to IRCC will also require an attestation letter from a province or territory, the federal government said. “Provinces and territories are expected to establish a process for issuing attestation letters to students by no later than March 31, 2024.”
IRCC added that in 2024 “we intend to implement targeted [pilot programs] aimed at helping underrepresented cohorts of international students pursue their studies in Canada.”
Moreover, “in the coming months, we will continue to work to provide clear pathways to permanent residence for students with in-demand skills and explore new measures to better transition international students to the labour force.”
Reacting to the developments, on behalf of Canadian universities, Universities Canada said in a statement Jan. 22, “we are concerned that the cap per province is going to add stress on an already stressed system and until more information is provided as to how each province will be rolling out this new program, it is difficult to comment on its effect on Canada’s universities.”
“We do welcome the announcement that current study permit holders will not be affected, that master’s and PhD students will be exempt from the cap and that they will soon be eligible to apply for a three-year work permit,” added the advocacy group.
“We believe the key measure to remove eligibility to the post-graduation work permit for international students who begin a study program that is part of a curriculum licensing arrangement with an associated public college will go a long way to addressing the issues the [IRCC] department is looking at,” Universities Canada said. “However, we anticipate the need for letters of attestation from each province could significantly affect processing times which could lead to students choosing to pursue post-secondary study in other countries.”
The government said that the integrity of the international student system in Canada has been threatened as some educational institutions here significantly ramped up their intake of students in order to drive their revenues, while a growing number of students arrived in Canada without enough financial or other supports. “Rapid increases in the number of international students arriving in Canada also puts pressure on housing, health care and other services,” IRCC said. “As we work to better protect international students from bad actors and support sustainable population growth in Canada, the government is moving forward with measures to stabilize the number of international students in Canada.”
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