Canada on Monday said it will establish a temporary, two-year cap on the number of new study permits issued to international students. The cap will be set to around 364,000 study permits, which could translate into a 35 per cent overall reduction in new study visas in 2024, with specific provinces facing even steeper reductions, Immigration Minister Marc Miller said.
The announcement came at a time when the number of international students holding study permits in Canada surpassed one million for the first time last year, according to a report by The Globe and Mail.
Of all international students, 37 per cent were from India, constituting the largest national cohort.
The two-year limit on international student admissions adds to the series of measures taken by the Canadian government in recent months to tighten integrity controls within Canada’s student visa programme.
“These measures are to ensure that as future students arrive in Canada, they receive the quality of education that they signed up for and the hope that they were provided in their home countries. It would be a disservice to welcome international students to Canada knowing that now all of them are getting the resources they need to succeed in Canada,” Miller said while speaking in Montreal today.
“Allowing bad actors to continue their operations would be a disservice to all of the good institutions who pride themselves on providing a top-tier academic experience, he added.
Canada had been contemplating the possibility of putting a cap on the number of international students to help reduce the surge in demand for housing and fix the system that has gone out of control.
“For 2024, the cap is expected to result in approximately 364,000 approved study permits, a decrease of 35 per cent from 2023,” Miller said.
According to the Minister, the government is allocating the cap space by province based on population.
“Some provinces will see much more significant reductions. Some provinces will have room to [grow] if they so choose but the provinces that have been most heavily affected will have to decrease by about 50 per cent or perhaps even a bit more than 50 per cent when it comes to new incoming [students],” he said.
The minister also announced that effective immediately, applicants must provide a provincial attestation with their study permit application.
However, the limit on permits will not apply to students in graduate-level programmes, including master’s or doctoral studies, Miller said, adding that study permit applications at the elementary and secondary school levels will also be exempt from the cap.
The cap will also not apply to applicants within Canada looking to extend their studies, nor will it affect study permit holders currently in Canada, the minister added.
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