Marc Miller, Canada’s Minister of Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship, has introduced a two-year strategy to manage the influx of international student permit applications. The goal is to stabilize growth by implementing a cap, anticipating the approval of around 360,000 study permits for 2024, reflecting a 35% decrease from 2023. To ensure fairness, individual caps for provinces and territories have been set based on population size, leading to more substantial reductions in areas experiencing unsustainable international student growth. Exempt from the cap are study permit renewals, master’s and doctoral programs, as well as elementary and secondary education, ensuring no impact on current permit holders.
The Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) will allocate a portion of the cap to each province and territory, which will then distribute it among their designated learning institutions. Effective January 22, 2024, every study permit application submitted to IRCC must include an attestation letter from the relevant province or territory. Provinces and territories are expected to establish a process for issuing these letters to students by March 31, 2024.
These measures will be in place for two years, with a reassessment of new study permit applications in 2025 at the period’s conclusion. The Government of Canada will collaborate with provinces, territories, designated learning institutions, and education stakeholders to develop a sustainable path for international students. This involves finalizing a recognized institution framework, determining long-term sustainable levels of international students, and ensuring adequate student housing at post-secondary institutions.
To align with the Post-Graduation Work Permit Program, eligibility criteria will change as follows:
- From September 1, 2024, international students enrolled in study programs under curriculum licensing arrangements will no longer qualify for post-graduation work permits. These programs, where students attend a private college licensed to deliver a public college’s curriculum, have experienced significant international student growth but lack oversight compared to public colleges, creating a loophole for post-graduation work permit eligibility.
- Graduates of master’s and other short graduate-level programs will soon be eligible to apply for a 3-year work permit. The current criteria, tying the permit length solely to the study program’s duration, limit master’s graduates’ time to gain work experience and potentially transition to permanent residence.
In the coming weeks, open work permits will be exclusive to spouses of international students in master’s and doctoral programs, excluding spouses of international students in other study levels, such as undergraduate and college programs.
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