Canada will cut the number of new foreign student permits it gives out to about 360,000 in 2024.
International students make our cities better places to live and are an important part of Canada's economy, culture, and society. In the past few years, there have been threats to the integrity of the system for foreign students. Some schools have greatly increased the number of students they accept in order to make more money, and more students are coming to Canada without the help they need to do well. A lot of foreign students are coming to Canada quickly, which puts stress on housing, health care, and other services. To better protect international students and help Canada's population grow in a way that is sustainable, the government is taking steps to keep the number of international students in the country stable.
What an honourable Marc Miller, Canada's Minister of Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship, said today that the government will limit the number of foreign student permit applications that can be accepted for two years. This is to keep new growth stable. The cap is expected to lead to about 360,000 accepted study permits in 2024, which is 35% less than in 2023. To be fair, different caps have been set for each province and territory, based on their population. This means that the number of foreign students will go down a lot more in the provinces where they have grown the most quickly. There will be no effect on renewing study permits. People who are getting master's or graduate degrees or teaching elementary or secondary school are not affected by the cap. People who already have a study permit will not be impacted.
IRCC will give each province and territory a part of the cap. The provinces and territories will then give the portion to the learning institutions they designate. To make the cap work, starting January 22, 2024, every application for a study pass sent to IRCC will also need an attestation letter from a province or territory. Students should be able to get attestation letters from their provinces and regions by March 31, 2024, at the latest.
These short-term rules will last for two years. At the end of this year, the amount of new study permit applications that will be accepted in 2025 will be looked at again. The Canadian Government will continue to work with the provinces and territories, designated learning institutions, and national education stakeholders to create a long-term plan for international students. This includes finalizing a framework for recognized institutions, figuring out the right number of international students to keep in the long term, and making sure that postsecondary institutions can provide enough student housing.
The following changes are being made to the Post-Graduation Work Permit Program in order to make it more consistent:
As of September 1, 2024, foreign students who start a study program that is part of a curriculum licensing arrangement will not be able to get a work permit after they graduate. Students go to a private college that has been licensed to teach the curriculum of a nearby public college as part of a curriculum licensing deal. In the past few years, these programs have become much more popular with foreign students. However, they are not as closely regulated as public colleges, and they provide an easy way for graduates to get work permits after they graduate.
Soon, people who have finished a master's degree or another short graduate study will be able to apply for a work permit good for three years. Under current rules, the length of a post-graduation work permit is only based on the length of the person's study program. This makes it harder for master's graduates to get work experience and possibly move on to permanent residence.
In the coming weeks, open work permits will only be given to the partners of master's and doctoral students from other countries. Spouses of foreign students in other levels of study, like college and undergraduate programs, will no longer be able to apply.
The important changes that were mentioned today go along with other changes that were recently made to the International Student Program. All of these things are meant to make sure that real students get the help and tools they need to have a great time studying in Canada. They also want to keep the number of students coming to Canada stable so that housing, health care, and other services don't have to work too hard.
From: Canada's Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship
