2024-07-26 22:27:17
ottawa: Canada’s Immigration Minister Marc Miller said his government has imposed a temporary two-year limit on the number of new study permits from 2024. Only 3,64,000 study permits will be approved for 2024. With the study permit limit in place, the government’s focus will be on managing resources more effectively and maintaining infrastructure to support international students. The move by Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) is aimed at balancing the number of incoming students with the capacity of Canadian institutions to ensure a good educational experience for all.
The Canadian government expects to receive 606,000 study permit applications in 2024. Only 364,000 of these applications will be approved, with a nationwide acceptance rate of 60 per cent. The number of study permits expiring in 2024 will determine the actual study permit cap, meaning the total number of new international students admitted to Canada will roughly equal the total number of students whose permits expire in the same year. In addition to the study visa cap, IRCC has also changed the postgraduate work permit eligibility criteria and the GIC requirement for international students.
Change in PG work permit rules too
The Canadian government has also changed the eligibility rules for postgraduate work permits. This will soon make students of many private colleges ineligible for work permits. Under these changes, only the spouses of students enrolled in master’s, doctoral or professional degree programs will be eligible for open work permits. Not only this, the requirement for Guaranteed Investment Certificates (GICs) has doubled for international students applying for Canadian study permits from January 1, 2024.
IRCC’s rationale for these changes is that the growing number of international students has put significant pressure on Canada’s infrastructure, including housing and healthcare. There are also concerns about the quality of education at some institutions, particularly private colleges. These changes are intended to slow the growth rate of international student admissions, allow for infrastructure improvements, and ensure that educational offerings remain high quality.
These changes will also have a direct impact on Indian students and their families. This will reduce Indians’ confidence in Canada for studies and work. Indians constitute the largest number of foreign students in Canada. The increased financial and competitive pressures caused by study permit policies may lead to a major reduction in applications from India. Students may look for alternative countries with fewer administrative hurdles.