January 22, 2024 – Ottawa –Worldwide college students enrich our communities and are an necessary a part of Canada's social, cultural and financial material. In recent times, the integrity of the worldwide scholar system has been threatened. Some establishments have considerably elevated their admissions to extend income, and extra college students are coming to Canada with out the enough help they should succeed. The speedy enhance within the variety of worldwide college students arriving in Canada can be placing stress on housing, healthcare and different companies. As we work to raised shield worldwide college students from dangerous actors and help sustainable inhabitants progress in Canada, the federal government is transferring ahead with measures to stabilize the variety of worldwide college students in Canada.
The Honorable Marc Miller, Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship, introduced at the moment that the Authorities of Canada will impose an consumption cap on worldwide scholar allow purposes to stabilize new progress for a interval of two years. For 2024, the cap is predicted to lead to roughly 360,000 accepted research permits, a 35% lower from 2023. For fairness causes, particular person provincial and territorial caps weighted by inhabitants have been established, which can lead to considerably higher declines within the provinces the place the worldwide scholar inhabitants skilled probably the most unsustainable progress. Extensions of research permits are usually not affected. These pursuing grasp's and doctoral levels in addition to major and secondary schooling are usually not included within the cap. Holders of a present research allow are usually not affected.
The IRCC allocates a portion of the cap to every province and territory, which then distributes the allocation amongst their assigned academic establishments. To implement the cap, a letter of attestation from a province or territory may also be required for every research allow software submitted to IRCC beginning January 22, 2024. Provinces and territories are anticipated to ascertain a course of for issuing certification letters to college students no later than March 31, 2024.
These non permanent measures will apply for 2 years and the variety of new research allow purposes accepted in 2025 shall be reassessed on the finish of this yr. Throughout this era, the Authorities of Canada will proceed to work with provinces and territories, designated academic establishments and nationwide schooling stakeholders to develop a sustainable path ahead for worldwide college students, together with finalizing a acknowledged institutional framework and establishing long-term sustainable ranges of worldwide scholar enrollment and guaranteeing that post-secondary establishments are capable of present ample housing for college students.
To raised align the Publish-Commencement Work Allow program, we’re altering the eligibility standards:
- As of September 1, 2024, worldwide college students who start a research program that’s a part of a Curriculum License Settlement will now not be eligible for a post-graduation work allow upon commencement. Beneath curriculum licensing agreements, college students bodily attend a non-public school that’s licensed to offer the curriculum of an affiliated public school. These applications have seen important progress in attracting worldwide college students lately, regardless of having much less oversight than public schools and representing a spot in post-graduation work allow eligibility.
- Grasp's diploma graduates will quickly be capable to apply for a three-year work allow. Beneath present standards, the length of a postgraduate work allow relies solely on the size of an individual's research program, which poses a barrier for grasp's graduates because the time they’ve to achieve work expertise and probably transition to everlasting residence is proscribed is accessible.
Within the coming weeks, open work permits will solely be accessible to spouses of worldwide college students in grasp's and doctoral applications. Spouses of worldwide college students in different ranges of research, together with undergraduate and graduate applications, are now not eligible.
The necessary measures introduced at the moment complement different not too long ago introduced reforms to the Worldwide Scholar Program. Taken collectively, they purpose to make sure that actual college students obtain the help they want and have the assets they want for an enriching research expertise in Canada. On the similar time, it goals to stabilize the full variety of incoming college students and scale back stress on housing, healthcare and different companies in Canada.