Canada Announces 2-Year Cap On International Students: Explained

After much anticipation, a plan has finally been set in motion to cap international students in Canada to restrict the number of immigrants moving into the country.

Canada, on Monday, announced its plans to place a 2-year cap on the intake of foreign students in recent international students in Canada news. The policy administered by Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) is expected to lead to an approval of 360,000 study permits in 2024, a 35% dip compared to the number of international students admitted in 2023. 

According to government data, Canada was home to about a million study permit holders in 2023, nearly triple what the numbers were a decade ago. The new rules for international students in Canada 2024 will actively cut this number by a third. 

‍Minister of the IRCC Marc Miller urged that while international students are vital to the enrichment of the country’s communities, in recent years, that hasn’t always been the case. “Today, we are announcing additional measures to protect a system that has become so lucrative that it has opened a path for its abuse. Enough is enough.” Miller added

The abuse Miller is referring to can be attributed to the acute student housing crisis the country has endured for a couple of years now. Canada struggles to house its international students, and therefore, a cap on students has always been on the cards in this historic Canada student visa news.

Changes in post-graduate work permits

These new rules for international students in Canada in 2024 will also set limits on post-graduate work permits for foreign students. Now, people pursuing post-graduate or post-doctorate studies will be granted a three-year work permit. However, spouses or partners of these students enrolled in undergraduate or other levels of studies will now no longer be eligible for these three-year permits. The acceptance of new study permit applications in 2025 will be subject to reassessment at the end of this year.

The spouses in master’s or doctoral programs will, however, be applicable for the three-year work permits. These changes have, of course, emerged due to rental affordability but also due to various institutions not providing students the education that they were promised. The recent IRCC release revealed that many institutions have increased their intake of foreign students for financial gain in this Canada student visa news. Canada witnessed 800,000 international students coming to the country in 2022, and hosted over 1 million in 2023. Minister Miller acknowledges that this is a significant problem that needs to be addressed.

International students contribute CA$ 22 billion annually to the economy of Canada. Introducing a cap will not only hurt study abroad hopefuls but also instituons that have recently expanded their campuses to accommodate more students. Ontario, the highest-populated province in the country, has received the highest cap of international students in Canada.

Businesses across Canada have raised concerns about this move potentially reducing the amount of temporary workers in the country, citing a shortage. The most profound impact might be on the restaurants sprawled all over. At the moment, labour shortages have created nearly 100,000 vacancies. 4.6% of international students made up the 1.1 million restaurant workforce in 2023, according to a lobby group as reported by Reuters.

When you consider the demographics, out of all international students, 40% come from India and 12% from China, according to the most recent data. Stay tuned with amber and keep up with all the recent updates that come your way!

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