Immigration Minister Mark Miller announced on Monday (2024-01-23) morning that Canada will reduce the number of new international student permits by 35% next year as part of a temporary two-year cap on foreign admission.
The cap is expected to result in 364,000 new approved permits by 2024. The limits for new applications in 2025 will be reassessed at the end of the year.
He said the move would allow them to address institutions and “bad actors” who charge too high tuition fees to international students while increasing the number of international students they accept.
Miller also vowed that the measure would “maintain a sustainable level of temporary residency in Canada”
He added that they will allocate cap space by province based on population, which means that some provinces will allow significantly fewer international students.
While new study visas have decreased by 35% overall, some provinces, such as Ontario, may experience a reduction of more than 50%. This cap will remain in place for two years.
Miller noted that provinces will be responsible for determining the cap allocation among schools in their region, and the federal government will work with provinces to improve policies.
He said he had had “productive” conversations with British Columbia and Ontario, although he later noted that, overall, the provinces were not moving as quickly as the federal government had hoped.
Students applying to postgraduate programs such as master’s and doctoral programs will not be subject to caps.
“These are the smart people we need to retain,” Miller said. Elementary and secondary school students will also be exempted.
The federal government is under pressure from the provinces as more non-permanent residents enter Canada and the country is struggling with a housing crisis.
More than 800,000 international students will be granted temporary study visas in 2022. Miller said last fall that the numbers for 2023 are expected to more than triple from 10 years ago.
Study permits are granted for a period of three years. Miller clarified that this cap does not apply to anyone who is already studying in Canada and seeking to complete or extend their studies.
In his comments on Monday, Miller emphasized that the cap is not intended to punish international students, but to ensure that their experience and education meet the requirements.
“International students are a great asset to this country,” he said. “They are smart young people who enrich our community and bring great social, cultural and economic benefits. They deserve the best. They deserve the world-class academic experience they seek and desire. Canada is famous for this. ”
“Sadly, this is not always the case,” he added.
Miller said it was “unacceptable” for some private institutions to “exploit” international students, claiming that schools inflated tuition while providing poor-quality education in some cases.
“These institutions need to be closed,” he said.
He added that higher education institutions in many regions are “underfunded in our provinces,” which could incentivize institutions to charge higher tuition fees to international students because they have less room to increase tuition fees for domestic students.
Questions remain a problem
According to a statement from the Association of Canadian Universities, it’s hard to say how specific universities will be affected until we learn more about how provinces will roll out temporary caps.
The organization aims to provide a unified voice for university presidents across the country. The company told CTVNews.ca in an email that they are “concerned that the cap on each province will add pressure to an already strained system.” ”
The statement challenged the new requirement for applicants to provide provincial proof when applying for a study permit, which Miller said on Monday would be “effective immediately.”
“We anticipate that the need for letters of attestation from each province may greatly impact processing times, which may lead students to choose to pursue higher education in other countries,” the Association of Canadian Universities said in a statement. ”
Miller also announced on Monday that graduate work permits will no longer be available under the public-private partnership model as of Sept. 1, 2024.
The change has been criticized by the Migrant Workers for Change Coalition, which said in a statement Monday that “it does not solve the failure of the massive expansion of such enrichment agencies, to which recruiters will continue to send disadvantaged students.” ”
It suggested changing to “a single system in which schools eligible for study permits should also be eligible for graduate work permits.” ”
In a statement, the National Association of Career Colleges and Universities, which represents private vocational colleges (RCCs), accused policymakers of “using RCCs as scapegoats.”
It said that while it “supports the federal government’s efforts to bring stability to our international student system,” it called for the release of “more complete data” to create collaborative solutions.
Canadian Colleges and Colleges (CICan), a national association that helps the country’s publicly supported higher education, also noted that the cap would have “far-reaching implications for the industry as a whole” that would “affect Canadian and international students.” It said in a statement.
According to the CICan, Canada’s reputation as a destination for international students seeking higher education may be threatened by such measures.
“Therefore, it is essential to implement these changes carefully and work with provinces, their higher education institutions and their associations to avoid significant disruptions to the system and negatively impact international students’ perceptions of Canada in the long run”, added CICan.
Miller also announced changes to work permits offered to spouses of international students.
Miller promised to reveal more details about the open work permit, which “is only allowed and available to spouses of international students enrolled in master’s and doctoral programs, as well as professional programs such as medicine and law,” in the coming weeks. ”
“The spouses of international students are enrolled at other levels of study,” he said. “Including undergraduate and university courses, will no longer be eligible.”
According to the Migrant Workers Change Coalition, this is the reason for the suspension. In a statement, it called the transition “brutal.”
“Immigrants face a rollercoaster of policy changes, with new announcements almost every day – we need predictability and transparency,” the report said.
For months, lawmakers have been proposing ideas to limit international student permits. Miller has previously pointed out that the cap is not a “one-size-fits-all solution” to the housing shortage, as inflation, lack of public housing, and barriers to new construction are all factors that affect the housing shortage.
According to the federal government, immigration is also a key driver of Canada’s economy, accounting for almost 100% of Canada’s labor force growth in recent years.