Canada to further reduce study permits for international students, know motive behind the move and latest updates

Every year, most students from India travel to Canada to pursue their higher studies and eventually start their professional lives. A recent article by Forbes quoted an NFAP report as claiming that “many Indian students have decided to attend Canadian universities rather than US universities since Canada’s immigration policies are better at attracting and retaining talent.”

The NFAP report further stated that Indians immigrating to Canada rose from 32,828 to 139,715, indicating an increase of 326%.

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However, the latest notice by the Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada or IRCC may likely affect many Indian students wanting to study in Canada.

The IRCC notice, released on September 18, 2024, announced a further 10 per cent reduction in study permits for international students in 2025. The reduction has been made from the 2024 target of 485,000 new study permits issued.

The move is aimed at stabilising the intake cap for 2026 such that the number of study permits issued remains the same as in 2025, which is 437,000.

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Apart from this, the IRCC has also introduced other measures which are as follows:

• Updating the Post-Graduation Work Permit Program from fall this year to better align with immigration goals and labour market needs.
• Limit work permit eligibility, later this year, to spouses of master’s degree students to only those whose program is at least 16 months in duration.
• Limit work permit eligibility later this year to spouses of foreign workers in management or professional occupations or sectors with labour shortages—under Canada’s work permit programs (TFWP and IMP).

The official notice read, “Earlier this year, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada announced a decrease in the number of temporary residents—from 6.5% of Canada’s total population down to 5% by 2026. To achieve this goal, the federal government is taking action to manage the increase of temporary residents and hold employers misusing the system accountable. We are reforming the International Student Program, tightening eligibility requirements for temporary foreign workers, enforcing employer compliance more strictly, and making labour market impact assessments more rigorous to mitigate fraud, and more.”

It further added, “The proposed reduction of temporary residents from 6.5% of Canada’s total population to 5% will be reflected in the 2025–2027 Immigration Levels Plan, which will be released by November 1, 2024.”

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Furthermore, graduates from programs at public colleges will remain eligible for a Post-Graduation Work Permit (PGWP) of up to three years if they graduate from a field of study linked to occupations in long-term shortage, the notice stated.

Meanwhile, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau took to X (formerly Twitter) wherein he wrote, “We’re granting 35% fewer international student permits this year. And next year, that number’s going down by another 10%.”

For more information, check the IRCC notice here.