Canada's 2024 New Cap on International Students

Limit on foreign Students Canada: In an effort to control future expansion, the Canadian government said that it will impose a two-year cap on the number of applications for foreign student visas.

The cost-of-living requirement for study visa applicants was previously changed on January 1, 2024, to help reduce student vulnerability and exploitation and to more accurately reflect the true cost of living in Canada.

About 360,000 authorized study permits are expected to be issued under the quota in 2024, a 35% decrease from 2023.

In the coming months, Canada also plans to continue exploring new ways to facilitate international students' easier transition into the workforce and to provide students with highly sought-after skills with direct paths to permanent residency.

The provinces with the highest rates of unsustainable expansions in the population of international students will see significantly higher reductions as a result of fairness-driven weighted population-based caps on particular provinces and territories.

The cap does not apply to those seeking master’s and doctorate degrees, as well as those studying elementary and secondary education. A portion of the cap will be given by the IRCC to each province and territory, which will subsequently allocate it among the recognised educational establishments.

To enforce the cap, starting on January 22, 2024, every study permit application submitted to the IRCC will also require an attestation letter from a province or territory. Provinces and territories shall establish a mechanism for supplying attestation letters to students by March 31, 2024, at the latest.

After the two-year temporary measure, the number of new study permit applications that will be authorised in 2025 will be reevaluated at the end of this year. In order to build a sustainable future for international students, the Canadian government will continue to collaborate with recognised educational institutions, national education partners, and provinces and territories throughout this time. Completing the framework for recognised institutions, determining the maximum number of international students that can be supported in the long run, and ensuring that post-secondary institutions have adequate space for students are all included in this. The Post-Graduation Work Permit Programme is modifying its qualifying conditions to better harmonise them. Effective September 1, 2024, international students enrolled in study programmes that are part of curriculum licencing arrangements will no longer be eligible for a post-graduation work visa after they graduate.

Under the provisions of curriculum licencing agreements, students physically attend a private college that has been authorised to teach the course content of a related public institution.

Even though these programmes are less regulated than public colleges and can be used as a way to get a work visa after graduation, the number of international students enrolling in them has surged dramatically in recent years.

Graduates of master's degrees and other short graduate-level programmes will soon be able to apply for a three-year work permit. Because the current restrictions base a post-graduation work permit's tenure solely on the length of the individual's studies programme, they limit master's graduates' capacity to get work experience and potentially make the transition to permanent residency.

Spouses of international students enrolled in master's and doctorate programmes will be the only individuals qualified for open work visas in the upcoming weeks. The status of spouses of international students participating in graduate and undergraduate programmes at different educational levels will change.