Data from Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) revealed a notable decline in study permit applications and issuance in the first half of 2024. The trend reflects the impact of caps imposed by the Canadian government, showing that the move is meeting its objectives.
Decline in study permits
According to a report outlining Canada’s immigration numbers, student applications had decreased by 32% from January to June of 2024, with post-secondary study permits issued dropping a total of 1.7%.
Notably, the period from April to June highlighted the brunt of the caps. In Q2, overall student applications dropped by 47.2%. Meanwhile, the number of post-secondary study permits issued went down by 21.4% at the same time – a sharp contrast to Q1, which saw an increase of 34.3%.
Compared to June 2023, study permit applications saw a 25.5% decline. Moreover, web interest in “Get a study permit” dwindled by 43.3% compared to last year.
Andrew Griffith, former director general for Citizenship and Multiculturalism, remarked that the data signals that the cap took roughly three months to manifest in the data, “likely reflecting some processing of earlier applications.” He noted that application levels and web interest already declined before this.
Meeting cap objectives
The drop in study permits is seen as a positive effect of Canada’s cap objectives. In January 2024, the government announced that it would limit the intake of international student permit applications to stabilise growth in the sector. When first reported, the cap was set at 360,000 approved study permits. However, the actual number was revealed to be approximately 292,000, with application processing limited to just 606,250 permits.
The measure was established to “better protect international students from bad actors and support sustainable population growth in Canada.”
Effect on the sector
Canada has made several updates to its visa and immigration policies in the last year to manage a surge in international students in the country. Aside from the caps, it also increased financial requirements and adjusted rules for off-campus work, among other changes. With these shifts, many international students are exploring alternative study destinations. The US, in particular, has become increasingly attractive, along with other emerging countries outside of the “Big Four.”
If interest in studying in Canada continues to fall, institutions may be unable to hit the government’s reduced caps. As such, stakeholders are urging leaders to pause further policy changes to allow universities to adapt to the current environment and analyse the outcome of future changes.
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