If you have been following Canada for a while now, you’ll notice that they introduce new rules now and then to control the level of immigration, whether it’s those for work or school. So, yes, it’s Canada again, and this time it’s about the new rules specifically for international students.
Canada has set a temporary restriction on the number of overseas students. This will last two years, with a reconsideration in 2025. So let’s look at what the changes are, how they’ll be implemented, and what’s caused the changes in the foreign student intake in Canada.
New Rules for International Students in Canada
First…
Mark Miller, the Immigration Minister, has determined that the number of overseas students coming to Canada this year would be reduced by 35% overall.
So, in 2024 and the following year, the number of students traveling to Canada every year will be about 360,000, which is 35% lower than in 2023.
Reduction in the number of students per province
The limitation has been set based on the provinces and the availability of lodging, as well as how housing for students or housing in general for Canadians is provided in those provinces, implying that provinces will be limited in the number of students they may admit.
The cap will subsequently be distributed among the provinces and entities. Starting January 22, 2024, the provinces will decide whether institution, institute, government university, or public university may accept how many overseas students. The students must now submit an extra paperwork to the IRCC, which is the agency that will provide their student permit. The additional document will be a letter or an assertion from the province stating that they have clearance to join the institute in their province, which means that provinces must now put in place a mechanism to allow for these circulars or letters that the students need to make a final submission to the IRCC.
The deadline is March 31st of this year, when the provinces must make this method available.
Student to submit an approval letter from theit province
So the supplementary document that the student will now provide will contain a letter from the province approving their application. Furthermore, this was already completed in December. Once again, which in fact directly influences the intake of international students is that the cost of living requirement, the amount of money that a student has to show and rather block for a year will be increased from $1,000 Canadian dollars to over $20,000 Canadian dollars, which for an Indian student will roughly come to around 13 lakh rupees that they have to show in this particular GIC account and which will be given to them in parts once they reach Canada for over 1 year.
In terms of how this will play out, we have just described the conditions and the method in which the Canadian government, namely the federal government, has opted to address the problem of overseas students. But why? When the Canadian site has been generating massive revenue, as have the schools via tuition fees.
On the surface, the Immigration Minister claims that the institutions, some of which do not provide the type of education required of a Canadian Institute, have simply been luring students to their institutes with the promise that they will be able to use it as part of their path to permanent residency here.
The Canadian government has also been dealing with the housing crisis, which has led to this decision. The housing crisis has put the Trudeau government under intense pressure from the opposition, and there has been speculation since late last year that the fallout will primarily affect international students and the reduction of their numbers.
Schools, however, think that this is a bad decision and that the housing problem should have been handled by the government on its own. However, the government believes, and this is what Mark Miller has said, that the kind of support system that students, especially international students, require includes accommodation and the cost of living, that is food, and therefore this should be made clear to the student what the requirements are, and if those requirements are not fulfilled by the province or the institutions, that intake needs to be put or arrested by the federal government.
However, the government has said that they would examine the situation 2 years later, in 2025, and then decide whether to eliminate the limit or keep it in place.
This is because the government is also working to address the housing issue. Remember that several Canadian jurisdictions, including British Columbia, do not currently allow any kind of shot leases.
The government is boosting the building industry. In fact, as a type of incentive to the construction industry, it has been said that individuals participating in building would have their PR requests accelerated.
Conclusion
However, the consequences for overseas students are evident. Currently, the admission of overseas students in Canada will be substantially reduced by 35% beginning this year.
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