• The number of foreign students in Canada has started to decrease following the introduction of stricter visa regulations.
• Canada aims to reduce the number of approved study permits by 35 percent.
• In addition to foreign students, the government plans to impose caps on the number of foreign workers and asylum claimants.
The number of study permit holders in Canada decreased by 24,594 during January and March 2024, compared with a decrease of 16,000 during the same months in 2023, Statistics Canada has revealed.
Such a drop in the number of international students follows stricter study visa regulations introduced by Canada in January 2024, VisaGuide.World reports.
This decrease is also reflected in the overall temporary immigrant figures. During the first quarter of 2024, Canada added 131,810 temporary residents, marking one of the slightest quarterly net increases since 2022, as reported by the Bloomberg newspaper.
Canada Aims to Reduce Foreign Student Permits by 35%
In January 2024, the Canadian government announced caps on the number of approved study permits, aiming to reduce the figure to 360,000 or 35 per cent less than in 2023.
Such a measure was attributed to the increasing influx of foreign students in Canada, among other things. In 2023, the number of foreigners holding a study permit in Canada surpassed the one million figure, according to the Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC).
During this period, the highest number of study permits were granted to students from India, China, the Philippines, Nigeria, France, Iran, Nepal, Vietnam and Mexico.
However, Canada may enforce additional restrictions if needed, the Canadian Minister of Immigration Marc Miller warned in an official statement on April 22.
Post-secondary institutions have a critical responsibility when recruiting students abroad, as well as supporting them here. We have taken some important steps to strengthen the international student visa system and will not hesitate to do more if need be.
Marc Miller, Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship of Canada
Canada’s Population Grew Due to Increase of Temporary Immigrants
Overall, the population in Canada reached 41 million in the first quarter, marking a 0.6 percent increase. According to Statistics Canada, without temporary immigrants, the country’s population growth rate during this period would have been 0.3 percent.
As further reported by Bloomberg, Canada saw an increase in its population due to the influx of foreigners who arrived in the country after the pandemic. The majority of this increase is attributed to temporary immigrants, including international students, foreign workers and asylum seekers.
Following the increase in the number of foreign population, Canada plans to limit the overall number of temporary residents it accepts.
Foreigners working in construction and healthcare will be exempted from this policy, considering the country’s labor shortage in these sectors.