Despite curbs, Canada sees 13% jump in international study visas
Even as the Canadian government has said it aims to curb the number of temporary residents entering the country, the number of international students receiving study permits in the first four months of this year has risen
Toronto : Even as the Canadian government has said it aims to curb the number of temporary residents entering the country, the number of international students receiving study permits in the first four months of this year has risen.
As a shelter affordability crisis has negatively impacted popularity of the Justin Trudeau government, measures were announced to reduce the intake of temporary residents like international students.
However, according to data from the Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC), those numbers have actually risen between January and April this year, when compared to the same period in 2023.
The total study permits issued during those four months was 1,65,805 last year and increased to 1,87,510 in 2024. The number of Indian students getting these visas also grew, from 72,750 to 81,260 over the same period, remaining steady at approximately 43% of the total.
Of the total 68,24,305 study permits issued by Canada in 2023, Indian students accounted for 2,78,335. So far in 2024, Canada has issued 2,16,620 study permits with Indians availing 91,510 of them.
In January, the IRCC announced that it will implement an intake cap on the number of applications accepted for study permits for international students which is expected to result in a reduction of 35% in those numbers this year as compared to 2023.
“For 2024, the cap is expected to result in approximately 3,60,000 approved study permits, a decrease of 35% from 2023,” IRCC noted in a release at the time.
On March 21, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship minister Marc Miller announced the government’s target to “decrease in our temporary residents’ population to 5% over the next three years”.
Whether there will be a decrease this year remains to be seen though in May the number declined slightly, from a total of 34,400 in 2023 to 30,490, with the number of Indian students receiving study permits also falling from 13,055 to 10,560.
The announcements from the government were driven by skyrocketing shelter costs, from housing prices to rentals.