Canada cuts Indian student permits by 31%
This follows the trend of declining intake of international students after the Canadian Government started applying brakes on the influx in the last quarter of 2023
Toronto: The number of study permits being issued by Canada to international students from India continues to plummet, down nearly a third in the first quarter of this year as against the January to March period in 2024.
According to the latest data from Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC), the number of permits issued to students from India in the first quarter of 2025 was 30,640, versus 44,295 last year, a drop of nearly 31 per cent. Overall figures have also shown a decline, falling from 1,21,070 in 2024 to 96,015 in the first quarter of 2025.
This follows the trend of declining intake of international students after the Canadian government started applying brakes on the influx in the last quarter of 2023.
In 2023, Canada issued a total of 6,81,155 study permits, with Indians comprising 2,78,045 of them. Last year, that total slid to 5,16,275 with the Indian component decreasing to 1,88,465.
Policy changes were instituted because record immigration was blamed, partly, for housing unaffordability, and pressure on health and transport infrastructure. After he led his party back to form the government following the April 28 Federal election, Prime Minister Mark Carney made it clear that position will not change in the near future as he said temporary residents, including students and foreign workers, will not be more than five per cent of the country’s population by 2027.
On September 18, 2024, IRCC stated the cap for issuing study permits for 2025 will be at 4,37,000, down from the target of 4,85,000 for this year. The “stabilising” 2025 figure will also apply for 2026.
Canada started taking measures with regard to international students since late 2023. On December 7 that year, IRCC announced that for new study permit applications received on or after January 1, 2024, a single applicant will “need to show they have CA$ 20,635 (approximately Rs. 12.7 lakh), as against CA$ 10,000 (about Rs. 6.14 lakh) earlier.
In October 2023, it had announced that starting December 2023, designated learning institutions or DLIs will be obligated to verify the acceptance letters of each applicant through the IRCC.
