Canada study permits for Indians plunge over 50% as Ottawa tightens intake
Study permits for Indian students in Canada dropped over 50% in Q3 2025, reflecting government policies aimed at reducing temporary immigration.
The number of study permits issued to international students from India dropped by more than half in the third quarter of this year when compared to the same period in 2024, even as Canadian government’s policies to mitigate intake in this category is likely to extend this trend.
According to data from Immigration, Refugees and Immigration Canada or IRCC, Indian students accounted for 24,030 permits out of a total of 146505 or 16.4 per cent, between July and September 2025. Last year, they comprised 52425, or nearly 30 per cent of the overall 177025 study visas issued during the same period.
In the month of September, the latest for which data is available, Indians were issued 8400 out of 49350 visas, as against 14385 out of 46230 during the same month in 2024.
The downward trajectory in issuance of study permits to Indians is clear from the data for the past three years. In 2023, Indians, at 277980, received nearly 41 per cent of the total 680880 permits issued. In 2024, that percentage slid to just over a third of the total - 188205 out of 515095. In 2025, that figure has fallen to below 25 per cent - 70180 out of 290105.
The decline follows Canadian government policies that were instituted in the last quarter of 2023, as further restrictions were ordered in the months following amid concerns in the country over a surge in temporary immigrants contributing towards a spike in housing affordability and placing pressure on public infrastructure.
In November this year, the government projected a seven per cent decrease in the total number of international students issued permits next year. IRCC noted that the total number of study permits to be issued in 2026 will be capped at 408,000, including 155,000 visas issued to newly-arriving international students plus 253,000 extensions for current and returning students.
“This number is 7% lower than the 2025 issuance target of 437,000 and 16% lower than the 2024 issuance target of 485,000,” IRCC said.
IRCC said that the cap that was first introduced in 2024 “has been an effective tool in slowing the growth of Canada’s temporary population” as the number of study permit holders has fallen from over a million in January 2024 to about 725,000 by September 2025.
“While this progress is significant, further reductions are needed to meet our commitment of reducing the share of Canada’s temporary population to below 5% of the total population by the end of 2027,” it added.
The immigration levels plan introduced in Parliament earlier this month had Canada sharply reducing its intake of temporary residents, including workers and international students, by nearly 43 per cent.
In its previous levels plan, the government had looked at admitting 305,000 new international students each year. However, the latest plan showed the target at 155,000, reducing further to 150,000 in 2027 and 2028.
