Will Canada remain an attractive destination for Indian students? Policy changes throw up some challenges

Reports are streaming in of Indian students protesting in Canada – the reasons are many – one among them is the tightening of work permits. It is likely that hundreds of them will have to deport back to India – forgoing their dream of working and perhaps making Canada their home.
It is not just the pathway to permanent residency that has become more challenging, some policy changes have an immediate impact for international students.
A substantial number of international students in Canada hail from India. As per data of study permits issued, extracted by TOI from the IRCC database, India contributed 2.25 lakh students in 2022, which increased to 2.78 lakh students in 2023. From January-June 2024, the figure stands at 1 lakh. Strained relations between the two countries is also a factor being attributed for the possible decline – even as the data for the entire year will throw a correct picture.
In recent months, the policy changes for international students have been incessant – some changes relate to relaxations introduced during the pandemic to meet labour demands (such as off-campus working hours). While TOI has reported and analysed each announcement, a collation of the key changes is below.

1. Increase in the cost-of-living fund requirement:

From Jan 1, 2024, international students will need double the amount of money in their bank accounts – Canadian dollars (CAD) 20,635 to be eligible for a Canadian study permit. This sum is in addition to their first year of tuition and travel costs.
Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC), the immigration arm of the government, in a statement had stated, “The cost-of-living requirement for study permit applicants has not changed since the early 2000s, when it was set at $10,000 for a single applicant. As such, the financial requirement hasn’t kept up with the cost of living over time, resulting in students arriving in Canada only to learn that their funds aren’t adequate. For 2024, a single applicant will need to show they have $20,635, representing 75% of low-income cut-offs (LICO), in addition to their first year of tuition and travel costs. This change will apply to new study permit applications received on or after January 1, 2024.”

2.

Off-campus working hours:

A temporary policy which allowed international students to work off-campus for more than 20 hours per week, while classes were in session, ended on April 30, 2024. From May 1 students could work only 20 hours per week. Starting fall (this Sept – the exact date is yet to be notified), the working hours will be 24 per week.
The limit of 24 hours per week is higher than the pre-pandemic limit of 20 hours, but much lower than the anticipated limit of 30 hours per week.

3. Cap on inflow of international students:

In Jan 2024, Canada announced a cap on the number of international students that it would admit. The number of international students in Canada had hit a little over 10 lakh as of Dec 2023. IRCC said for 2024, the cap is expected to result in 3.60 lakh approved study permits, a decline of 35% from 2023. The number of new study permit applications that will be accepted in 2025 will be re-assessed at the end of the current calendar year. Provincial and territorial caps have been set based on population – each such area will get a share of the intake cap from IRCC and will have the freedom to decide how to divide it among its approved educational institutions. To implement the cap, as of Jan 22, 2024, every study permit application submitted to IRCC would also require an attestation letter from a province or territory. Provinces and territories were required to set a process for issuing attestation letters to students by no later than March 31, 2024.

4. Restriction on post-graduate work permits (PGWP):

Starting Sept 1, 2024, international students who begin a study program that is part of a curriculum licensing arrangement are no longer eligible for a post-graduation work permit (PGWP) upon graduation. Marc Miller, Canada’s immigration minister had said: “It is not the intention of this program to have sham commerce degrees and business degrees that allow people to come into the country and drive an Uber.” IRCC had explained that under curriculum licensing agreements, students physically attend a private college that has been licensed to deliver the curriculum of an associated public college. These programs have seen significant growth in attracting international students in recent years, though they have less oversight than public colleges and they act as a loophole with regards to post-graduation work permit eligibility.

5. Open work permits for spouses restricted:

Again, in Jan 2024, it was announced that open work permits will only be available to spouses of international students in master’s and doctoral programs. The spouses of international students in other levels of study, including undergraduate and college programs, will no longer be eligible.

6. Other changes:

Canada has also made restrictive policy changes as regards its temporary foreign worker program, which could impact job prospects for international students.