Canada Global(Web News)Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) announced reforms this week aimed at stabilizing growth and reducing the number of new international student permits issued in 2024. IRCC is relying on provinces to help implement a cap of about 360,000 new study permits in 2024. Unless provinces act quickly, no new study permit applications will be received until at least March 31, 2024.
Prior to IRCC’s recent announcement international students were only required to obtain a Letter of Acceptance (LOA) from a Designated Educational Institution (DLI) before applying for their study permit.
As of January 22, 2024, IRCC states that “every study permit application submitted to IRCC will also require a confirmation letter from the province or territory.” Note, letters of confirmation must be submitted with IRCC and not in place of the LOA of the Canadian DLI that an international student hopes to attend.
IRCC expects letters of confirmation to confirm the legitimacy of the study permit application. will serve as additional evidence and further protect the integrity of Canada’s international student system.Provincial and territorial governments are being given until March 31, 2024 to establish a process for issuing confirmation letters to students. can go.”
While provinces and territories across Canada may implement such processes at any time, there is no guarantee that such systems will remain in place by or after the deadline specified by IRCC
. may mean that no new study permit applications are submitted to IRCC until after March 31, 2024.
Once an international student receives both an LOA and a confirmation letter from the school and their province/region of study respectively. If they do, they can proceed to apply for a study permit in Canada.
The following resources can help prospective international students understand the study permit process in Canada:
How to Study in Canada
How to Get a Canadian Study Permit
Refusal of a study
permit Renewing or changing a study permit
Working while studying
Canada is making other changes to its international student program.
In addition to the introduction of confirmation letters, IRCC’s recent press release details several other steps it will take to change Canada’s international student program and related policies.
For example, IRCC has announced a two-year limit on the number of new study permits that will be accepted across the country*.
*As part of this change, IRCC notes that “individual provincial and territorial limits have been established, which are weighted by population”, the department says, “resulting in significant [ [the international student population] will decline [which has seen] the most unsustainable growth.”
IRCC clarifies that study permit renewal applicants, as well as current study permit holders and international students pursuing master’s and doctoral degrees or elementary and secondary education “are not included in the cap.”
Additionally, Canada is set to make changes to the eligibility criteria for its Pre-Graduate Work Permit (PGWP) program, including:
