Masters and PhDs exempt from caps as Canada preps PGWP and visa changes

Published 22/01/2024

An internal memo from Universities Canada has warned its members that provinces across Canada will be prescribed allotments from the federal government as to how many international study permits they can hand out.

The note, sent to members on January 19, says IRCC is aiming to bring total numbers back in line with two years ago. In 2022 when Canada hosted some 800,000 international students, IRCC felt student numbers were at “more sustainable levels”. In 2021 there were 621,565 international students in the country.

“The number of international student study permits is still undetermined, but IRCC indicated they will aim for a return to more sustainable levels, possibly rolling back international student numbers to where they were at least two years ago,” the internal memo said.

“The number of international student study permits is still undetermined”

It added that IRCC will provide “allotments” to provinces and it will be up to them to “determine how these allotments will be divided among specific institutions”.

The changes are expected some time in 2024 and will run for two years as a “stopgap measure”, before government can introduce its “recognised institution” framework.

Other changes, including some college students not having access to post-graduation work permits and dependants of students not having access to open work permits, are also set to be included.

Once the vetting and student support scheme is in place, the cap will no longer be necessary.

Master’s and PhD students are to be exempt, it suggested, while the length of the post-study work permits may be changed to “match the numbers of years spent studying in Canada”. That will mean additional years for PhD and masters students, it suggested.

In August 2023, former immigration minister Sean Fraser – who had taken up the housing brief – revealed that authorities were considering a cap on international students as a solution to the country’s housing crisis.

It came after officials said that Canada was expecting international student numbers to increase by some 100,000 to hit 900,000 in 2023.

A 450,000 international student target – set out in 2014 to be reached eight years later – was significantly surpassed in 2022 when the country welcomed 800,000+ students from overseas.

Some in the country, particularly from the college sector, were concerned that any caps could have lasting adverse effects, including exacerbating labour shortages.

By exempting masters and PhD students, it is likely that Canadian employers will have continued access to highly-skilled graduates.

Education professionals have however warned that any national caps could be challenging for remote regions of the country, many of which have been experiencing demographic decline in recent decades.

Federal government has announced plans to combat fraud and “punish bad actors”. As well as the “recognised institution” framework which will give ‘trusted’ schools access to fast-track study permits for their overseas students, it also raised the proof of funds amount to CAN$20,635 in late 2023.

Speaking in December, immigration minister Marc Miller said federal government was “prepared to take necessary measures, including significantly limiting visas”.

“If provinces and territories cannot do this, we will do it for them and they will not like the bluntness of the instruments that we use.

“The provinces have a number of tools at their disposal, namely the regulation of the designated learning institutions, that in some cases just need actually to be shut down,” he told reporters last year.

One university president told the Star – the first to report on Universities Canada’s memo – that authorities will need to make a distinction between publicly assisted and private institutions.

“Two years ago, we were just beginning to recover from the Covid travel shutdown, so returning to those numbers will cause problems for some universities,” they said.

Particular colleges do not offer the same student and housing supports that public ones do, the president added.

Alex Usher, president of Higher Education Strategy Associates, suggested that the measures “surgically target” public-private partnerships, particularly in the Greater Toronto Area.

According to internal messaging, colleges have been to that three-year courses at colleges will see students have post-study work rights reduced from three to two years, while PPP will no longer have access to PGWP.

Speaking with The PIE, Usher said, “This is overdue but that doesn’t mean it will be easy.”

Ontario’s post-secondary sector stakeholders have been appealing to government for more support, saying they are at “breaking point”.

Funding caps on domestic enrolment, tuition fee cuts and freezes and inflationary pressures and rising interest rates have added pressure.

Usher says that Ontario looks “to be hardest hit in the new student visa changes”.

Currently on Québec links visa applications to institutions via its Québec Acceptance Certificate. It is this that other provinces will now need to figure out.

Some provinces could struggle to rationalise their share of international students – that will be proportional to population size, not overall international student size.

“This is going to cause chaos [in provinces],” he said. “It will be tricky at best, catastrophic at worst.”

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