A proposal in the Canada-Gazette has announced the federal government’s plan to halt processing of study-permits for post-secondary international students, if the educational institutions fail to monitor enrolment of such students, their attendance and compliance with study permit conditions.
The administration of the ‘International Student Program’ is a shared responsibility between the Immigration Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC), which is the immigration agency of the federal government and Canada’s provinces and territories.
Regular compliance reporting to IRCC by the designated learning institutions (DLIs) and also a rule for time-bound submission of replies in case of inquiries and requests is built in the proposal.
Compliance requirements have also been cast on international students in certain instances. The proposed changes are meant to strengthen the educational sphere – to prevent international students from falling victims to scams and also to ensure that a study permit is not viewed as a backdoor entry to work in Canada.
Last year, hundreds of students, majority of them hailing from Punjab were adversely impacted owing to the fraudulent act of a middleman – Brijesh Mishra. These students had arrived in Canada between 2017 and 2019. Investigations by Canadian authorities revealed that the letters of offer of admission to Canadian higher education institution, that was required for a study permit in Canada, were fake. On arrival in Canada, these students were asked to shift to another college and not the one on the basis of which they had got the study permit and gained entry into Canada. The irregularities largely came to light when the students tried to gain permanent residency.
The proposed amendments would require that a study permit holder in Canada who received a letter of acceptance to attend a DLI other than one indicated on their study permit and who wishes to switch the educational institution must submit an application for a new study permit before the start date for the new program of study. The proposed regulations would allow the student to attend the new educational institution without a valid study permit until a decision is made on the application, as long as the student remains in Canada and complies with all other conditions of their study permit.
The proposed regulatory amendments apply exclusively to post-secondary DLIs and post-secondary international students. The open-window for inviting comments from stakeholders and public ends on July 29.
The number of international students in Canada had hit a little over 10 lakh as of Dec 2023. In 2022, for which country-wise data is available, Canada had admitted 5.5 lakh new students from 184 countries. India was by far the most significant source country, with 2.2 lakh new students, followed by China with 52,000 odd new students.
However, the flow of students from India drastically reduced in 2023, The Canadian government processed almost 1.46 lakh new study permit applications for Indian nationals between July-October 2022, but the same period in 2023 saw a 40 per cent decline.
The influx of immigrant students, coupled with the housing crisis and strain on health-care infrastructure had led the federal government to announce in January, a two-year intake cap for international students, which would result only in 3.60 lakh approved study permits in 2024
The administration of the ‘International Student Program’ is a shared responsibility between the Immigration Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC), which is the immigration agency of the federal government and Canada’s provinces and territories.
Regular compliance reporting to IRCC by the designated learning institutions (DLIs) and also a rule for time-bound submission of replies in case of inquiries and requests is built in the proposal.
Compliance requirements have also been cast on international students in certain instances. The proposed changes are meant to strengthen the educational sphere – to prevent international students from falling victims to scams and also to ensure that a study permit is not viewed as a backdoor entry to work in Canada.
Last year, hundreds of students, majority of them hailing from Punjab were adversely impacted owing to the fraudulent act of a middleman – Brijesh Mishra. These students had arrived in Canada between 2017 and 2019. Investigations by Canadian authorities revealed that the letters of offer of admission to Canadian higher education institution, that was required for a study permit in Canada, were fake. On arrival in Canada, these students were asked to shift to another college and not the one on the basis of which they had got the study permit and gained entry into Canada. The irregularities largely came to light when the students tried to gain permanent residency.
The proposed amendments would require that a study permit holder in Canada who received a letter of acceptance to attend a DLI other than one indicated on their study permit and who wishes to switch the educational institution must submit an application for a new study permit before the start date for the new program of study. The proposed regulations would allow the student to attend the new educational institution without a valid study permit until a decision is made on the application, as long as the student remains in Canada and complies with all other conditions of their study permit.
The proposed regulatory amendments apply exclusively to post-secondary DLIs and post-secondary international students. The open-window for inviting comments from stakeholders and public ends on July 29.
The number of international students in Canada had hit a little over 10 lakh as of Dec 2023. In 2022, for which country-wise data is available, Canada had admitted 5.5 lakh new students from 184 countries. India was by far the most significant source country, with 2.2 lakh new students, followed by China with 52,000 odd new students.
However, the flow of students from India drastically reduced in 2023, The Canadian government processed almost 1.46 lakh new study permit applications for Indian nationals between July-October 2022, but the same period in 2023 saw a 40 per cent decline.
The influx of immigrant students, coupled with the housing crisis and strain on health-care infrastructure had led the federal government to announce in January, a two-year intake cap for international students, which would result only in 3.60 lakh approved study permits in 2024
