HYDERABAD: Canada has reduced the intake cap on international student study permits for 2025, affecting the Indian students who intend to pursue higher study in that country.
Canada has cut study permit target by 10% from 485,000 in 2024 to 437,000 for 2025. In 2023, the number of study permits issued to international students reached 500,000.
The 2025–2026 permit quota will include both master’s and doctoral students, who are now required to provide a provincial or territorial attestation letter.
The reduction will affect Indian students, who are almost 40% of all international students in Canada. From 2013 to 2023, the number of Indians immigrating to Canada increased from 32,828 to 139,715, marking a 326% rise, according to the National Foundation for American Policy (NFAP).
There are about 13.35 lakh Indian students studying abroad of which about 4,27,000 are studying in Canada, shows recent data released by the Centre.
In a post on X, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said the Canada is granting 35% fewer international student permits this year. And next year, “that number’s going down by another 10%. Immigration is an advantage for our economy — but when bad actors abuse the system and take advantage of students, we crack down,” he posted, adding that stricter regulations will be implemented for foreign workers.
Notably, international education accounts for over $22 billion in economic activity annually in Canada.
The decline in international student numbers in 2020 led to a loss exceeding $7 billion in Canada’s gross domestic product for the same year.
Canada is also taking the following measures to manage the volume of temporary residents.
- The Post-Graduation Work Permit Programme is being updated to closely align with immigration objectives and the demands of the labour market.
- From later this year, work permits will be available exclusively for spouses of students enrolled in master’s degree programmes of at least 16 months’ duration.
- For anyone applying for a post-graduation work permit on or after 1 November 2024, a Canadian Language Benchmark (CLB) level 7 for university graduates and CLB 5 for college graduates will be needed.
- Graduates from programmes at public colleges will remain eligible for a Post-Graduation Work Permit (PGWP) of up to three years if they graduate from a field of study linked to occupations in long-term shortage.