Bengaluru: Canada has announced another round of reduction in study permits for international students, which is likely to affect many Indian students.
The latest move has come as the Canadian government is looking at reducing the number of temporary residents.
In a post on social media platform ‘X’, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said, “We’re granting 35 per cent fewer international student permits this year. And next year, that number’s going down by another 10 per cent.”
“Immigration is an advantage for our economy but when bad actors abuse the system and take advantage of students, we crack down,” he wrote.
Canada is the most favourite destination for Indian students with around 4,27,000 students opting for studying in this North American country in 2024.
Canada, the US, the UK, Australia, and Germany remain the top five destinations for higher studies.
“Earlier this year, Immigration, Refugees & Citizenship Canada announced a decrease in the number of temporary residents — from 6.5% of Canada’s total population down to 5% by 2026. To achieve this goal, the federal government is taking action to manage the increase of temporary residents and hold employers misusing the system accountable. We are reforming the International Student Program, tightening eligibility requirements for temporary foreign workers, enforcing employer compliance more strictly, and making labour market impact assessments more rigorous to mitigate fraud, and more,” an official statement of the Canadian government said.
This 2025–2026 study permit intake cap will include master’s and doctoral students who will now have to submit a provincial or territorial attestation letter.
According to the notification, the Canadian government will be reserving around 12% of allocation spaces for these students in recognition of the benefits they bring to the Canadian labour market.