Canada to cut down student permits granted to international students

Ottawa: Canada announced on Wednesday its decision to further cut the student permits given to foreign students in a bid to reduce the number of temporary residents in the country, NDTV reported.

The move, as it alongside tightened its foreign worker rules, will impact many Indians who aspire to study and work in the country.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau posted on X that Canada will grant 35% fewer international student permits this year, adding that ‘And next year, that number's going down by another 10%’.

This comes after Canada placed a two-year cap on international students in January.

Justin Trudeau termed immigration an advantage for his country but added a rider that his government was to crack down when ‘bad actors abuse the system and take advantage of students’.

It is reported citing immigration department data that Canada approved 5,09,390 international study permits in 2023, and 1,75,920 in the first 7 months of 2024 while the number is expected to plunge to 4,37,000 in 2025.

More important, the move will also limit work permit eligibility for spouses of some students and temporary foreign workers.

The announcement comes as Trudeau's Liberal government is trailing in opinion polls ahead of the federal elections next year.

The huge rise in immigration numbers in the country, according to Statistics Canada, is linked to temporary students ‘whose numbers doubled in two years from 1.4 million in the second quarter of 2022 to 2.8 million in the second quarter of 2024’.

Canada already decided to cut down the number of temporary students to 5% of the total population, which was 6.8% in April.

The decision brings to sharp focus the blame put on migrants for the country’s housing crisis and rising cost of living.