New updates on Temporary residence program announced by IRCC today 18 Sep, 2024. This further changes to manager temporary residence volumes and ensure sustainable immigration.
According to Immigration Minister Marc Miller, the international student cap will remain in place. Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) plans to issue 437,000 study permits in 2025, reflecting a 10% decrease from the 2024 target of 485,000. The cap will then be stabilized for 2026, resulting in an estimated reduction of 300,000 study permits for international students over the coming years.
Master’s and PhD students are now required to obtain a Provincial Attestation Letter (PAL) in Canada
The updated cap will no longer exempt these Postgraduate (Masters & PhD) students from this requirement.
The department will allocate around 12% of available spaces for Master’s and Doctoral students, acknowledging the positive contributions they make to the Canadian labor market.
PALs were implemented earlier this year for many college and undergraduate students to assist IRCC in verifying the authenticity of applications and managing the number of study permits issued.
The IRCC announced changes to the following in a nutshell
- Reducing international student permits by a further 10% to 437,000 in 2025
- Including Master’s and Doctoral students in the 2025–2026 study permit intake cap
- All PGWP applicants will be required to demonstrate a minimum language proficiency in French or English. CLB 7 for university graduates and CLB 5 for college graduates who apply PGWP after 1st November 2024.
- PGWP program to be updated to align with immigration goals and labour market needs
- Work permit eligibility to be limited to spouses of master’s degree students to only those whose program is at least 16 months in duration
- Work permit eligibility to be limited to spouses of foreign workers in management or professional occupations or in sectors with labour shortages—under Canada’s work permit programs (TFWP and IMP)
We may see more changes in the coming weeks. International students now need to consider studying in Canada is not a straightforward options towards permanent residency in Canada. While these changes are sudden but it will definitely hurt many international students in Canada.