Canada Set to Approve 292,000 Study Permits for International Students in 2024

March 13, 2024

Ishita Soni

Over 292,000 Permits Are Approved for College & UG Students

Canada’s Immigration Minister, Marc Miller, told the Globe and Mail that this year, there are about 292,000 study permits available for international students wanting to study at Canadian colleges and universities. However, back in January, Immigration Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) put a limit on the total number of international students allowed to receive study permits this year to around 360,000.

This limit is meant to control the rapid growth of Canada’s international student program by decreasing the number of approved study permits by 35% over two years. IRCC also plans to make the system more trustworthy.

Clarification on Study Permit Availability and Intake Cap for International Students in Canada.

The government clarified that they counted some study permits separately from the cap, so the actual number of new permits for college and university students this year is 292,000, not 360,000 as first thought. The immigration minister can’t directly limit the number of visas issued but can control how many applications are processed. Some programs were not affected by the processing limit, potentially leading to around 360,000 study permits being approved in 2024. This contrasts with the Globe and Mail’s report of 292,200 permits. At first, the government didn’t mention that the processing limit also included students not affected by the cap.

Canada’s Approach to Implementing Study Permit Cap.

IRCC is letting provinces handle the study permit cap by giving international students a Provincial Attestation Letter (PAL) from their province’s government, alongside their acceptance letter from a Designated Learning Institution (DLI) to apply for a study permit. PALs must include the student’s full name, date of birth, and address, and the number of allocations each province gets depends on its population. So far, only British Columbia and Alberta have announced their PAL delivery systems, with DLIs distributing PALs once students meet requirements. All provinces must have their PAL systems in place by March 31st, 2024.

Conclusion:

Canada is implementing a cap on study permits for international students to control the rapid growth of its international student program. The cap aims to decrease the number of approved study permits by 35% over two years. However, there was a discrepancy between the Immigration Minister’s explanation of the cap and the initial reports, with IRCC clarifying that certain permits were exempt from the cap. Provinces are responsible for managing the cap by issuing Provincial Attestation Letters (PALs) to students alongside their acceptance letters from designated learning institutions (DLIs).

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