Last year, far more international students arrived in Canada than in the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic, with large increases in the number of Canada study permits granted in Ontario, Alberta, and British Columbia.
According to data from Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship Canada (IRCC), 621,565 study permits were awarded last year, an increase of over 17.7 per cent from the 528,190 issued in 2020. The rise in study approvals last year puts Canada just 2.6 percentage points away from breaking the record of 638,280 study permits given in 2019, the final full year before the pandemic. However, Immigration Minister Sean Fraser has stated that Canada wants to do even more to expedite the processing of study permits.
“We’re going to be putting additional resources to get the study permit processing times back to our service standard this year in hopes that we can get as many students here on the schedule they need to complete their academic programs,” vowed Fraser earlier this year.
Ottawa is implementing initiatives to speed up application processing, including the hiring of 500 more processing employees and the digitization of applications. With the commencement of the Russia-Ukraine war in late February, Canada has also agreed to grant free study permits to any Ukrainians living in Canada for up to three years. The provinces with the highest gains in international students last year were Ontario, Canada’s most populated province, Alberta, and British Columbia.
In 2021, 292,240 study permits were issued in Ontario, an increase of 49,540, or 20.4%, over the 242,700 issued the previous year. There were 306,055 study permits issued in Ontario in the previous full year prior to the commencement of the pandemic. Last year, 32,645 study permits were awarded in Alberta, a 17.8 per cent increase over the 27,705 issued in 2020.
With the increase in research permits last year, the Prairie province came within 300 study permits of the 2019 target. On the West Coast, British Columbia experienced an increase of 16,350 study permits last year to 134,860, a nearly 13.8 per cent rise over the 118,510 issued the previous year.
However, British Columbia was still down around 6.6% from the 144,340 study permits issued in 2019 before the pandemic temporarily reduced overseas travel to a trickle at the end of last year.
These students must demonstrate the following in order to be eligible to study in Canada:
- have been accepted by a school, college, university or other educational institution in Canada;
- have enough money to pay for their tuition fees, living expenses, and return transportation;
- are law-abiding citizens with no criminal records;
- are in good health and willing to complete a medical examination, and;
- can satisfy an immigration officer that they will leave Canada at the end of their authorized stays.
These students can work in Canada under the following categories after receiving a study permit:
- on-campus without a work permit;
- off-campus with a work permit;
- in co-op and internship programs, where work experience is part of the curriculum, with a work permit.
A foreign student who has graduated may apply for a work permit under the Post-Graduation Work Permit Program. The work permit may be issued for the duration of the study programme, up to a maximum of three years, under this programme.
The important job experience earned while working in Canada under a Post-Graduation Work Permit can be used to apply for permanent residence through the Canada Express Entry system. Applicants for immigration are assigned points based on the following factors under the Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) employed by Express Entry system programmes:
- Skills;
- Work experience;
- Language ability;
- Language ability and education of the applicant’s spouse or common-law partner;
- Possession of a job offer supported by a positive Labour Market Impact Assessment;
- Possession of a provincial government nomination for permanent residence, and;
- Certain combinations of language skills, education and work experience result in a higher chance of the applicant becoming employed (skill transferability).
Legal Disclaimer: This article is provided for information purposes only.
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