Share this post

Canada has capped international student study permits at 606,000 for 2024 to address the rapid increase of international students. This will have a significant impact as students from India form a major chunk of international students in Canada.

Unveiling the details of the national cap, Canada’s Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship (IRCC) Minister Marc Miller said, “Provincial and territorial allocations for 2024 have now been finalised”.

According to Miller, the allocations for each province and territory for the coming year are set. The strategy, dubbed the Net Zero First Year Growth Model, aims to stabilise the influx of international students.

The details are as follows:

  1. Canada plans to admit 485,000 new international students in 2024, accounting for the expiry of current study permits.
  2. A 20% rate of students seeking extensions reduces the number of permits by 97,000, setting a revised target of 364,000 approved study permits.
  3. A national approval rate of 60% for study permit applications necessitates a cap of 606,000 applications for the year.
  4. Students in primary, secondary, master’s, or doctoral programs are not subject to this cap.
  5. Based on 2023’s data, adjustments further reduce the target to 236,000 approved study permits, equating to about 393,000 applications distributed according to the population share of provinces and territories.
  6. Provinces experiencing over 10% growth in permit numbers from the previous year have their allocations adjusted to prevent further increases, while those with decreases receive support.
  7. Provinces with permit approval rates under 60% are given additional allocations to reach the expected number of approved permits for 2024.

The IRCC clarified, “A total of about 552,000 study permit applications have been allocated to provinces and territories under the national cap. These allocations are expected to yield approximately 292,000 approved study permits, marking a 28% decrease from 2023 for the groups under the cap.”

Indian students in Canada

Over the past decade, Canada has seen a surge in its international student population. From 300,000 in 2013, the number has risen to nearly 900,000 by 2023. A substantial share of this growth comes from Indian students, who, in 2022, represented approximately 40% of all international enrolments. This makes them the largest group of international students in Canada.

Share this post