The Federal government of Canada on Monday announced a two-year cap on student visas as a result of the housing crunch in the North American country which had recently become a choice destination for many.
Mr. Marc Miller who is the Minister for Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship in Canada, made this announcement on Monday at a news conference in Montreal where the Justin Trudeau-led cabinet is holding a three-day retreat.
Miller said with a stated goal of targeting institutional “bad actors” and amid concern about the impact growing numbers of international students are having on the housing market, the government will cap the number of student visas over the next two years.
According to Miller, the Canadian government will approve approximately 360,000 undergraduate study permits for 2024 which happens to be a 35 per cent reduction from the year 2023.
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“Each province and territory will be allotted a portion of the total, distributed according to population,” the Immigration Minister said.
“The federal government says this will result in much more significant decreases in provinces where the international student population has seen the most unsustainable growth.”
Miller explained that in some provinces, the total reduction in permits will be approximately 50 per cent.
He further revealed that provinces and territories will be left to decide how permits are distributed among universities and colleges in their jurisdictions.
According to him, the cap will be in place for two years and the number of visas to be issued in 2025 will be reassessed at the end of 2024.
“It’s unacceptable that some private institutions have taken advantage of international students by operating under-resourced campuses, lacking supports for students and charging high tuition fees all the while significantly increasing their intake of international students,” Miller said.
“To be absolutely clear, these measures are not against individual international students.
“They are to ensure that as future students arrive in Canada, they receive the quality of education that they signed up for and the hope that they were provided in their home countries.”
The Minister stressed that by imposing the cap, the federal government of Canada is taking action against some small private colleges.