Canada continues to tighten study permits

Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada updated its website with new study permit requirements on September 18. The cap includes both master’s and doctoral degrees. This group accounts for about 12% of all approved study permits, or more than 52,400 people. Previously, the cap only applied to undergraduate students.

Another new feature is that the spouses of master’s students are granted work permits when they register for a program of 16 months or more. They are also only allowed to work in certain regulated occupations or occupations that are in labor shortage.

In addition, from November, applicants for a Post-Graduation Work Permit (PGWP) must submit an English or French language certificate according to the Canadian Language Assessment Framework (12 levels). University graduates must achieve level 7 or higher, while college graduates must achieve level 5 or higher, equivalent to levels B2 and B1 according to the European framework.

Currently, university graduates and above can apply for a PGWP for up to three years. College graduates are not eligible, unless they are studying a profession that is in long-term shortage. The Department of Immigration said it will update other content about the PGWP in the near future.

The new regulations are aimed at improving the immigration system, according to Immigration Minister Marc Miller.

"We have to preserve its integrity, manage it well and sustainably. Not everyone who wants to come to Canada can," he said.

However, experts are concerned about the impact this will have on the international education sector. The Council of Ontario Universities (COU) believes that limiting master's and doctoral admissions could cause Canada to miss out on a lot of talent.

Canada has been tightening regulations on international students since October 2023, amid rising immigration numbers, putting pressure on the housing market.

In January, the government announced a cap of 485,000 international undergraduate students by 2024. International students will also need to have more than $20,600 CAD ($15,200 USD) in funds, in addition to tuition and travel costs, to obtain a study permit. That’s double the $10,000 CAD requirement that has existed for decades. International master’s and doctoral students will need to submit a provincial, state or territory’s endorsement of their studies when applying for a permit.

Canada stopped issuing PGWPs to students in public-private partnerships in mid-May, 3.5 months ahead of schedule. The public-private model involves a public school accepting international students and sending them to a private school to study. The private school pays a fee to the public school, and the international student receives a public university degree to apply for a PGWP.

Canada is expected to attract more than one million international students by 2023, making it one of the top two study abroad destinations, along with the United States. Previously, it was relatively easy to obtain a post-graduation work permit, which was valid for 8-36 months, depending on the length of the program.

The average cost of a bachelor's degree in Canada is about 36,000 CAD (652 million VND) a year, including tuition and living expenses.