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The immigration system of Canada is facing significant changes, affecting thousands of international students planning to move here. According to the latest announcement by Canada’s Immigration Minister, Marc Miller, a cap on study permits is here to stay. The Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) has set a target of issuing just 437,000 study permits in 2025, which reflects a 10% reduction from the 2024 target of 485,000 permits. This cap is expected to remain stable through 2026, and as a result, Canada expects to issue 300,000 fewer study permits over the next few years.
Minister Miller focused on the maintenance of the quality of the immigration maintaining its respect and integrity mentioning “Not everyone who wants to come to Canada will be able to.”
One of the major changes for international students revolves around the change in the PGWP requirement. From now on to be eligible for a PGWP, the students will have to meet the new Canadian Language Benchmark (CLB). University graduates must achieve a CLB score of 7, while college graduates will need a score of 5. The IRCC expects these changes to result in 175,000 fewer PGWPs being issued over the next three years. These new requirements may impact students aspiring to settle in Canada after graduation. As such, Cosmo Consultants, a well-known Study Abroad Consultancy, advises students to work closely with experts to navigate these new criteria.
Previously exempt from this requirement, from now on the students for Masters and PhD will also have to get the Provincial attestation letter to prove the authenticity of their application. About 12% of study permit allocations will be reserved for these students.
Only spouses of the students who are enrolled in 16 months of Master’s courses will be eligible for work permits which will result in the decline of visa approvals by approximately 50000 in the next three years.
As more announcements are expected in the coming times, the students must work with reliable Study Abroad Consultants to understand how these changes might affect them.
