Significant adjustments to Canada’s international student program were made by Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) on January 22. These included a new cap on study permit approvals for 2024 and a new policy regarding provincial attestation letters for foreign students requesting study permits.
Following these announcements, aspiring foreign students have a number of concerns about the new regulations, including how they will be applied and how it would affect their prospects of obtaining a study permit. This post will address some of the most frequently asked questions about studying in Canada and make an effort to make sense of the information that the IRCC has so far disclosed.
When do these latest modifications take effect?
The revised study permit cap and the attestation letter procedure were put into effect by the IRCC on January 22nd, the day the news was made. This implies that just 360,000 applications for study permits will be granted for the rest of the year.
The fact that the procedure by which provincial and territory administrations would issue attestation letters has not yet been finalized, nevertheless, could lead to some misunderstanding. The deadline for implementing this method is March 31st, 2018 for provinces and territories.
Do these changes affect me as I have a letter of admission and am scheduled to travel to Canada shortly?
Those who failed to submit their study visa application before January 22, 2024, are affected by the new modifications to the foreign student program.
This implies that unless you applied for your study visa before January 22nd, you will be subject to these new restrictions even if you have obtained a letter of acceptance (LOA) to study at a Designated Learning Institution (DLI).
Should I wait until March 31st to submit my study permit application?
It’s unclear as of this writing if overseas students will need to wait until the end of March to submit their study visa applications.
To be more precise, the provinces and territories of Canada are now in charge of creating a procedure for providing attestation letters to foreign students. International students may be allowed to apply for their study permits earlier if provincial and territory administrations can set up this framework before March 31st.
Are applications for study permits submitted after January 22nd free from the new cap and procedure?
Certain study permit applications won’t be affected by these new modifications, according to the IRCC. These are the following:
- young youngsters requesting to enroll in kindergarten through grade 12 in primary or secondary education;
- Candidates for a master’s, doctoral, or other post-graduate program; or
- applicants seeking to renew or extend their study licenses.
In 2024, would I need permission from the IRCC to change my educational institution?
It is still unknown how overseas students who want to modify their DLIs for the upcoming academic year would go about doing so. As the year progresses, the IRCC might probably offer additional clarification on this.
Is this an ongoing modification to the program for overseas students?
The new foreign student cap and attestation letter procedure, according to the January 22nd announcement, is a temporary measure that will be in place for the next two years. At the conclusion of this year, the IRCC has announced that it would review the cap placed on international students for 2025.
