New laws for international students by the Canadian government
• Currently, students who have completed their graduation and are staying in the country are not being issued work permits.
• According to the new law, spouses of students studying in undergraduate and college programs in the country can no longer be accepted.
Due to the increase in the number of international students and immigrants, Canada is experiencing severe housing shortages. As a result, starting this year, the Canadian government is imposing strict restrictions on the entry of international students.
Currently, even students who have completed their graduation and are staying in the country are not being issued work permits. To address the housing crisis, the Canadian government wants to reduce the number of international students. To this end, new restrictions have been announced regarding work and study permits for international students.
On Monday, local time, Canada’s Immigration Minister Marc Miller announced that they aim to reduce the number of international students in Canada by 35% within the next two years. To achieve this goal, the Liberal government will implement a temporary two-year restriction on student visas. As a result of this temporary restriction, approximately 364,000 visas will be issued in the country this year, which is a 35% decrease compared to the previous year.
What the Temporary Restrictions Include
Through the new temporary restrictions by the Canadian government, limits will be set on postgraduate work permits. Previously, students who completed their graduation could easily obtain work authorization from the government. This was seen as an easy pathway to permanent residency in the country. However, due to the new strict restrictions, even students who have completed their graduation and are currently staying in the country are not being issued work permits.
According to the proposal of New laws for international students by the Canadian government, only students currently pursuing postgraduate or post-doctoral studies, or studying in fields such as medicine and law, will be eligible for a three-year work permit in the country. This will force a large number of international students to return to their home countries.
Additionally, the immigration minister has announced that work permits will no longer be issued to international students graduating from public college-private partnership universities. According to the new law, spouses of students studying in undergraduate and college programs in the country will no longer be considered eligible, meaning they cannot accompany the students. The increase in the number of immigrants is also putting pressure on housing, healthcare, and other service sectors. The rise in the number of international students has significantly increased rental prices in the country. According to Statistics Canada, in December, rental costs in Canada were up 7.7% compared to the previous year. The government believes that the temporary restrictions will lead to changes in the current situation within two years.
