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Earlier this year, Canada’s Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) announced that the number of study permit applications to be processed in 2024 would be capped at 606,000. However, as per data shared by the ed-tech company ApplyBoard, in quarter 2 of 2024 (April to June), 127,700 new study permits were processed by IRCC. In comparison, nearly 238,800 study permit applications were processed in Q2 last year, representing a year-over-year drop of 54 per cent.
A data analysis done by the shows that overall, 39 per cent fewer new study permits will be processed in 2024 compared to 2023. Additionally, from January to June 2024, just under 114,000 new study permits were approved for post-secondary study, compared to nearly 220,000 over the same period in 2023, i.e. a drop of 48 per cent. “For the full year, we project a 39 per cent decrease in applications,” the report stated.
Additionally, there has also been a decline in the total approvals. As per the report, from January to June 2024, just under 1.14 lakh new study permits were approved for post-secondary studies — a 48 per cent decrease from nearly 2.20 lakh during the same period in 2023. If current trends persist and the approval rate remains at 51 per cent, approximately 2.31 lakh permits will be approved for the entire year, representing a 47 per cent drop from the 4,36,600 approvals in 2023.
Region-wise, Ontario and British Columbia, which host the largest international student populations, are experiencing the most significant impacts. Ontario saw a 70 per cent reduction in post-secondary study permit applications, while British Columbia faced a 49 per cent drop. Other provinces such as Quebec and the Maritimes provinces (Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, and Prince Edward Island) have seen varied effects, with Quebec maintaining relatively stable permit numbers, but the Maritimes experiencing a smaller influx of students.
The data also showed that searches for “study in Canada” have dropped by nearly 20 per cent compared to 2023, suggesting a growing preference for other destinations.
However, Indian students, who accounted for nearly 50 per cent of Canada’s international post-secondary student body in 2023, continue to have a high approval rate of 85 per cent in the first half of 2024. But, the volume of their study permit applications has decreased, as per the report. Experts believe that this indicated a shift in interest away from Canada.
