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Canada’s Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) on September 19 announced a further reduction in the intake cap on international student study permits for 2025.
As a part of ongoing efforts of managing the volume of temporary resident arrivals in the country, IRCC is announcing a further reduction in study permits for 2025 based on a 10 per cent reduction from the 2024 target of 485,000 new study permits issued. With this, they plan to stabilise the intake cap for 2026 such that the number of study permits issued remains the same as 2025, that is, reducing study permits issued to 437,000.
“Earlier this year, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada announced a decrease in the number of temporary residents — from 6.5% of Canada’s total population down to 5% by 2026. To achieve this goal, the federal government is taking action to manage the increase of temporary residents and hold employers misusing the system accountable. We are reforming the International Student Program, tightening eligibility requirements for temporary foreign workers, enforcing employer compliance more strictly, and making labour market impact assessments more rigorous to mitigate fraud, and more,” an official statement said.
IRCC will also be updating the Post-Graduation Work Permit Program this fall to better align with immigration goals and labour market needs. As additional measures, the Canadian government also plans to limit work permit eligibility, later this year, to spouses of master’s degree students to only those whose programme is at least 16 months in duration. The government will also limit work permit eligibility later this year to spouses of foreign workers in management or professional occupations or in sectors with labour shortages — under Canada’s work permit programmes (TFWP and IMP).
Additionally, the 2025–2026 study permit intake cap will include master’s and doctoral students who will now have to submit a provincial or territorial attestation letter. The Canadian government will be reserving approximately 12 per cent of allocation spaces for these students in recognition of the benefits they bring to the Canadian labour market.
“The reality is that not everyone who wants to come to Canada will be able to — just like not everyone who wants to stay in Canada will be able to. We are taking action to strengthen our temporary residence programs and roll out a more comprehensive immigration plan to meet the demands of today’s changing landscape. Our immigration system must preserve its integrity, and be well managed and sustainable. And as we look forward, we will do everything it takes to achieve that goal and set newcomers up for success,” said Marc Miller, Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship.
