Ottawa, Sept 19: The Canadian federal government has announced plans to reduce the number of international student study permits issued in 2025 by 10%. Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) stated that the target for 2024 was 485,000, but this will drop to 437,000 in 2025. The number of permits in 2026 will remain the same as in 2025.
This decision follows a previous announcement in January 2024, where the government revealed plans to approve only 360,000 undergraduate study permits, a 35% decrease from the nearly 560,000 issued in 2023.
The move comes as Canada’s population exceeded 41 million in early 2024, driven by an increase in temporary residents. IRCC also aims to reduce the proportion of temporary residents from 6.5% of the population to 5% by 2026.
