Thousands of international students who were scheduled to study at three Ontario universities are skipping the fall semester after Ottawa announced it would further tighten Canada’s study permit system.
Some school officials attribute the dramatic drop in enrollment to the chilling effect of federal policies and visa delays caused by the stricter approach.
Glenn Volbregt, president of St. Lawrence University in Kingston, Ont., said the university is expecting 1,600 new international students this fall, but only 775 are enrolled in courses.
“This is not normal,” Vollebregt said, acknowledging that many students struggle to obtain visas on time, with the university approving the deferral requests of about a third of students. He said he did.
“This is … a direct result of some of the federal policy decisions we’ve seen.”
In January, the City of Ottawa announced it would put a cap on study abroad permits in 2024.
Last month, Immigration Minister Mark Miller announced a further 10 per cent reduction in the cap. This means around 300,000 fewer permits will be issued over the next few years. Canada plans to limit the number of study permits issued to 437,000 in 2025 and 2026.
Vollebregt said the policy means Canada’s brand as an educational destination has been tarnished. “We’re essentially saying Canada is closed for business,” he said.
Michael McDonald, director of government relations and policy at Universities and Research Canada, said universities have expressed deep concern about the drop in international student enrollment this fall.
“We anticipate a significant decline in overall membership,” he said.
MacDonald said the federal government’s changes create uncertainty, both for schools that rely heavily on international student tuition fees and for potential students deciding whether to come to Canada and continue their studies. He said he thinks it is.
“We believe that such uncertainty will further constrain enrollment and call many of our recruiting efforts into question,” he said.
Ottawa says the international student cap is necessary to stabilize the country’s burgeoning temporary resident population.
“We cannot sustain the annual growth in international student numbers unless we make sure international students get the support they need,” said Michelle Carbert, a spokeswoman for the Department of Immigration.
“While international students are not responsible for the challenges facing local communities, the recent surge in international students has put significant pressure on services.”
Professor Carbert said international students are encouraged to apply for a visa as soon as they receive their acceptance letter from their institution to avoid delays.
Mohawk College, which has multiple campuses in various cities in Ontario, welcomed nearly 1,500 students from other countries this fall, about 38 per cent fewer than last year, said Katie Burrows, vice president for international students. said.
“This is serious and completely out of the norm,” she said.
He added that there is a financial hit from not receiving expected fees. “We can manage this year. It will be even more difficult in the future.”
Burrows said the university just opened a new 300-bed residence hall in downtown Hamilton in hopes of hosting more international students, but only 60 students live there.
He attributed the decline to several factors, including concerns foreign students have about their future in Canada due to government policies.
Another federal change will affect the availability of work permits for college graduates. Previously widely available, it will now be limited to areas of Canada where the labor market is in short supply. This change will affect students applying for permits after November 1st.
Burrows said visa delays are also a consideration.
Conestoga College appears to be doing the same, with 1,400 international students having their fall programs postponed to the winter semester.
“These delays may be due to visa delays,” said Brenda Belecki, the university’s executive director of corporate communications.
Brian Paul Welsh, an immigration consultant at Northern Education Consultants, agreed with school officials that two main factors were at play: international students reconsidering their destinations and “significant” visa delays. .
Welsh said Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada had previously been criticized for not vetting visa applications as carefully as necessary.
That recently changed, he said, and all applications are now “extremely thoroughly reviewed to see if they meet the criteria before making a decision on acceptance.”
He said there could be more bureaucracy and longer turnaround times. In January, the City of Ottawa announced it would require provinces to issue a certificate to international students, and without one students would not be able to apply for a visa.
Still, Wales said the bigger issue may be the direction of federal policy.
Students may be holding back while waiting to see if there is still a chance they will become permanent residents after their studies, he said.
“The potential benefits may not outweigh the actual costs that they know they will incur,” he said.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 22, 2024.
