Canada announces 2-year cap on international student visas; move likely to impact Indians
The Hindu
Canada imposes a two-year cap on international student visas to address housing crisis and target "bad actors."
Canada has announced that it is imposing an immediate two-year cap on new international student visas to tackle a housing crisis and target institutional "bad actors", a move that is likely to impact Indians planning to study in the country.
Immigration Minister Marc Miller said as part of the cap there will be a 35 per cent reduction in new study visas in 2024. The cap is expected to result in 3,64,000 new approved permits in 2024. Nearly 5,60,000 study visas were issued last year.
The cap will be in place for two years and the number of permits to be issued in 2025 will be reassessed at the end of this year, he said.
“To maintain a sustainable level of temporary residence in Canada, as well to ensure that there is no further growth in the number of international students in Canada for 2024, we are setting a national application intake cap for two years from 2024,” Global News quoted Mr. Miller as saying.
The move comes amid pressure on the federal government from provinces on the increasing numbers of non-permanent residents entering Canada while the country struggles with a housing crisis, CBC News said.
Mr. Miller earlier this month said that a cap on international students would not be a “one-size-fits-all solution” to housing shortages across Canada.
More than 8,00,000 international students were issued temporary study visas in 2022. Mr. Miller said last fall that 2023's numbers were on track to be more than triple the number accepted 10 years ago.
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