Maple News reports that Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) has confirmed it will approve approximately 292,000 study permits for international college and undergraduate students in 2024. This figure is part of a broader cap introduced earlier in the year to manage the volume of international students and improve the integrity of the program.
In January, IRCC set a national target of 360,000 approved study permits for 2024. However, recent clarification from Immigration Minister Marc Miller revealed that this figure includes study permits exempt from the new cap, such as those for elementary, secondary, and graduate-level programs. Once these exemptions are accounted for, only 292,000 permits are available for college and undergraduate programs.
The cap, imposed to curb “unsustainable growth” in international student numbers, is intended to reduce study permit approvals by 35% over two years. Minister Miller made it clear that while he does not have the legal authority to cap the number of visas issued, he can limit the number of applications processed. Based on past approval rates, an overall cap of 606,250 applications has been set to result in around 360,000 approvals.
Implementation of the new rules relies heavily on provincial and territorial governments. Each province is now responsible for issuing a Provincial Attestation Letter (PAL) to eligible students, which must accompany the student’s letter of acceptance when applying to IRCC. Only institutions listed as Designated Learning Institutions (DLIs) are authorized to admit international students under this new system.
The PAL must include the student’s full name, date of birth, and address, and be signed by the provincial government. This ensures that each region can manage its intake based on its population. The federal government has mandated that all provinces must have their PAL processes up and running by March 31, 2024.
So far, only British Columbia and Alberta have put procedures in place to issue PALs. In both provinces, DLIs are responsible for submitting applications on behalf of their admitted students to obtain the required attestation letters from the government.
These changes represent a significant shift in how Canada manages its international education program. While the government maintains that these measures aim to uphold system integrity and improve the student experience, stakeholders across the education sector are closely monitoring the impact on enrollment figures and institutional operations.
Maple News will continue to provide updates as more provinces finalize their PAL systems and as international students navigate this new landscape.