Maple News reports that Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) is significantly increasing the cost-of-living financial requirement for international students applying for study permits, with the new threshold taking effect on January 1, 2024.
Under the revised policy, single applicants will be required to demonstrate access to $20,635, in addition to covering their first-year tuition and travel expenses. This represents more than double the previous requirement of $10,000 — a benchmark that had remained unchanged since the early 2000s.
IRCC says the adjustment was necessary to reflect contemporary living costs in Canada, noting that the outdated figure had left many students financially unprepared after arrival. The change aims to better protect international students from economic hardship and exploitation, providing a more realistic budgeting framework as they transition to life in Canada.
Going forward, the cost-of-living requirement will be reviewed annually and adjusted in line with Statistics Canada’s Low-Income Cut-Off (LICO), which represents the income level where individuals are not forced to spend an undue portion of their earnings on basic necessities such as food, shelter and clothing.
This new benchmark also applies to the Student Direct Stream (SDS), a faster processing program targeted at applicants from 14 specific countries. The SDS is popular among students from Asia and Africa due to its efficiency and streamlined documentation requirements.
In an effort to reduce financial vulnerabilities among international students, IRCC acknowledges that access to Canadian education must also remain equitable. As such, the government will be launching pilot initiatives in 2024 aimed at supporting students from underrepresented backgrounds.
Alongside this policy change, IRCC has extended its temporary waiver on the 20-hour-per-week work cap for international students currently in Canada or those who applied for a study permit by December 7, 2023. Now valid until April 30, 2024, the extension allows eligible students to work unlimited hours off-campus during academic sessions. This initiative, originally introduced in November 2022, is intended to help students better manage rising living costs amid inflationary pressures.
These combined measures underscore Canada’s evolving approach to attracting and supporting international students — a vital component of the nation’s post-secondary education system and broader immigration landscape.