They say the cap unfairly targets a very specific demographic of Canada’s migrant population, while allowing other migrants, including professionals, easier access to permanent residency.
This text is a translation of an article from CTV News.
Tasnimah Ahmed has been enrolled at the Ontario College of Art & Design University in Toronto for two years thanks to an international study permit. However, with the introduction of stricter rules for obtaining a post-graduation work permit, she fears being sent back to Bangladesh after graduation.
“I feel like it’s very unfair, because a lot of us studied for three or four years and now they’re limiting the number of work permits, which doesn’t make sense then that we have invested body and soul in all our studies”
– Tasnimah Ahmed
Earlier this month, Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Marc Miller announced that Canada would reduce the number of international study permits issued by 10% in 2025, after previously promising to reduce this number by 35% this year, and that it would put in place stricter rules for students who wish to stay in Canada with a post-graduation work permit.
“Many students are left in uncertainty,” said Mehnaz Lamia, international student representative at the Canadian Federation of Students. “Every day you live with an expiration date on your head because you don’t know what tomorrow will bring, because at any moment policies can change.”
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Miller says the new rules are a response to Canada’s housing shortage and unaffordability, but migrant advocates say they have left many international students with an uncertain future.
“The rules changed in the middle of the game,” Sarom Rhom, an organizer with the Migrant Workers Alliance for Change, warned CTV News. “Time is working against these students and throwing them into a massive crisis.”
Rhom and other migrant advocacy groups are pushing for the federal government to allow current students to apply for post-graduation work permits under the old rules.
“We are asking the federal government to grant a minimum of grandfathering to all students who are already in the country and who have committed to studying in Canada under existing rules,” he said.
Student groups feel targeted
International students feel their demographic is unfairly targeted, while large numbers of permanent residency applications are available for other migrant groups.
Canada has distributed tens of thousands of “invitations to apply” for permanent residence, including nearly 6,000 during the month of September.
These invitations to apply can provide a gateway to permanent residency for students, but they can also be issued to professionals already working in Canada or other parts of the world.
However, with the permit cap only affecting foreign students, they do not believe the path to permanent residency is fair.
“I really hope we will be given priority,” admitted Ms. Lamia. “We really hope there will be more resources and support structures instead of having more policies that dismantle those supports and create additional barriers.”
Migrant advocates are pushing for fair treatment of all migrant groups, not just policies targeting students.
“We are giving advantages to certain people in our society with express entry, who are more high-level, more skilled workers, and we are saying that other elements of our immigration system are no longer welcome. It is therefore indeed a rule of division,” indicated Chris Ramsaroop, of Justice for Migrant Workers. “The nuances in the divisive rule are that many other racialized communities are under attack.”
Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) responded that “most of these invitations are for students who have just obtained a post-graduation work permit and need a pathway to permanent residency” . However, the IRCC would not specify how many of them would be for students and how many invitations would be issued to temporary foreign workers and other professionals.
“It would be unfair to blame students for the housing crisis, but it would be equally unfair to welcome an unlimited number of international students without providing them with the necessary support, whether it be accommodation, healthcare or health or an adequate educational environment, said the IRCC in a press release.
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