Canada limits number of new international students for 2025-2026

International students to Canada are facing a new barrier. What used to be hope for a better life, is now potentially facing deportation when their work permits expire over the next year. 

Over 200,000 international students in Canada risk losing their legal status as postgraduates once their work permits expire over the next 13 months. Recent changes to the federal government’s immigration policy have raised concerns, with many graduate students fearful that their permanent resident requests will be denied. 

Once their work permits expire, they’ll be forced to make a choice — stay in Canada illegally or leave the country. 

This change comes shortly after the shocking announcement in October – Canada’s 2025 to 2027 Immigration Levels Plan announced that new study permits will be reduced by 10% from the 2024 target of 485,000 to 437,000 in 2025 and 2026. This was to address the housing shortage, overburdened health systems, and rising costs of living. 

According to the Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC), the plan outlines the projected number of permanent residents that Canada aims to admit each year, and establishes targets across various immigration categories. 

This cap, which first made headlines in January 2024, initially excluded students enrolled in master’s and PhD programmes.

The latest news, however, has revealed that the 2025–2026 study permit intake cap will include master’s and doctoral students. International students wishing to enrol in these postgraduate programmes must now submit a provincial or territorial attestation letter.

Since the recent announcements, colleges have been forced to make changes on their end as well. Ontario’s Sheridan College announced that it was suspending 40 programmes and laying off staff to reduce expenses. The college is considered the top animation school in Canada, with seven Sheridan-trained animators who have won the Academy Award.

“All current students in these programs will have the opportunity to graduate, but we will not be enrolling new first-year students moving forward,” Sheridan College announced on its website. It also claims in an email to CTV News that “Based on our enrolment projections, we will have about 30 per cent fewer students in the coming years, which will lead to a loss of approximately $112M in revenue in the next fiscal year. As such, we must reduce our expenses.”

One small silver lining is that the Canadian government has announced that it will be reserving approximately 12% of allocation spaces for postgraduate students in recognition of the benefits they bring to the Canadian labour market. 

And there’s more. 

Canada, despite being a wealthy nation, is gripped by a surge in homelessness that has seen thousands of people living in the streets after being priced out of real estate and rental markets. Source: AFP

The updates international students to Canada need to be aware of

1. Changes to the post-graduation work permit

The post-graduation work permit (PGWP), which allows you to stay and work temporarily in Canada upon completing your studies, has been updated.

International students who wish to gain this post-study work visa not only have to graduate from a designated learning institution (DLI) and its eligible programme, but also have to demonstrate a minimum language proficiency in English or French. 

This comes in the form of either a minimum language proficiency in English at a Canadian Language Benchmark (CLB) or French at a Niveaux de competence linguistique canadiens (NCLC) level 7 in four language areas (reading, writing, listening and speaking).

2. Changes to the work permit eligibility for spouses

Before the 2025 to 2027 Immigration Levels Plan was announced, Canada’s open work permit allowed the spouses of international students, regardless of occupation or level of study, to apply for an open work permit.

This allowed the partners of international students to work for any employer without needing a specific job offer. This helped support family reunification and Canada’s labour market integration, significantly increasing the number of temporary residents.

Now, the work permit eligibility is limited to spouses of master’s degree students and only to those whose programme is at least 16 months. Spouses of international students in undergraduate and college programmes will no longer be eligible for SOWPs.

Furthermore, the work permit eligibility is limited to spouses of foreign workers in management or professional occupations or in sectors with labour shortages under either the Temporary Foreign Worker Programme (TFWP) or the International Mobility Programme (IMP).

3. New International Student Programme regulations take effect

As of November 2024, the IRCC confirmed some new regulations. The first involved changing the number of hours international students may work off campus while classes are in session. Previously, students could only work up to 20 hours a week. The new change allows for 24 hours instead. 

Another change will require students to apply and be approved for a new study permit before changing learning institutions. Meanwhile, designated learning institutions (DLIs) must play a stronger part in preventing misuse of the programme by submitting compliance reports and verifying acceptance letters; they will be expected to submit a report to IRCC twice a year that indicates whether each study permit holder associated with their school has remained enrolled. Students who are no longer enrolled can be investigated and face enforcement action, as they may be breaking their study permit conditions.

What is the Canadian housing crisis and what do international students have to do with it?

If you’ve seen the news about Australia capping its international student intake due to its immigration and housing problems, well, Canada’s in the same boat.

The Canadian housing crisis has reached a tipping point — many Canadians struggle to pay rent and mortgage.

In August 2023, the average home price in the country was around 750,000 Canadian dollars (around US$539,554 at the time of writing) — an increase of 360% from 2000, when the average was 163,000 CAD.

So, this international student cap is just one method of solving the housing affordability issue.

Still, it’s not like international students aren’t struggling in the same boat as their Canadian peers when navigating the housing crisis.

Thirty-year-old biomedical engineering graduate Amin Kamaleddinezabadi, who completed his PhD at the University of Toronto, shares that foreign students are sometimes required to pay six months’ worth of rent in advance since they don’t have a credit record in the country.

Rental prices have only increased since he began his studies, according to the Iranian graduate. 

“Most international students rely on their own funding, and with the higher tuition fees they pay, it can be a really big burden for them financially,” Kamaleddinezabadi told BBC.

University Living, a global student housing marketplace, wrote on LinkedIn that the skyrocketing costs have forced students into “costly commutes and even hotels,” burdening their already tight budgets.

One report revealed that 25 students resorted to sleeping in tents on the side of the road. From a college in Ontario, these students spoke to local media about having to pay tuition of around 14,000 CAD and housing costs ranging between 700 CAD to 1,600 CAD a month. 

Since August 2024, more international students and foreign workers have joined the fray of tents, but as a protest against the new immigration changes. They are voicing frustration over the sudden change, which, they say, unfairly penalises them after they’ve invested years and significant financial resources in their education in Canada.

Many have set up tents in places like Brampton along with banners, with slogans like “stop mass deportation”, “good enough to work, good enough to stay”, “stop scapegoating immigrants”, and “stop hate and racism”. 

Official data from the Canadian Bureau for International Education showed more than 800,000 international students had active student visas in 2022, up from 275,000 in 2012. Source: AFP

Will limiting the number of international students help solve the Canadian housing crisis?

The number of international students in Canada has risen over the years. 

In 2023, the Canadian Bureau for International Education recorded about 1,040,985 international students in the country — a 65% increase from five years ago. 

While the influx of international students may make them an easy target for politicians, immigrants, international students, and temporary workers should not be considered as the cause of Canada’s housing crisis.

Here’s why:

1. International students make up just 2% of Canada’s population

At the time of writing, Canada had a population of 39,901,203. 

Meanwhile, there are a little over a million international students in Canada, making up about 2.5% of Canada’s population.  

Rachel Dancel, a video creator based in Vancouver and an international graduate from the Philippines, shares that students typically opt for shared accommodation, live on campus, or even choose homestays. 

“Housing prices are currently skyrocketing because many people want homes, but there aren’t enough available,” she says. 

“Therefore, even if efforts are made to reduce the number of international students by half, it would only account for about 1% of the population. This wouldn’t create more homes or make existing homes more affordable.”

There are other factors that have an impact on this housing crisis, including interest rates, foreign investors purchasing multiple properties for quick profits, inflation, government policies, a shortage of construction workers, and more. 

Damanpreet Singh, the international student representative for Canada’s national student union, the Canadian Federation of Students, says: “A cap will not eliminate inflation, luxury housing, gentrification, housing scams, and many other factors that affect Canadians and non-Canadians who are trying to find a home.” 

Canada’s nationwide rental and housing crisis has resulted in major cities like Toronto and Vancouver becoming increasingly unlivable for students and low-income earners. Source: AFP

2. International students are a huge source of income for the Canadian economy

Universities Canada firmly opposes the imposition of restrictions on the admission of international students.

This stance primarily stems from the fact that Canadian universities heavily rely on international students as a substantial source of their revenue.

Fay Faraday, a law professor at Osgoode Hall Law School and immigration law expert, says: “The international student population is critical to the functioning of the university because the fees that they pay, which are significantly above domestic fees, fill the gap in the underfunding for the public education system and secondary public education system.”

According to Statistics Canada, the gulf between domestic and international fees is significant.

In the academic year 2024-25, the average Canadian domestic student paid 7,306 CAD for undergraduate tuition fees, while in stark contrast, the average international student paid a tuition burden almost six times greater, amounting to 40,114 CAD.

In fact, in 2023, Canada reported that international students contributed 22.3 billion CAD to the country’s economy, and the country has heavily depended on immigration to address various labor-sector shortages.

Robson Square, a public plaza located in downtown Vancouver, is co-designed by German-born Canadian landscape architect Cornelia Hahn Oberlander. It is the site of the Provincial Law Courts and one location of the University of British Columbia (UBC) Robson Square. Source: AFP

3. International students bring diversity to campuses

International students bring important knowledge, diversity and skills to campuses, communities and the workforce. 

“While housing concerns are valid, let’s remember that any student, international or domestic, is a victim of housing affordability challenges. International students enrich our campuses and communities. They bring diverse perspectives, cultures, and talents that contribute to our education system and economy,” Meti Basiri, CEO and co-founder of ApplyBoard, writes in a LinkedIn post.

He emphasises the focus should remain on enhancing the integrity of Canada’s immigration system, intentionally addressing fraud, and collaborating with provincial governments to spark innovative solutions.

Disclaimer: This article was last updated on November 29, 2024.