Canada has been making the biggest immigration changes in its recent history. After reaching a record of more than one million new residents in 2022, the highest number in 65 years, raising its total population above 40 million, the country is rethinking the immigration policy that gave rise to such a milestone.
The reason, said exponential growth has come hand in hand with inflationary pressure, greater demand for basic services, while job opportunities have not grown at the same pace.
Hence, the government’s goal is to reduce the weight of temporary residents as a proportion of the population from 6.5% to 5%. To achieve this, it has been applying various changes, most focused on reducing the number of international students.
In recent years, this country has established itself as one of the most relevant academic destinations, at some point surpassing the United Kingdom and Australia. However, this popularity also highlighted a series of problems associated with the massive entry of students.
To the point that even the high cost of housing, whose price has doubled in the last decade, has been associated with the greater arrival of them. A point on which many do not agree, arguing that this phenomenon is the product of a combination of factors, among them, poor access to land.
Regarding migration for educational purposes, the Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Agency of Canada (Ircc) announced that it will reduce the number of study permits by 10%, taking them to 437,000 in 2025, estimating that between now and 2026 there will be about 300,000 fewer international students.
Academic institutions warn that the decline will be greater, given that non-national enrollment has fallen by at least 45% compared to last year. This is due to the measures that have been taken against this population.
The first of them has to do with the open work permit. Before the fall, those studying at a Canadian public university, regardless of professional field, They could apply this for up to a period of three years after finishing their studies, also covering their family with this benefit.
Now, this permit was limited only to those who graduate from programs linked to occupations with long-term shortages. That is, it will depend on the level of demand for the profession. Hence, the study route to access permanent residence is now limited.
“The reality is that not everyone who wants to come to Canada will be able to do so, just as not everyone who wants to stay in Canada will be able to do so. We are taking steps to strengthen our temporary residency programs and implement a more comprehensive immigration plan to meet the demands of today’s changing landscape.”said Marc Miller, Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship.
The other point has to do with the fact that unlike what had been happening, where the student’s partner could apply for an open work permit, Now only spouses of master’s and doctoral students can obtain it. Therefore, those who previously came to study, for example, at technical institutions, paying much lower prices, are no longer protected.
Likewise, since the pandemic the work permit for international students had been increased to 40 hours, now it is again limited to 20 hours. Added to this is that in January the minimum amount to be credited per student to apply for a study visa had doubled, going from US$10,000 to US$20,000.
The other front that has just had important changes is that of temporary workers. Due to the labor shortage in the country, companies could hire foreigners for up to 20% of their payroll under the figure of Temporary Foreign Worker, after demonstrating that they had not obtained local candidates. Now employers are limited to hiring up to 10% of their workforce through this figure.
“Right now, we know there are more Canadians qualified to fill vacant positions. “The changes we are making today will prioritize Canadian workers and ensure that Canadians can trust that the program meets the needs of our economy,” said the Minister of Employment.
In August, unemployment in Canada was 6.6%, equivalent to 1.5 million people, marking an increase of 60,000 (4.3%) since July and an increase of 272,000 (22.9%) compared to August 2023. Hence, the measure to reduce the number of temporary workers is based on concern about the increase in the unemployment rate.
Those who seek to stay
Those who entered before the new rules came into effect are trying to define their permanence. Experts in the field estimate that between 70,000 and 130,000 foreigners with postgraduate work permits will see their visas expire between now and the end of 2025.
In light of the current rules, these people can seek permanent residence if they meet the requirements, among them, having at least one year of experience in a qualified job that is on the list of tasks prioritized by the federal government, and obtaining a score that allows you to be called to participate in the process.
The points scored by each candidate depend on several factors, such as level of education, age, command of English and French, etc. Those who do not achieve permanent residency could be forced to return to their countries and will not be able to renew their postgraduate work permits.
More than 13,000 students recently requested asylum
Between January 1 and August 31, a total of 119,835 asylum applications were filed in Canada. Of them, 12,915, equivalent to 11%, were applicants who had study permits (11,605) or extensions of study permits (1,310), representing an increase of 600% compared to the number of applications submitted by students in 2018.
In part, this situation is due to an excess demand for qualified labor, compared to the real supply that the country has. Something exacerbated with the rapid increase in the issuance of work permits granted.
