Now the cap will be based on the number of study permits expiring this year, he said. This effectively means the number of international students who will enter Canada in 2024 will be the same as the number of students whose permits cease to continue this year onwards.

The target for this year, the minister said, is 4,85,000. Since nearly 20 percent of students apply for an extension each year, which is 97,000. The authorities kept a buffer of 24,000, thus leaving a remainder of 3,64,000 which will be the number of study permits in 2024.

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Since, Canada has an approval rate of 60 percent for study permit applications, there is a target of 6,06,000 (3,64,000 X 100/60) study permit applications to be received in 2024.

Meanwhile, it is noteworthy that some international students are exempt from this cap, such as primary and secondary school students and even master’s or doctoral degree students. 

IRCC (Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada) deducted the estimated volume of these groups (140,000 based on 2023 data) from the 2024 target number of approved study permits. As a result, the target of 6.06 lakh gets further reduced to roughly 3.93 lakh study permit applications.

These study permit applications will be distributed to territories and provinces. Some provinces will get more applications, while others would get fewer applications.

“For provinces that would receive more international students in 2024 than in 2023 based on population share, we adjusted their allocation to limit growth to 10% compared to 2023,” reads the statement from the minister. 

Highest number of Indian students

Canada is the nation that gets a highest number of international students — nearly 3.19 lakh in 2023 — from India. Canada is followed by UAE, USA and UK, reveals the data on this Wikipedia page. 

Meanwhile, study permits issued to Indian students in Canada dropped sharply last year after India removed diplomats from Canada who were meant to process the permits and consequently, fewer Indian students applied due to diplomatic dispute between the two nations, Reuters reported. 

Let us summarise the above numbers here:

I. Canada’s target for international study permits for 2024 is 4.85 lakh. 

II. This number includes 20 percent of current students who are likely to seek extension. This reduced the number by 97,000. 

III. There is another buffer of 24,000, leaving only 3,64,000 study permits to be given this year. 

IV. Since Canada has an approval rate of 60 percent for study permit applications, there is a target of 6.06 lakh study permit applications in 2024.

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Published: 06 Apr 2024, 04:03 PM IST