Immigration minister Marc Miller has announced that federal government will be further limiting the number of international students permitted to enter Canada next year. This comes as government’s latest immigration-related measure to address Canadians’ ongoing housing and affordability concerns.
In 2025, new international student study permits will be reduced by 10 per cent from the 2024 target of 485,000. That will mean 437,000 permits issued next year, with that same target continuing into 2026.
Earlier this year, Minister Miller also announced a decrease in the number of temporary residents in Canada to five per cent over the next three years, down from the current 6.2 per cent.
The feds have also signalled changes could be coming this fall to permanent resident levels.
Additional measures to manage the volume of temporary resident arrivals are:
- announcing a further reduction in the intake cap on international student study permits for 2025 based on a 10% reduction from the 2024 target of 485,000 new study permits issued, and then stabilizing the intake cap for 2026 such that the number of study permits issued remains the same as 2025. For 2025, this means reducing study permits issued to 437,000
- updating the Post-Graduation Work Permit Program this fall to better align with immigration goals and labour market needs
- limiting work permit eligibility, later this year, to spouses of master’s degree students to only those whose program is at least 16 months in duration
- limiting work permit eligibility later this year to spouses of foreign workers in management or professional occupations or in sectors with labour shortages—under Canada’s work permit programs (TFWP and IMP)
