Canada harasses visa requirements, Indian student reduces permit to 31%
There has been a significant decline in the number of Indian students studying in Canada in the first quarter of 2025, resulting in new requirements for student permits applications in Canada, since January 2024.According to IRCC data, 30,650 permits were issued for Indian students against 44,295 in 2024 – marking a 31 percent decline.Since 2023, Canada has been trying to arrest the influx of foreign students in the country. In 2023, Canada issued a total of 681,155 study permits, including 278,045 of Indians. In 2024, the total number fell to 516, 275 and the number of Indians decreased to 188,465.
Why Canada does not want international students
A growing international population has placed resources under high pressure, causing housing, transport crisis. Prime Minister Mark Karnet has said that temporary residents including foreign students and workers will not exceed five percent of the country’s population by 2027. Recently, international students have complained of a food crisis as many food banks have recently stopped international students from their services, which limit their services only to the permanent residents of Canada.
Why new visa requirements make it difficult for Indian students
As part of its ongoing process to curb the entry of international students, IRCC announced in 2024 that the permit for 2025 would be 485,000 to 437,000. IRCC stated that the new study permit application obtained on or after January 1, 2024 will require to show that they have CA $ 20,635. Earlier, this amount was CA $ 10,000. Indian students have historically been the largest group of international students in Canada. In 2022, Indian students were 41 percent of the total international students.
Canada student permit eligibility requirements
- A specified educational institution should first accept applicants.
- Applicants have to prove that they have enough money to pay for tuition fees, pay for their and family members to be paid, who come with them, and enough money to pay for return transport.
- Applicants must follow the law, there should be no criminal records.
- Applicants should be in good health and medical examination if necessary.
- Applicants have to prove an officer that they will leave Canada when the study permit is over.
