Canada’s 5 Newly Announced Benefits for International Students

The Immigration Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) has announced a gamut of benefits for foreign students, comprising expanding the strength of students admitted and removing the work hours constraints. Here are five benefits that international students can leverage in Canada: 

1. Canada is facing historic labour shortages, and the Canadian government is thinking about promulgating the transition to permanent residence for international students to combat the labour shortage predicament in the country. 
2. Canada’s immigration authority will share monthly data on backlogs to make the process seamless; international students will also be able to track their applications.
3. Canada has temporarily lifted the working hours constraints of 20 hours per week for international students, which can be leveraged by applicants who have submitted a study permit application.   

International Students: we are temporarily lifting the 20-hour-per-week cap on the number of hours that students in Canada are allowed to work off-campus while class is in session:

1. Canada has acknowledged that from 2022-2023, the count of study permit holders will increase to approx. 753,000 international students (as per CIC News), which implies increasing opportunities available for students deliberating to study in the country.
2. Canada is also planning to look into the expansion of the Student Direct Stream (SDS), which enables fast-track study permits for candidates from many countries.

Canada is the most sought-after destination for international students considering a plethora of reasons, including work, affordability, and permanent residence opportunities. Last year, the country issued nearly 450,000 new study permits and hosted over 620,000 international students, as per CIC News. 

Between January and August 2022, the country has already processed more than 452,000 study permits. A 23% boost in work permits was seen until August this year. Last year, Canada processed study permit applications for around 367,000 juxtaposed during the same period.