International students in Canada cross 1 million mark. Marc Miller expressed concern, saying the system seemed “out of control.”
In late December, Canada shared that over a million students held study permits. This number was higher than expected, surpassing the earlier estimate of 949,000 for the year 2023. Among these, more than half a million were in Ontario, over 200,000 in British Columbia, and around 118,000 in Quebec.
The majority of these students were from India, making up 37% of the 579,075 permits granted up to November 2023. In the previous year, their share was 41% out of 548,785 permits. This is a significant increase from 2018 when only 107,070 Indians got study permits.
Canada’s Immigration Minister, Marc Miller, expressed concern, saying the system seemed “out of control.” He mentioned a decrease in study permits for Indian students, linked to tensions between Canada and India.
Miller explained that this reduction was tied to India’s request for Canada to withdraw 41 diplomats in October. This request was seen differently by both countries. India called it seeking “parity,” while Canada called it a “mass expulsion.” Notably, some officers from Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) were among the departing diplomats.
However, the drop in applications from India had already started in the second half of 2023. The high cost of living in Canada made it less attractive to students, resulting in a decrease from 190,419 to 120,096 between July and November 2023 compared to the same period the previous year.
Canada introduced new rules for international students in late 2023. On December 7, IRCC announced that, starting January 1, a single applicant would need to show they have CA$ 20,635 (around ₹12.7 lakh), up from the previous requirement of CA$ 10,000 (about ₹6.14 lakh). Additionally, from December 2023, designated learning institutions (DLIs) had to validate acceptance letters through the IRCC.
At that time, Miller said, “Now it’s time for us to talk about volumes and the impact on specific regions.”
