CIMM – International Students – June 14, 2023

Date: June 14, 2023
Classification: unclassified
Department: IRCC

Issue:

CIMM Ministerial appearance on the Exploitation Scheme Targeting Certain International Students

International students make immense economic, cultural and social contributions to Canada.
We have reached an all-time high for the number of international students in Canada.
Approximately 737,000 study permit applications were finalized in 2022, compared to about 555,000 finalized in the same period in 2021.
From January to April 2023, approximately 248,000 study permit applications were finalized, compared to 174,000 during the same period in 2022.
Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) has significantly reduced inventories as well as processing times for study permit applications and continues to publish monthly data to keep Canadians up to date on its progress towards reducing backlogs.
- IRCC has implemented facilitative measures to address Canada’s post-COVID-19 labour market needs, such as: A temporary lift of restrictions on off-campus work hours for international students
- The opportunity for some graduates to easily extend their work permits for an additional 18 months in Canada
- Allowing students to count the time they spend studying online from abroad towards the length of a future post-graduation work permit as long as at least 50% of their program of study was completed from within Canada

IRCC is committed to a fair and non-discriminatory immigration system and is working to address the Standing Committee on Citizenship and Immigration’s recommendations on issues such as processing times and refusal rates for certain populations, particularly those applying from Francophone Africa.

Contact:
Cynthia Ralickas
A/Director General, Social and Temporary Migration Branch
Tel No: 613-867-0408

Approved by:
Marian Campbell Jarvis
Assistant Deputy Minister, Strategic and Program Policy
Tel. No.: 613-437-6752

In 2022, IRCC saw an unprecedented volume of applications received for both initial study permits and extensions.
Due to competing priorities, such as the Ukraine situation, and other processing pressures, some applicants have experienced significant wait times with the processing of their applications.
The Department is seeing an ever-increasing demand for studying in Canada, resulting in growing processing pressures:
- In 2022, the Department received over 715,000 applications for new study permits (excluding extensions). This compares to approximately 557,000 submitted in 2021, a 28% increase.
- Between January and April 2023, the Department received about 262,000 applications for new study permits. This represents a 38% increase in intake from the same period in 2022, which was approximately 190,000.
- Of the study permit applications that were fully assessed for 2022, approximately 411, 000 permits were issued.
- Between January and April 2023, 93,000 permits were issued, compared to 35,000 for the same period in 2022.

IRCC continues to work as hard as possible to reduce processing times by leveraging technology to develop tools and new practices.
- To increase processing efficiency, IRCC implemented a triage tool for study permits to sort applications based on completeness and ease of assessment as well as enable more streamlined processing.
- IRCC has launched automated approvals for study permit extensions and will publish an Algorithmic Impact Assessment. A Gender-Based Analysis Plus is also underway.

Starting April 6, 2023, new measures allowed certain PGWP holders to opt in to a facilitative process to extend their authorization to work and stay in Canada. This facilitative measure allows Canada to retain high-skilled talent.
In addition, as part of these measures, eligible foreign nationals whose PGWP expires between September 20, 2021 and December, 31, 2023 have the facilitated access to a new open work permit for up to 18 months. Eligible applicants with expired work permits are able to restore their status, even if they are beyond the 90-day restoration period. Eligible foreign nationals under this facilitative measure have been provided with interim authorization to work while applying for and awaiting processing of a new work permit application to allow them to continue working immediately.
Talented and skilled international graduates play a vital role in addressing Canada’s labour shortage, and those nearing the end of their PGWP are already well integrated into Canada’s labour market. The additional work permit or extension of their existing authorization to work and stay in Canada will allow eligible applicants to continue contributing to the Canadian economy while gaining valuable work experience and preparing for the opportunity to apply for permanent residence.

During the pandemic, several measures were put in place to facilitate distance learning without impacting PGWP eligibility.
Until August 31, 2023, time spent studying outside Canada will count toward the length of a PGWP and studies completed online from outside Canada will not be deducted from the length of a future PGWP as long as they comprise less than 50% of the program.

To help address Canada’s broad-based labour shortage, from
November 15, 2022 until December 31, 2023, international students who are in Canada and who have off-campus work authorization will be permitted to work an unlimited number of hours, if they submitted a study permit application by October 7, 2022.

IRCC is committed to a fair and non-discriminatory immigration system and is working to address the CIMM recommendations. Initiatives to fight unconscious biases and racism have already been taken: unconscious bias training for decision-makers; provision of Anti-Racism, Diversity, Equity and Inclusion and Anti-Bias workshops; launching target guidelines for disaggregated data standards for diverse populations in March 2023; pursuing further research on racial discrimination of Black immigrants as it relates to their immigration journey; and working on a Gender-Based Plus Analysis of the International Student Program.