Migrant groups push Canada to reverse cap on study permits

Migrant groups are pushing the federal government to reverse the cap on international study permits and tighten requirements for post-graduate work permits, saying it would leave many students “in the dark.”

They say the cap unfairly targets a very specific demographic of Canada’s migrant population, while easing the path for other migrants, including working professionals, to permanent residency.

Tasnimah Ahmed has been attending the Ontario College of Art & Design University in Toronto on an international study permit for two years. However, with the introduction of stricter rules for obtaining a post-graduate work permit, she fears she will be sent back to Bangladesh after graduating.

“I feel like it’s very unfair, because a lot of us studied for three or four years and now to hear that they’re putting a cap on the work permit, it doesn’t matter. no sense when we put our heart and soul into all our studies,” Ahmed said.

Earlier this month, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Minister Marc Miller announced that Canada would reduce the number of international study permits issued by ten percent in 2025, after previously promising to reduce that amount by 35 percent this year, and that it would implement stricter rules. for students who wish to stay in Canada with a post-graduate work permit.

“A lot of students are kind of left in limbo. I don’t know what my future holds for me now,” said Mehnaz Lamia, international student representative for the Canadian Federation of Students.

“Every day you live with an expiration on your head because you don’t know what tomorrow brings, because at any moment policies can change.”

Miller says the new rules are a response to Canada’s housing shortage and unaffordability, but migrant advocates say it leaves many international students with an uncertain future.

“The rules changed in the middle of the game,” Sarom Rhom, an organizer with the Migrant Workers Alliance for Change, told CTV News. “Time is working against these students, leaving them in a massive crisis. »

Rho and other migrant advocacy groups are pushing for the federal government to allow current students to apply for postgraduate work permits under the old rules.

“We are asking the federal government to at least grandfather all students who are already in the country and who have applied and committed to study in Canada under existing rules.”

Student groups ‘feel targeted’

Part of the ongoing problem for international students is that they feel their demographic is unfairly targeted, while large numbers of permanent residency applications are available to other migrant groups.

Canada has distributed tens of thousands of “invitations to apply” (IAT) for permanent residency, including nearly 6,000 in the month of September.

These IATs can provide a gateway to permanent residency for students, but can also be issued to working professionals already in Canada and other parts of the world.

But with a cap on permits only affecting international students, they don’t believe the path to permanent residency is a level playing field.

“I really hope we are prioritized,” Lamia added. “We really hope there will be more resources and support structures instead of having more policies that dismantle those supports and create new barriers.” »

Migrant rights advocates are calling for fair treatment for all migrant groups, not just policies targeting students.

“We are providing certain benefits to some people in our society with express entry, that is, higher levels and more skilled workers, and we are saying that other elements of our immigration system are not more welcome. So it’s really a divisive rule,” said Chris Ramsaroop of Justice for Migrant Workers.

“The rule of division has nuances: many other racialized communities are under attack. »

In response, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) states that “most of these ITAs are for students coming out of (post-graduate work permit) and needing a pathway to permanent residency.” However, they did not say how many of them would be for students or how many invitations would be issued to temporary foreign workers and other professionals.

“It would be unfair to blame students for the housing crisis, but it would be equally unfair to welcome an unlimited number of international students without the appropriate support – whether that be housing, healthcare or “an appropriate educational environment,” IRCC said in a statement. statement.