Canada: British Columbia Gets Approval for 83,000 Study Permits for Next Year

British Columbia has officially announced that Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) has granted the province the complete allocation of 83,000 undergraduate study permit applications for the next year.

This follows Canada’s government decision to impose an immediate cap on the number of new international study permits. According to authorities, such measures have been taken in an attempt to stabilize numbers and protect internationally from “bad actors,” Erudera.com reports.

According to a press release by the Government of British Columbia, the number is comparable to the 97,000 study permit applications for undergraduate students last year.

Taking into account acceptance rates over the past years, the government anticipates the number of approved study permits will stand at 50,000 this year, up from 60,000 last year.

The Canadian province has also confirmed that it has begun issuing attestation letters to eligible universities and colleges as IRCC requires. Of these letters, 53 percent will be allocated to public universities and colleges and 47 percent to private institutions.

“The new provincial attestation letter system will be effective as of March 4, 2024. Provincial attestation letters are now required for new study permit applications,” the press release by the Government of British Columbia reads.

As of January 22, 2024, individuals applying for study permits should have an attestation letter from a province or territory in their application. IRCC has required provinces to issue these letters to students by March 31, 2024, at the latest.

In its statement, IRCC explains that most post-secondary study permit applicants and most of those in non-degree-granting graduate programs need to include an attestation letter in their applications.

Exchange students, master’s and PhD students, individuals with study permits and work permits and their family members in Canada are not subject to this requirement. Moreover, students who had submitted their study permit applications before 8:30 on January 22, 2024 do not need a provincial attestation letter either.

Commenting on the matter, Minister of Post-Secondary Education and Future Skills Lisa Beare said that the ministry will continue to work with the government on any future adjustments, in a bid to find solutions that effectively respond to mutual goals in the province.

“While we’ve all agreed that the status quo wasn’t working for anyone – not for students, and not for our communities – the federal cap doesn’t take British Columbia’s unique environment into account,” Beare said.

The number of international students in Canada totaled 807,260 in 2022. It increased to 1,040,985 students in 2023, a 29 percent rise.

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