Ontario Has Been Granted Most Study Permits for Int’l Students as Canadian Govt Sets New Targets for 2024

Ontario, the most populated province in Canada, has been granted the largest number of study permits for international students in 2024, a total of 235,000, the Immigration Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) has announced.

Ontario, however, will see a 41 percent decline in new study permits from 2023. The province recently said that 96 percent of its study permits would be allocated to public universities and colleges.

This January, the Canadian government imposed a two-year cap on international student visas, meaning about 360,000 study permits will be approved for 2024, Erudera.com reports.

In a recent statement, Immigration Minister Marc Miller said that study permits are allocated based on the number of residents in each province and territory. He said that the number of international students entering Canada in 2024 should be the same as the number of study permits that will expire in the same year.

“About 20 percent of students apply for an extension each year and remain in the country. Therefore, IRCC subtracted that amount (97,000) from the target of 485,000 and set aside a small buffer to allow for other variations, resulting in a revised target of 364,000 approved study permits in 2024,” Miller said.

The Minister further explained that with a national approval rate of 60 percent for study permits, the target of 364,000 approved permits results in a limit of 606,000 applications that will be processed in 2024.

According to the statement, some international students, including master’s and PhD students, are not subject to these changes.

“IRCC deducted the estimated volume of these groups (140,000 based on 2023 data) from the 2024 target number of approved study permits. This resulted in a target of 236,000 approved study permits for 2024, which converts to roughly 393,000 study permit applications to be allocated,” Miller added.

Other provinces have also been allocated a large number of study permits. Quebec, which had its allocation capped at 10 percent, has been granted a total of 117,917 study permits.

British Columbia also received a large allocation of study permits at 83,000, followed by Alberta, the allocation for which has also been capped at 10 per cent, at 40,894.

Last week, we reported on Nova Scotia’s announcement that the government has allocated 12,900 to the province. Nonetheless, IRCC shows that Nova Scotia has received 7,472 permits, resulting in an overall allocation of 20,378 study permits.

Portion of study permit allocation in other provinces:

• Manitoba - 18,652
• Saskatchewan - 15,054
• New Brunswick - 14,651
• Newfoundland and Labrador - 3,153
• Prince Edward Island - 2,312

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