Canada Slashes International Student Permits by 7%, Targets Sustainable Immigration Levels
Image Source: Internet
The Canadian government has unveiled plans to cap international student permits at 408,000 in 2026, representing a 7% decrease from the previous year. The Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) aims to balance the number of new arrivals with planned departures, program limits, and lower immigration levels to meet its commitment of reducing the share of Canada's temporary population to below 5% by 2027. According to the IRCC, the cap will include 155,000 new study permits and 253,000 extensions for current and returning students. This move comes after the government reduced the intake of temporary residents, including workers and international students, by nearly 43% in the latest immigration levels plan. The IRCC noted that the cap has been an effective tool in slowing the growth of Canada's temporary population, which has fallen from over a million in January 2024 to about 725,000 by September 2025. Indians form the largest cohorts in the impacted categories, comprising a significant percentage of study permits issued and temporary foreign workers. Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Lena Metlege Diab emphasized the government's commitment to reducing temporary resident volumes through departures, program limits, and lower immigration levels. The projections for workers and students in 2026 is 385,000, going down to 370,000 over the next two years, while the number of new work permits will total 230,000 next year, and drop to 220,000 in 2027 and 2028.
