Canada limits entry of international students for two years

CRISIS

The country also stated that it will stop granting work permits to some postgraduate students

Canada announced, on Monday (22), that it will limit the issuing of permits to foreign students for two years.

The country also said it will stop granting work permits to some postgraduate students.

The measures are an attempt to contain a record number of newcomers who are worsening a housing crisis in the country.

The restriction is expected to result in approximately 360,000 visa authorizations for international students approved in 2024 – a 35% reduction compared to last year.

Immigration Minister Marc Miller said the federal government would work with the provinces, which oversee the education system, to enforce the cap.

He said the main reason for the cap is to protect students attending colleges, which are often public-private partnerships, which provide inadequate services at high costs, but also to ease pressure on housing and services.

“Some private institutions took advantage of international students, operating campuses with few resources, without student support and charging high tuition fees, while at the same time significantly increasing the number of international students,”

Miller told reporters.

“This increase also puts pressure on the real estate sector, the healthcare system and other services,”

he said, adding that the cap would mainly help lower rental prices.

Rapid population growth fueled by immigration has put pressure on services such as healthcare and education and helped drive up housing costs.

These issues have weighed on Liberal Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s support, with polls showing he would lose an election if it were held now.

In the third quarter of last year, the population grew at the fastest rate in more than six decades, with temporary residents – mostly students – reaching 312,758, the highest number in more than five decades.

The Canadian Alliance of Student Associations (CASA), a student advocacy group, criticized the cap.

“The biggest problem is that a limit was announced that is a reaction to the housing crisis”,

said CASA Advocacy Director Mateusz Salmassi, adding that what is needed is more support and accommodation for international students.

The University of Toronto welcomed the announcement and said it would work with all levels of government on granting study permits.

The changes are “focused on addressing abuses of the system by specific actors and are not intended to negatively impact universities like ours,” the university said in a statement.

*With information from CNN Brasil

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