Canada IRCC Official Update on Study Permit | Canada Student Visa 2024

To clarify how it determined the final number of study permits that each Canadian province will receive for 2024, Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) has prepared a statement.

The IRCC clarified that each province would receive an allocation of study permits it could issue to international students, and that the number of permits would be based on the province’s population, in response to the announcement on January 22nd that the department would implement a cap on the number of applications that will be processed each year.

Today, Immigration Minister Mark Miller released the final distribution of study permits for each province and explained the IRCC’s methodology for arriving at these figures.

How the Allocation is Distributed?

Applications for study permits are distributed among provinces and territories according to their population. The agency observes that if changes aren’t made to this system, some provinces and territories will see a rise in the number of international students in 2024 compared to 2023, while others will see a decrease.

To mitigate any negative effects, the IRCC claims to have modified allocations for provinces that would otherwise receive a reduced number of study permits. The percentage allotted to those provinces that were expected to have a higher number of international students in 2024 than in 2023 was limited to 10% of the total population.

Lastly, the agency increased the funding allotted to the provinces whose approval rate was less than 60%. This is supposed to assist these provinces in obtaining the anticipated number of study permits that are issued.

Study Permit Allocations 2024

At 235,000, Ontario is allotted the most study permits. It is the most populous Province in Canada, with 530 Designated Learning Institutions (DLIs) according to the IRCC’s official list. Nevertheless, the government just disclosed that public schools and universities will receive 96% of the study permits it issues. This implies that only a small number of the province’s private colleges will be able to admit international students.

A significant amount of the total allotment was also given to other provinces. Quebec has been allotted 117,917 study licenses after accounting for population and authorized study permits. Eight3,000 study licenses were allotted by British Columbia in March, with nearly equal numbers going to public and private universities.

The allocation for Alberta, which is home to 11.67% of Canada’s population, was set at 10%, resulting in an allocation of 40,894 research permits altogether. 12,900 research permit allocations were published earlier by Nova Scotia. IRCC’s most recent data, however, indicates that the province has been allotted 20,378 study permits overall after receiving a top-up of 7,472 permits.

The following is the final distribution for each province and territory:

IRCC Caps Permits Processed, Not Issued

There is a difference between the cap on awarded study permits and the cap on study permits processed by the IRCC. The Immigration Minister reiterated this week that the IRCC has no jurisdiction to limit the number of study permits that are granted.

The department may, nevertheless, set a limit on the quantity of study permit applications it accepts. According to the IRCC, the expected cap on the number of study permits awarded is determined by the number of applications it will handle, with the cap being based on a 60% national approval rate. The department claims that it will handle 66,000 applications in this case.