For nearly a decade, international students have enjoyed the opportunity to obtain an open work permit after graduation, regardless of whether their studies are in line with the needs of the Canadian economy.
However, it is possible that the post-graduation work permit policy for international students in Canada may be about to change.
This morning (May 17), Immigration Minister Marc Miller hinted at changes to the post-graduation work permit at a naturalization ceremony in Surrey, British Columbia.
Work permits or sea changes
Obtaining an open work permit after graduating as an international student in Canada has always been a strong motivation for people to choose to study here.
The immigration system also favors those with Canadian educational credentials and work experience.
However, this has led to an exponential increase in international enrollment, putting pressure on the real estate market and other resources.
"There's obviously something that needs to be adjusted when it comes to post-graduation work permits for international students," Miller said. ”
"Provinces say they need to offer longer work permits to people working in health care and certain industries. I told them, give me the data, and we'll adjust accordingly. ”
To better align with the economic immigration stream in the labor market, Miller began prioritizing those applicants with a background in healthcare professions. In addition, science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) majors; Mechanic; trade, transportation; and agriculture and agri-food are also under priority approval.
Expert advice:
Experts say the post-graduation work permit system could be an effective tool to achieve Ottawa's goals of restoring the integrity of international education programs, improving the quality of permanent resident candidates, and aligning their studies with the needs of the workforce.
Karim El-Assar, an immigration policy analyst, said the government could adjust the duration of international work permits to guide international graduates to pursue high-demand fields, depending on the field they are studying.
Extending the duration of work permits for international students studying in these occupational fields, while shortening those in areas where there is a surplus of labor, will encourage students to pursue the target subjects required in Canada, thereby increasing the pool of immigration candidates with the skills required in Canada.
Barbara Joe Caruso, co-president of the Canadian Immigration Lawyers Association, also said it was a smart move.
But Caruso cautioned that once the post-graduation work permit changes dramatically, immigration officials must clearly communicate information to potential students about which courses are eligible for a post-graduation work permit and place that information prominently on the study permit so they can decide whether they still intend to come here.
Migration consultant Canvol Sila is concerned that linking a post-graduation work permit to a specific course will have little impact on the supply chain for skilled trades, as most students study through apprenticeships and the higher education sector may not have the capacity and infrastructure to provide relevant education.
The existing work permit policy has been criticized
The last major change to the post-graduation work permit program was in April 2008, allowing graduates to obtain an open work permit for up to three years depending on the length of their study program, regardless of their place of study, academic qualifications, or whether they received a job offer......
As a result, more and more international students are turning to cheaper, shorter programs that are unrelated to Canada's labor needs, and they are also stuck in low-paying jobs like warehouses, restaurants, and gas stations.
"Instead of really trying to bring in the best and brightest talent to fill the gaps in the labor market, we are bringing in low-skilled, low-wage, fungible and exploitative temporary foreign workers in the form of students," said Rupa Banerjee, associate professor at Toronto Metropolitan University and Canada Research Chair for Migrant Economic Inclusion Studies," said Rupa Banerjee.
In addition, according to CBC News' analysis of federal data:
Business-related courses accounted for 27% of all study permits approved by the immigration department from 2018 to 2023, more than any other field.
However, only 6% of study permits are awarded to foreign students pursuing courses such as medicine, health sciences, or biological and biomedical sciences.
Skilled workers and vocational training courses accounted for only 1.25 per cent.
In March, Miller announced a goal to reduce Canada's temporary resident population by 20 percent, or 500,000, by 2027, from 2.5 million today, including hundreds of thousands of post-graduate work permit holders.
Since January of this year, Miller has imposed a two-year cap on the number of study permits allocated to each province;
Miller has also made some changes to the post-graduation work permit policy, stopping the issuance of work permits to international graduates from public-private partnership universities;
He also extended the duration of the post-graduation work permit from one to three years for master's degree graduates, while restricting the spousal work permit eligibility to spouses of international students in graduate degree programs only.
The Department of Immigration has also restricted the number of hours international students can work off-campus.
……
International Students 闹着要绝食
Meanwhile, hundreds of Indian students in Canada's Prince Edward Island region took to the streets today to protest the Canadian government's "overnight change in immigration policy and rejection of their work permits."
They claim that they have been denied a post-graduation work permit and now face deportation. However, India's Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) denied the claim, saying that while there may have been some cases in various places, no major problems have been found.
The event began on May 9 near the PEI Government Building in Prince Edward Island. On May 13, more than 200 protesters gathered in Charlottetown to urge the provincial government to intervene to help many foreign workers whose work visas were about to expire.
The students threatened to go on a hunger strike if their demands were not met in mid-May.
It is reported that in July last year, the province of Prince Edward Island passed a law restricting the issuance of graduate work permits to students with certain qualifications. Now, the provincial government only allows work permits for students with qualifications in architecture, residential construction, and healthcare.
This means that hundreds of immigrants from other industries may not be able to get an extension when their work permits expire in the coming months.
In February, the Government of Prince Edward Island announced that it would reduce the number of people who are nominated for permanent residency in Canada through the Provincial Nominee Program (PNP).
It seems that it will be difficult for international students to stay in Canada to get PR in the future, what do you think about this?