On the 21st of January, 2024, Government of Canada announced new updates that would affect the course of study for international students looking to study in Canada in 2024. The government of Canada has announced it's intention to set an intake cap on international student permit applications to stabilize growth, for a period of two years. Details: https://www.canada.ca/en/immigration-refugees-citizenship/news/2024/01/canada-to-stabilize-growth-and-decrease-number-of-new-international-student-permits-issued-to-approximately-360000-for-2024.html
For 2024, the cap is expected to result in approximately 360,000 approved study permits, a decrease of 35% from 2023. Study permit renewals will not be impacted. Those pursuing master’s and doctoral degrees, and elementary and secondary education are not included in the cap. Current study permit holders will also not be affected.
To implement the cap, as of January 22, 2024, every study permit application submitted to IRCC (that falls within the affected categories) will also require an attestation letter from a province or territory where they would be studying. Provinces and territories are expected to establish a process for issuing attestation letters to students by no later than March 31, 2024. Although this is not already in place except for the province of Quebec. Other provinces are working to release a process in the coming weeks.
In order to better align the Post-Graduation Work Permit Program, they would be changing the eligibility criteria:
-Starting September 1, 2024, international students who begin a study program that is part of a curriculum licensing arrangement will no longer be eligible for a postgraduation work permit upon graduation. This policy focuses on public-private partnership institutions.
-Graduates of master’s and other short graduate-level programs will soon be eligible to apply for a 3-year work permit.
Also, In the weeks ahead, open work permits will only be available to spouses of international students in master's and doctoral programs. The spouses of international students in other levels of study, including undergraduate and college programs, will no longer be eligible. This further explains that spouses will be ineligible for work permits if the main applicants are not studying at Masters and Phd level. Drop your questions and we'll provide further details as the Canadian embassy sheds more light.