Canada has banned the conversion of study permits into permanent residency for international students in the country.
Edum News learnt that this new regulation mandates that international students return to their home countries upon the expiration of their study visas in Canada.
This also marks an end to non-citizens with study permits transitioning into permanent residency.
The development was made public by Canada’s Minister of Immigration, Marc Miller, in an interview on Tuesday.
The new policy is following recent protests by international students across Canada who demanded a streamlined process to transition from study permits to permanent residency or an extension of their stay.
Speaking on their demands, the Immigration Minister said, “When people come here and decide they want to be students, there are no guarantees to become permanent residents. Some students will have to make a difficult decision as to whether they leave the country or not.”
Miller further noted that work permits should align with Canada’s labour market needs, adding that the government will not provide blanket extensions to all students.
He said, “We had to reduce permanent residency by a little over 20% to address Canada’s aging population and labour shortages while avoiding overburdening housing and public services.”
