Universities and colleges that don’t track international students’ enrolment face a 12-month suspension, stated new proposed regulations from the federal government.
Last year saw the highest number of international students, with over one million primary, secondary, and post-secondary study permit holders — an increase of 151% compared to 2015. The federal government has doubled its efforts to control the growing number of international students.
In January, Immigration Minister Marc Miller announced that Canada will cap international student visas for two years. Miller stated that private institutions have “taken advantage of international students by operating under-resourced campuses, lacking support for students in charging high tuition fees, all while significantly increasing their intake of international students.”
The latest plan, released in the Canada Gazette, would enforce even stricter rules on institutions that don’t follow regulations.
If a school is found to be noncompliant, the information will be publicly listed, and the school will be suspended from receiving international students for up to 12 months.
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According to the proposed changes, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) would require schools to verify letters of acceptance necessary to apply for study permits.
Currently, the government doesn’t require designated learning institutions (DLIs) to confirm these letters. If these changes are approved, officers can do random checks to verify the validity of these letters if there’s a reason to suspect that schools aren’t complying with the rules.
If required by the IRCC, schools will have 10 days to provide information that the student was accepted to the program.
In addition, schools will have 60 days to provide a compliance report with details of each student’s enrolment status. The report would also have to indicate whether or not students are actively pursuing their course or program of study.
At present, international students can move to a different school. Although they’re asked to inform the IRCC of these changes, “currently it cannot be enforced.”
According to the proposed amendments, students would be required to apply for a new study permit when moving to a new school before starting their new program of study.
Daily Hive has reached out to Minister Miller for a comment.
What do you think of these proposed changes? Let us know in the comments.
With files from Isabelle Docto