Canada has recorded a significant decline in study permit approvals for Indian students in the first quarter of 2025, marking the steepest quarterly fall in over a decade. According to Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC), only 30,640 study permits were issued to Indian nationals between January and March 2025—a 31% drop compared to 44,295 approvals during the same period in 2024. This reduction represents a fall of 13,655 permits year-on-year.
The contraction is part of a broader trend, with global study-permit issuances falling from 121,070 to 96,015 during the same period. The data suggest that Canada’s tightening of international student policies is having a pronounced impact beyond any single country.
India, which has been Canada’s top source of international students since 2018—contributing 40–45% of total annual permits—stands to see substantial implications. The sharp dip in Indian enrolments poses a revenue risk to many Canadian colleges and universities that rely heavily on international tuition, which exceeded CAD 10 billion in 2024, as estimated by the Parliamentary Budget Office.
The decline follows the Canadian government’s move in late 2023 to cap study-permit allocations, driven by concerns over housing shortages and post-secondary capacity. As of January 1, 2025, financial proof requirements have doubled from CAD 10,000 to CAD 20,635. Additionally, applicants must now submit mandatory provincial attestation letters, contributing to longer processing timelines and prompting some students to reconsider destinations such as the UK or Australia.
Education experts note that the current trend is reshaping institutional intake cycles. Several colleges have already reduced their September 2025 admission targets and are urging prospective students to begin applications at least nine months in advance, ensuring comprehensive documentation related to finances, tuition payments, and accommodation arrangements.
With IRCC indicating a further 10% cut in the national study-permit cap for 2025, the second quarter may bring continued constraints. A meaningful recovery in Indian student numbers, analysts suggest, will depend on improvements in housing infrastructure and a strategic diversification of revenue streams by educational institutions.
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