In 2025, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) has finalized the provincial and territorial allocations for study permits, capping the total number of new permits at 437,000, reflecting a 10% reduction from the previous year. This adjustment signals a key element of Canada’s evolving strategy to manage international student intake, driven by increasing concerns over the capacity of public services, housing, and healthcare systems, particularly in urban centers with significant student populations.
The cap, first introduced in 2024, aims to alleviate pressure on critical infrastructure, including housing markets that have been strained by rising numbers of international students. Early data suggests that this policy has already had a notable impact, reducing the flow of incoming students by approximately 40%, which has contributed to a stabilization of rental market dynamics in high-demand regions.
A significant change for 2025 involves the expansion of the provincial or territorial attestation letter (PAL/TAL) requirement. Initially applied to most new study permit applicants, this requirement will now also encompass master’s and doctoral students, as well as a wider group of applicants seeking study permits from within Canada. However, study permit holders who are seeking extensions at the same designated learning institution (DLI) and study level will continue to be exempt from this additional requirement.
Under the new cap structure, approximately 120,724 study permits will be issued to students who are exempt from the PAL/TAL requirement, while the remaining 316,267 permits will be allocated to applicants who must submit these attestation letters. Furthermore, provinces and territories are prohibited from carrying over any unused allocations from the previous year, reinforcing the strict annual limits on the issuance of study permits.
Despite the growing importance of international students in Canada’s graduate education sector, the IRCC has decided to include graduate students under the cap for 2025. This move ensures that growth remains controlled, with provinces and territories expected to issue the same number of study permits to graduate students as they did in 2023. Graduate student sub-allocations will now be directly linked to the levels observed in 2023, emphasizing the controlled expansion of this category.
Additionally, new regulatory changes will come into effect in November 2024, requiring designated learning institutions to actively engage in student compliance reporting and verify letters of acceptance. Institutions found in non-compliance with these regulations could face significant penalties, including suspension from accepting new international students for up to one year.
These policy changes reflect Canada’s broader strategy to balance the economic and cultural benefits of international education with the need to safeguard public infrastructure. The 2025 study permit cap marks a decisive step in reshaping the landscape for international students, with an emphasis on sustainability, controlled growth, and the protection of essential public services. These measures are poised to have a lasting impact on the future of international student mobility in Canada, signaling a more managed approach to higher education migration in the years to come.
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