Study Finds International Students Facing Difficulty to Gain Permanent Residency in Canada

A new study has observed that International Students in Canada Face more barriers and are more likely to get exploited. 

A study named ‘From Student to Immigrant? Multi-step Pathways to Permanent Residence', from Conference Board of Canada has shown this observation. According to the study, there are several international students in Canada living with several temporary visas before attaining a permanent residence. But, studying in the country alone is enough a reason for the international students to attain permanent residency in Canada and work there.

Multi-permit immigration pathways mean international students spend long periods in Canada without permanent residence. This makes them much more vulnerable to exploitation by their employers and also some people end up losing their immigration status. 

Canada lacks a strategy to coordinate between granting study permits and selecting international students for immigration. The study suggests this as the main reason behind such a chaos.

This friction could worsen because increases in international student enrolment outpace increases in planned levels of permanent immigration.

Only 16,595 people; i.e; 9% of international students who were granted permanent residency, became residents after study at one level in Canada and no subsequent work permit. 

3% of international students became permanent residents after two or more levels of study and no subsequent work permit. 

The remaining 88% became permanent residents after a combination of study and post-study work.

This data is alarming to the international students studying in Canada, who is said to have faced more pressure than their national counterparts for securing a better employability status for their immigration permit. 

As per the study, more international students get a PGWPP permit than other work permit types. 

A previous study by Statistics Canada shows that among the 2010–14 cohort, students who got a PGWPP permit had a higher rate of transition to PR than those with a work permit through the International Mobility Program (IMP)

By December 2020, approximately 640,000 international students in the 2010–19 cohort had a work permit after study, and 220,000 had gotten more than one work permit type (an Post Graduation Work Permit Program permit and another work permit type).

The Provincial Nominee Program is the most-used immigration program, accounting for 34% of international students who transitioned to permanent residency, making it the most common way for international students to become permanent residents.

However, international students aren’t necessarily nominated for the PNP in their province of study. In the last few years, Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba each nominated several thousand people who studied out of province.

More than half of international students who studied in Ontario and were nominated for the PNP were selected by another province. Inter-provincial mobility for the PNP was especially common among students at the graduate level.

Following the trends, the study has shown that in 2019, 199,500 study permits were issued to first-time permit holders, which was nearly three times the number in 2010. 

Between 2010 and 2019, 1,124,630 international students were granted a first study permit for six months or longer to study at a post-secondary institution in Canada.

With 1.83 lakh Indian students pursuing education at various levels in the country, Canada is the second most popular destination for Indians pursuing academic degrees at foreign shores.

Canada processed more than 4.52 lakh study permit applications from January, 2022 till November -- a 23% increase compared to the 3.67 lakh processed over the same period last year, Immigration Minister Sean Fraser said.

Subscribe to Collegedunia to get the latest educational news and updates –