Revised requirements for Study Visa applicants in Canada

Nationwide Visas
[Published 09 Dec, 2023 | 04:08 AM]
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As of January 01, 2024, Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) is raising the cost-of-living requirement for Canada Study Visa applications.

The Honourable Marc Miller, Minister of IRCC, announced today that starting January 01, 2024, the cost-of-living requirement for a single Study Visa applicant will be $20,635 (75% of LICO). This is in addition to the first-year tuition fee and travel costs. The revised pricing is more than double the current cost-of-living requirement of $10,000.

Apply for a Canada Study Visa

IRCC noticed that the financial requirements have not been at par with the cost of living in Canada, and international students have been arriving only to learn that their funds do not go as far as they hoped. To counter this situation, IRCC also stated that the cost-of-living requirement will now be updated each year as Statistics Canada updates the Low-Income Cut-off (LICO).

IRCC also notes that a few guidelines will be applied to Canada’s Student Direct Stream (SDS). The SDS is designed to streamline the Canada Study Visa process for residents of 14 countries which offers faster processing.

Extending work hours/week cap for students

On October 7th, IRCC announced a temporary lift of the 20-hour/week cap on the number of hours allowed for post-secondary students to work off-campus until December 31, 2023. IRCC is now extending the waiver on the 20-hour/week cap until April 30, 2024.

With over 500,000 International Students already available in Canada to back up this initiative, this extension reflects the pivotal role international students can play in addressing the current labor market shortages in the country - while pursuing their studies.

Students are allowed to work while studying in Canada if they:

• Hold a valid study visa.
• Are enrolled full-time at a Designated Learning Institute (DLI) in Canada.
• Are enrolled in an academic, vocational, or professional training program that is at least 6 months in duration.
• Have a Social Insurance Number (SIN).

Post-Graduate Work Permit Revisions

Additionally, there were two Post-Graduate Work Permit (PGWP) related announcements.

Firstly, the measure that allows international students to count school terms spent studying online when applying for a PGWP - will be extended till September 01, 2024. Secondly, there will be no further extensions for PGWP. The measure will no longer apply to students who begin a study program on or after that date.

International students with their initial work permit expiring up to December 31, 2023, remain eligible to apply under the most recent PGWP extension policy.

Immigrating to Canada as an International Student in 2024

IRCC recognizes the important social, cultural, and economic benefits that international students from around the world bring to Canada. For these benefits to continue, IRCC has made these changes to better address challenges to the integrity of the International Student Program in the years to come.

Canada’s international student population has quadrupled over the past 15 years. Canada broke records by welcoming over 550,000 international students in 2022. The top sources of new international students were India (226,450 students), China (52,165 students), and the Philippines (23,280 students). The leading destinations were Ontario (411,000 students) and British Columbia (164,000 students).

According to a statement made by Marc Miller, Canada is on track to welcome over 900,000 international students in 2023. The same trend is expected to be followed in 2024.

Source: canada.ca