By admin (July 23, 2024)

IRCC suggests changes that would mandate students to reapply for a study permit if they switch schools in Canada

An announcement made recently by Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada has a bearing on international students and educational institutions. An expected change, as outlined in the Canadian Gazette, may well vastly alter how international students work through their studies in Canada, more specifically in regard to the change of Designated Learning Institution.

Key Proposal: New Study Permit Requirement for Change of School

Probably most striking is that, in the event of a desire to change their DLI, international students will be required to apply for a new study permit. The difficulty up to this point has been that DLIs, that is schools where international students are accepted are presently under the regulation of provincial governments, and it is rather difficult for the federal government to police the new admissions rule.

The proposed amendments will require a student to apply for a new study permit prior to the program commencement date if they intend to transfer to another DLI. However, there will be provisions that will allow students to begin attending the new DLI while their application is in processing as long as they remain in Canada and comply with the conditions of their current study permit.

Financial and Administrative Impact

The changes will have financial and administrative implications for both international students and DLIs. On the part of the students, a fee in the amount of $150 will be required from every applicant for a new study permit. Added to the fees is the 30 to 45 minutes that will be used to prepare these applications. In all, the cost for international students is put at $55.5 million PV in ten years. This thus also entails the cost of applications and a likely stretch in processing times triggered by an influx of applications. IRCC intends to realign human resources in efforts to cope with the workload.

For DLIs, new requirements will bring about compliance and administrative costs, primarily in the area of LOA verification. These letters represent an essential condition for a new study permit application process. Initial compliance cost to DLIs is estimated at $4.8 million PV over a ten-year period. It will be initially assumed that three minutes per application will be required for every verification; this will drop to 30 seconds as institutions become accustomed to the new process.

The Consultation Process

These are now subject to a 30-day consultation phase, ending on July 29, 2024. IRCC is seeking views from all provincial and territorial immigration and education ministries, national education associations, individual DLIs, and student representative organizations.

This is part of a pattern in IRCC’s approach to policy development. Over the fall of 2022, IRCC embarked on a series of consultations aimed at fine-tuning and improving the International Student Program. For example, changes to the LOA verification process were based on feedback from many stakeholders, which were then taken on board as of December 1, 2023.

Historical Context and Future Outlook

Looking back, it was often the case that past consultations and proposed changes have led to new policy adoptions; there has been an IRCC commitment to refining its programs with the input of stakeholders. Current changes proposed are no exception. Their final form will remain pending as it will be precisely shaped by this ongoing consultation process.

International students and DLIs should be well informed about these developments and contribute to the consultation process if possible. In light of that, the feedback being garnered will be significant in bringing the policy into its final form, where concerns of each of the parties involved are taken into account.

The proposed amendments by the IRCC to the study permit requirements for international students looking to change DLIs reveal an interesting turn of events in Canada’s international student program. While this new proposed application requirement would add some costs and administrative burdens to students and institutions, this is a measure that would offer a great deal of better compliance and oversight over the program.