Purpose To provide an update on Canada’s International Student Program.

• I.International Student program Trends- Overview
• II.International Student program Integrity Machanism
• III.Program Delivery Instruction updates
• IV.The launch of Study Direct Stream

I.International Student program Trends-Overview

International Student Trends (continued)

International Student Trends (continued)

Growth in numbers of study permit applications across all levels of study in 2018:

• Primary/Secondary (K-12): 46,861 SP applications-an increase of 2.6% from 2017
• ESL/FSL: 37,067 SP applications – an increase of 10.8% from 2017
• College: 131,558 SP applications -an increase of 12.5% from 2017
• University: 101,937 SP applications – an increase of 14.9 % from 2017

International Student application destinations are concentrated in 3 provinces: Ontario (49%), British Columbia (24%), Quebec (13%), Prairie provinces combined (10%), and Atlantic provinces combined (5%).
Top 5 Countries of international student origin in Canada include: China (24%), India (30%), Korea (4%), France (4%), and Vietnam (3%).

II. International Students Program Integrity Machanism

International Students Program

• Integrety Machanism
• International Student Program Compliance Regime
• International Student Letter of Acceptance Project

I.International Student Program Compliance Regime

• Compliance Reporting Regime allows IRCC to monitor the status of study permit holders in Canada
• DLIs report on the status of study permit holders through the DLI Portal
• Reporting occurs twice a year (March to April and November to December) and is mandatory
• Referral of potentially non-compliant students to local offices for follow-up and enforcement
• Students transitioning between levels of study (primary, secondary and post-secondary) are no longer required to apply for a new study permit, provided their current study permit is still valid.

Among DLIs categorized as language schools 100% of these schools participated (84 out of 84)

Note: When international students in Canada transfer schools, they must advise IRCC through their myAccount. This ensures they are reported on by their new DLI.

Also Read: Canada Student Visa Permit

II.Letter of Acceptance Verification Project

International Student Letter of Acceptance Project

• LOA fraud is one of the most common types of fraud
• Centralized hub verifies the authenticity of letters of acceptance (LOAs) with issuing DLIs
• To date, the project has completed over 5,000 LOA verifications, of this
  • near 10% of LOA verifications were confirmed to be either fraudulent, altered or no longer valid
  • near 9% received no response from the issuing DLI

III. Program Delivery Instructions Updates

1.Pre-requisite course in Canada before the main program of studies

• Eligibility requirements to apply for a study permit within Canada
• Work authorizations

2.Transition between levels of study
(primary, secondary and post-secondary)

Also Read: Canada Student Visa Process