Students often encounter obstacles while dealing with visa and immigration issues. Being an international student is not easy, when you are miles away from your family and situations like policy changes can lead to tremendous stress. Students in Canada are staring at same uncertainty. The maple country’s recent changes to immigration rules have affected the international students.
Let’s delve further into what actually happened that led to massive outrage in students.
What’s Happening in Canada?
Nearly 70,000 International students, with majority of them being Indians have taken to the streets, lashing out their anger and disagreement on the new policy change for the immigrants. Provinces like, Ontario, Prince Edward Island (PEI), British Columbia and Manitoba are experiencing considerable disturbances. The changes include cap on study visas, contraction in permanent residency nominations and low-wage rate of temporary foreign workers.
What actually are these changes?
2-year Study Cap
Earlier this year, the Canadian government in response to the rising concerns of unemployment and housing crisis, imposed an immediate two-year cap on student visas. Approximately 560,000 study permits were issued in 2023, and the new rule will lead to 36% reduction % in study visas, meaning only 364,000 visas to be issued.
Decline in PR nominations
The Canadian government has now left thousands of students at risk. The government has announced a cut of 25% in permanent residency nominations. The change will also lead to reduction in low-wages, temporary foreign workers (TFW).
What are TFWs and how are they impacted?
Under the Temporary Foreign Worker (TFW) program, employers hire non-Canadian workers to fill the labor shortages, when qualified Canadian citizens or permanent residents are not available. The new rule for TWFs include,
-TFWs can no longer work in areas where the unemployment rate is 6% or higher.
-Employers cannot hire more than 10% of low-wage TFWs in their workforce.
-The duration for TFWs to stay and work is now lessened from two years to one year only.
According to Canadian government, the change intends to prioritize local workers and decline the reliance on foreign labor.
Reason to protest
According to students, studying in Canada as a foreigner, requires large sum of investment. They have invested their families’ life savings, with the assurance of gaining a permanent residency. Now, sudden demands to deport, have left their future in lurch.
Many students are expected to face forced deportations, following the expiring of their work permits at the end of the year, as stated by students’ advocacy group called the Naujawan Support Network.
A former international student facing deportation, Mehakdeep Singh said in his statement to City News Toronto, “It took me six years to come to Canada. I studied, worked, paid taxes and earned enough Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) points, but the government has taken advantage of us.”
Student groups such as the International Sikh Student Organization contended that Canada’s housing crisis is because of the policy failures. The concerning situation has nothing to do with international students.
Naina Jaggi is an author deeply rooted in Journalism, mainly writing on lifestyle, entertainment, travel, politics and financial markets. This diverse experience has allowed her to blend rich details with engaging narratives that capture the essence of various worlds. When she is not crafting tales, you’ll find her immersed in music and enjoying the company of dogs. She is also into K-dramas, thriller and horror movies that fuel her imagination, bringing the same spark to her stories.
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