“Canada Plans Major Cuts to International Student and Foreign Worker Permits: What You Need to Know”

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Key Points:
– Canada will reduce international student permits for 2025 to 437,000, down from 485,000.
– Stricter regulations for foreign workers are being introduced.
– Immigration Minister emphasizes that coming to Canada is a privilege, not a right.
– New restrictions on work permits for spouses of international students and foreign workers.
– Increased scrutiny on travel visa applications to address fraudulent claims.
– Temporary residents will be capped at five percent of the population, reduced from 6.8 percent.

Canada has announced plans to reduce the issuance of international student permits for the upcoming year. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s government is also implementing stricter regulations on foreign workers to limit the influx of temporary residents into the country.

This decision follows a series of measures aimed at managing the unprecedented surge in immigration, which has led to Canada’s population exceeding 41 million earlier this year. The government has cited the rapid increase in immigration as a strain on the housing market, job opportunities, and social services.

“It is a privilege to come to Canada. It is not a right,” said Immigration Minister Marc Miller during a news conference on Wednesday.

For the year 2025, Canada plans to allocate 437,000 study permits to international students, a decrease from the current year’s 485,000 and significantly lower than the over 500,000 issued in 2023.

Additionally, new restrictions will be imposed on work permits for the spouses of certain international students and foreign workers. The government will also increase scrutiny of travel visa applications to combat the rise in fraudulent or rejected asylum claims. Furthermore, the number of temporary residents will be capped at five percent of the population, down from the current 6.8 percent as of April.