Foreign students in Canada between a rock and a hard place

In a matter of weeks or months, many will have to decide to either stay in the country undocumented or leave. Image credit: Karl Edwards on Unsplash.

Up to 130,000 international students in Canada holding postgraduation work permits (PGWP) whose visas expire in 2024 and 2025 could have their visa extensions denied or not be invited to apply for permanent residency, reports The Globe and Mail.

With immense pressure on the Justin Trudeau government due to skyrocketing rents, real estate prices and a declining per capita income, Canadian policy makers are pivoting to stem the inflow of students, temporary residents and low-wage foreign workers in the country.

It’s a sudden and dramatic reversal by the government after months of foot-dragging.

Result: Uncertainty and panic in the international student community across Canada.

In a matter of weeks or months, many will have to decide to either stay in the country undocumented or leave.

Many international students have had to raise costly loans in their home countries to fund their education in Canada, and they are worried about the serious implications of the fast-changing immigration scenario in the country.

The number of PGWP holders has almost tripled from 2018 to 2023 to 396,235. These work permits are issued to students who have earned a degree or a diploma at a Canadian university or college and have a validity from between nine months to three years.

Canada is not alone in the sudden clampdown on immigration inflow. Australia and the United Kingdom have also initiated similar measures to meet domestic socio-political pressures.

It has also been reported that unscrupulous elements are trying to take advantage of the students’ desperate plight, offering them solutions costing tens of thousands of dollars.

Watch this space for developments.