What will it take to help international students transition to PR?
From: IRCC
Image credit: News Canada
The Conference Board of Canada recently conducted a study on in-demand skills. Building a Resilient Work-force: Meeting Employer Demand for Social and Emotional Skills in the 21st Century revealed, among other findings, that study alone is rarely enough to make international students eligible for permanent residence.
Key findings:
• Of international students who gained permanent residence, 88 per cent had multiple temporary visas before transitioning to permanent residence.
• Multi-permit immigration pathways mean international students spend long periods in Canada without permanent residence, which can increase their vulnerability to exploitation by employers or losing their immigration status.
• In Canada, international student enrolment is growing rapidly. In 2019, 199,500 study permits were issued to first-time permit holders, nearly three times the number in 2010. Growth is most pronounced in college/certificate programs, where the number of study permits increased five-fold from 2010 to 2019.
• International student enrolment in college/certificate programs is growing quickly, but students at this level of study have few pur-pose-built immigration opportunities.
Excerpts, below:
Most international students work in Canada before becoming permanent residents.
Only 16,595 people – 9 per cent of international students who were granted PR – became permanent residents after study at one level in Canada and no subsequent work permit.
An additional three per cent of international students became permanent residents after two or more levels of study and no subsequent work permit. The remaining 88 per cent became permanent residents after a combination of study and post-study work.
The most common pathway to PR, accounting for 35 per cent of international students who became permanent residents, is one level of study followed by a PGWPP permit.
Nearly 15,000 people – 8 per cent of international students granted PR by December 2020 – became permanent residents after two levels of study, a PGWPP permit, and another type of work permit.
Between 2010 and 2019, 1,124,630 international students were granted a first study permit for six months or longer to study at a post-secondary institution in Canada.
International students’ lack a purpose-built pathway to permanent residence (PR). This is cause for concern.
The potential to work and immigrate after study informs prospective students’ decisions about where to study. Retaining international students after their studies is also a priority for Canadian stakeholders. Employers, as well as federal and provincial/territorial governments, often view international students as uniquely positioned to succeed in the labour market, in part because they don’t face the same credential recognition barriers that many other new immigrants do. Many provinces and territories are interested in retaining international students in communities that aim to expand their population through immigration.
But Canada lacks a strategy to coordinate between granting study permits and selecting international students for immigration. As a result, international students face friction in the immigration system. This friction could worsen because increases in international student enrolment outpace increases in planned levels of permanent immigration.
International students used both the Post-Graduation Work Permit Program (PGWPP) and other work permit types to work in Canada. Overall, more international students get a PGWPP permit than other work permit types. However, the rate of acquisition of work permit types varies depending on level of study.
By December 2020, approximately 640,000 international students in the 2010-19 cohort had gotten a work permit after study, and 220,000 had gotten more than one work permit type (a Post-Graduation Work Permit Program permit and another work permit type). Both numbers will continue to grow as more international students in the cohort complete their studies and apply for work permits.
In the 2010-16 cohort, 61 per cent of international students held a work permit after study, and 26 per cent got multiple work permit types.
A previous study by Statistics Canada shows that among the 2010-14 cohort, students who got a PGWPP permit had a higher rate of transition to PR than those with a work permit through the International Mobility Program (IMP).
Some Canadian immigration programs include advantages for people with a Canadian degree. But Canada lacks a purpose-built federal economic immigration program for international students and has few at the provincial level. This shortcoming makes it difficult for prospective or current international students to assess their likelihood of getting PR.
For most international students, connections in Canada play an important role in determining their eligibility for PR. A quarter of international students become permanent residents through sponsorship or as dependants. Many of those who became permanent residents through economic immigration programs also had to show connections beyond study in Canada, such as connections to a province or a particular employer.
The Provincial Nominee Program (PNP) accounted for 34 per cent of international students who transitioned to PR, making it the most common way international students become permanent residents
Each province operates multiple programs to select people for nomination, each with its own criteria to meet distinct policy objectives. Most provinces allocate some nomination slots to international students. But overall, provinces tend to nominate people with skills in high demand or people with connections to the province that could lead to long-term retention.
International students aren’t necessarily nominated for the PNP in their province of study.
Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba each nominated several thousand people who studied out of province.
More than half of international students who studied in Ontario and were nominated for the PNP were selected by another province.
Immigration data suggests a particularly large gap between intent and opportunity among students at the college/certificate level, the level with the most significant increase in international student enrolment since 2010.
College/certificate students were most likely to get a work permit after study and most likely to have more than one work permit type, both of which signal intent to settle in Canada.
Surveys of international students similarly show that college students are more likely than university students to plan to stay in Canada.
But the gap between the number of people who get a work permit and the number of people who get PR is growing.
The growing gap suggests that international students in college/ certificate programs either take longer to become permanent residents or are less likely than master’s degree students to be eligible for PR.
International students who want to stay in Canada are under more pressure than their domestic student peers to find a good job quickly because their employment affects their immigration prospects.
International students also face additional stressors because, like other newcomers, they may face racism and negative perceptions about their language ability, accent, or cultural fit.
During this period before they’re granted PR, international students navigate Canada’s immigration system and the labour market with limited support. They’re ineligible for settlement services funded by IRCC.
Only some post-secondary institutions provide immigration and career support to international students after study. An error, an unexpected life event, a period of unemployment, or an unscrupulous legal representative can lead an international student to lose their immigration status.
The Conference Board made the following recommendations:
• Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) and provincial/territorial governments can achieve greater coherence across the international student mobility program by developing an international student immigration and settlement strategy.
The international student mobility program will benefit if IRCC and provincial/territorial governments take a greater leadership role. Increased international student enrolment in post-secondary institutions has implications for the postsecondary sector and the immigration system. IRCC and provincial/territorial governments have an opportunity to take on a greater role in steering policies that relate to international students. IRCC, in cooperation with provincial/territorial governments, should develop an international student immigration and settlement strategy. The strategy can create an intentional relationship among the number of study permits issued, pathways to PR for international students, and Canada’s immigration objectives.
• Canada needs purpose-built immigration programs for international students which will ensure faster and more predictable immigration journeys.
International students are seen by many stakeholders as ideal potential immigrants. For example, international students’ connections to their community of study can increase retention in places that are looking to boost immigration. But few international students can transition from study directly to PR, and immigration programs change over time. Immigration friction may make prospective students less likely to study, stay, and thrive in Canada. IRCC and provinces/territories can create faster, more predictable pathways to PR for international students, which will help Canada achieve its immigration objectives.
• IRCC can make immigration opportunities more transparent by creating an interactive platform that identifies pathways to permanent residence.
Canada has a complex immigration system, with over 60 different immigration programs. This complexity is a strength, allowing immigration to meet economic, family, and humanitarian goals while being sensitive to geographic variations in labour market needs.
But its complexity also makes the system difficult to navigate.
Clearer immigration pathways for students coupled with a platform that helps students understand their immigration options will ease the process of navigating Canada’s immigration system and reduce the chances that people are recruited to study in Canada under false pretences.
• To accelerate their success, students need robust settlement supports.