‘It's very unfair’: International students face uncertain future in Canada after rule change
CTV
Migrant groups are pushing the federal government to reverse its cap on international study permits and tightening post-graduate work permit qualifications, claiming it will leave many students 'in limbo.'
Migrant groups are pushing the federal government to reverse its cap on international study permits and tightening post-graduate work permit qualifications, claiming it will leave many students “in limbo.”
They claim the cap unfairly targets a very specific demographic of Canada's migrant population, while allowing for an easier pathway for other migrants, including working professionals, towards permanent residency.
Tasnimah Ahmed has been attending Ontario College of Art & Design University in Toronto under an international study permit for two years. However, with more stringent rules introduced for obtaining a post-graduate work permit, she fears she'll be sent back to Bangladesh after she graduates.
"I feel like it's very unfair, because a lot of us having been studying for three to four years and now to hear they’re putting a cap on the work permit, it doesn’t make sense when we've been putting our heart and soul into all of our studies,” Ahmed said.
Earlier this month, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Minister Marc Miller announced Canada would be reducing the number of international study permits issued by ten per cent in 2025, after already promising to reduce the amount by 35 per cent this year, and would implement stricter rules for students who want to stay in Canada under a post-graduate work permit.
“A lot of students are kind of left in limbo I don’t know what my future now holds,” said Mehnaz Lamia, the international student representative for the Canadian Federation of Students.
“Every day, you’re living with an expiry on your head because you don’t know what tomorrow holds, because at any moment the policies can change.”
