More newcomers are learning French in hopes of improving their chances to stay in Canada permanently

After spending $42,000 on his masters in mechanical engineering at the University of Windsor, Harbal Deep Sidhu is now paying $2,000 a month to learn French to advance his chances at getting Permanent Residence (PR) in Canada — an increasing trend among newcomers.

"I'm very much concerned. From the time I've graduated, I have seen extreme changes to the laws and regulations to get permanent residency now. The cutoff points are very high, which is very difficult even for a masters or PhD student," the 25-year-old said.

"So, we get points for learning French and we can use it in our PR application."

The pursuit for PR is becoming cutthroat. As of January, Canada is estimated to have 3.02 million temporary residents but there are only 395,000 PR spots available this year. Hence, Sidhu said, the rush to learn French.

While struggling with the language, the international student from Punjab, India, said he has been practicing it rigorously "around two hours every day" to bolster his application. He worries that in the next draw, the cutoff points would be higher and hopes learning French becomes his saving grace.

From getting a premium Duolingo subscription to YouTube videos, Sidhu is leaving no stone unturned, including "a very expensive" private French tutor. Sidhu said his 16-month master's "was not worth it" and now more expenses await for him to gain PR.

He suspects it will take him at least six months to reach the proficiency levels needed by the immigration department. He wants to apply for his PR later this year, as he has only two years left on his work permit.

"I think speaking and listening are difficult, but reading is difficult because it's a completely different language, different alphabets and all other things. It's really hard work."

He said the government should reduce the cutoff points or have exceptions for master's and PhD students and help applicants who "are already contributing to the economy of Canada."

"I'm going for a French certification that will again cost me money. I'm still investing in this country. I'm not getting back anything in return."

Gurasees Singh, who is pursuing computer system technician networking at St. Clair College, is also eyeing online French programs. 

He said while the government has increased PR pathways under education and health-care streams, he would not qualify.

"But because we are IT professionals, we definitely need to consider French. We won't be able to get into trades or health pathways. So, French is the only option that becomes feasible for us," he said.

Singh said many data and networking companies also prefer bilingual candidates and learning French is an asset overall.