As per official data from the government, Canada saw an increase in the application of international students in 2022, with demand reaching around 800,000.
The number of individuals holding study permit in December 2022 in Canada were 807,750. The new figure has certainly reached beyond the expectation as they were expecting 450,000 foreign students. IRCC released data that 551,405 new study permits were issued in 2022 showing an increase of 24% in 2021. As per Canadian immigration, the year was described as a “record-breaking year”.
The boom in visa applications in Canada became difficult to tackle. In November 2022, IRCC reported that the visa application process was streamlined, as the 60-day processing time was back.
Most of the applications were from India as the country saw a 41% increase in the application from India. The study permit issued by Canada for Indians in 2019 was 58,435. China was the country with the second-highest number of visa applications with 52,165 students in China.
Vice president of international partnerships at Colleges and institutes Canada, Alain Roy, said that this boom in the study permit application is not surprising, as COVID restrictions eased. According to him, Canada is an attractive destination providing affordable education to a diversity of nationalities. The growing number of immigrants to the country can be due to multiple factors. Major cities in the country like Toronto, Montreal, and Vancouver experienced growth. Most of the students are heading toward Ontario, making it a popular destination among students.
Colleges and universities are preparing to accept the increase in the number of applications, thus they are vacating more seats. The majority of students heading to Canada are approaching higher education, and even the application in the k-12 sector also increased with around 82,000 study permits issued.
President of the Higher Education Strategy Association, Alex Usher, made a bold statement that “Institutions could probably keep accepting students as long as they want”. But the community is not ready to accept tenants for the short term, especially in Ontario.