Government's Superexploitation of International Visa Students
Trudeau Government Revises Monetary and Other Requirements for International Students
Protest by international students outside immigration
headquarters in Toronto, April 23, 2022.
Federal Immigration Minister Marc Miller announced on December 7 that beginning January 1, 2024, the cost-of-living financial requirement for new study permit applicants will be raised and that moving forward, this threshold will be adjusted yearly when Statistics Canada updates the low-income cut-off (LICO). LICO represents the "minimum income necessary to ensure that an individual does not have to spend a greater than average portion of income on necessities." The cost-of-living requirement for study permit applicants is presently set at $10,000 and has not changed since the early 2000s.
This means that for 2024, new
study permit applicants will need to show they have $20,635,
representing 75 per cent of LICO, in addition to their first
year of tuition and travel costs. The change will apply to new
study permit applications received on or after January 1, 2024.
As reported by Statistics Canada, the average undergraduate annual tuition and additional compulsory fees for Canadian students was $7,076 for the 2023-2024 school year. Nationally, in 2022/2023, international undergraduate students paid $36,123 on average.
The announcement follows on the heels of other reforms to the International Student Program announced by Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) on October 27 "regarding the development of a new framework to recognize learning institutions that provide top-quality services and support, including housing, to international students."[1]
An update was also provided on three temporary policies that were set to expire by the end of 2023:
"- The waiver on the 20-hour-per-week limit on the number of hours international students are allowed to work off campus while class is in session will be extended to April 30, 2024. International students already in Canada, as well as applicants who have already submitted an application for a study permit as of December 7, 2023 will be able to work off campus more than 20 hours per week until that time.
"- The facilitative measure that has allowed international students to count time spent studying online towards the length of a future post-graduation work permit, as long as it constitutes less than 50 per cent of the program of study, will continue to be in place for students who begin a study program before September 1, 2024. This measure will no longer apply to students who begin a study program on or after that date.
"- In response to labour market disruptions during the pandemic and post-pandemic recovery, a temporary policy was introduced on three occasions to provide an additional 18-month work permit to post-graduation work permit holders as their initial work permit was expiring. Foreign nationals with a post-graduation work permit expiring up to December 31, 2023, remain eligible to apply. However, this temporary policy will not be extended further."[2]
The IRCC also notes:
"International education accounts for more than $22 billion in economic activity annually, greater than Canada's exports of auto parts, lumber or aircraft, and supports more than 200,000 jobs in Canada.
"Quebec establishes its own cost-of-living threshold for international students destined for Quebec's learning institutions and has continued to raise this threshold periodically.
"The new financial guidelines are also being applied to the Student Direct Stream, a special study permit application process available to residents of 14 countries that requires additional up-front information from the applicant and provides priority processing."[3][4]
Notes
1. "Changes to International Student Program aim to protect students, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada," October 27, 2023.
2. "Revised requirements to better protect international students," Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada, December 7, 2023.
3. Student Direct Stream: Who can apply, Government of Canada
4. The 14 countries are: Antigua and Barbuda, Brazil, China, Colombia, Costa Rica, India, Morocco, Pakistan, Peru, Philippines, Senega, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Trinidad and Tobago, and Vietnam.
This article was published in
Volume 53 Number 32 - December 2023
Article Link:
https://cpcml.ca/Tmlm2023/Articles/MS53326.HTM
Website: www.cpcml.ca Email: editor@cpcml.ca