Immigration Canada (IRCC) has released its response to the Standing Committee on Citizenship and Immigration (CIMM) of the House of Representatives of Canada, taking the steps needed to attract, assist and protect incoming and already Canadian international students.

CIMM is an internal government committee that studies immigration and citizenship matters in Canada. They supervise the Department of Immigration and monitor federal multiculturalism policies.

The CIMM report was written to address the fact that while Canada is a global leader in attracting international students, some students may be placed at a disadvantage and disadvantage for a number of reasons, and the report focuses on three goals related to international students.

1. Attract international students to study in Canada.
2. Ensure fairness in international student programs.
3. Improve service and communication for international students during the study permit and immigration process.
   

USCIS’s response focuses on the steps that can be taken and the measures that are already in place to help achieve the above three goals to help international students apply for permits, study and settle in Canada.

The government recognises that the number of study permit holders is expected to increase to around 753,000 from 2022 to 2023. It also acknowledged CIMM’s concern that, despite the increase in the total, applications from students from certain countries had not been adequately considered.

In response, the Department of Immigration has promised:

1. Explore the expansion of the Direct Student Admission Program (SDS) to select Asian, African and French-speaking countries. SDS is a fast track to obtaining study permits for candidates from 14 countries.
2. Investigate the refusal rate of study permits in Quebec (especially for French-speaking African students) by establishing a working group between the Ministry of Immigration, Francophonization and Integration (MIFI) and the Ministry of Immigration.
3. Re-evaluate the scope of the Nigerian Student Passway (NSE), a program designed to help students from Nigeria apply for a study permit.
4. Explore how best to facilitate the transition of international students to permanent residence, especially those with the skills, experience, and language proficiency needed to succeed in Canada.

The Department of Immigration also commits to ensuring fairness throughout the International Student Program (ISP) and to providing clear and transparent information to applicants and stakeholders, including processing times and reasons for rejection.

The Canadian government also launched a special immigration scheme for Hong Kong people in early 2021, with media reports that a total of 12,848 visas had been issued under the new Open Work Visas (OWPs) as of June this year.

In addition, the Canadian government relaxed the requirements for international students and work visa holders to apply for permanent residence in mid-2021, and the number of student visas granted increased by 1.4 times from 2,650 in 2020 to 2021 6,370, with  nearly 8,000 approved in the first three quarters of 2022.

The two main work visas of the International Mobility Programme (IMP) and the Temporary Foreign Workers Programme (TFWP) increased from about 2,500 in 2020 to over 5,800 in 2021 7,200 copies were distributed in the first three quarters of this year.