The demography in Chandigarh and Punjab now has one thing in common- that very few applicants are seeking Canadian student visas. Another change being witnessed along the highways across the state is the missing hoardings and billboards attracting Canadian study visa applications.
The immigration agents attribute this change to the Canadian government's restrictions on work permits.
"We are witnessing a dramatic change.
The number of Canadian study visa applications has dropped to half.
It is bound to drop further as now the work permits are also being denied to the postgraduate students", Chandigarh-based immigration expert Gurtej Sandhu told India Today.
A recent decision on Post-Graduate Work Permit (PGWP) by the Canadian government has left international students, Indians in particular, high and dry.
As per the new restrictions, students pursuing post-graduation can no longer apply for the PGWP at a port of entry i.e. airport, land, or maritime border while entering Canada.
Often called a flagpole, the PGWP at a Canadian port of entry has been banned with effect from June 21, 2024.
"Earlier, people entering Canada would get their visitor visas converted into work permits.
This facility has not been withdrawn due to various reasons", Gurtej Sandhu said.
In January this year, the Canadian government increased the Guaranteed Investment Certificate (GIC) fees from CAD 10,000 to CAD 20,635.
The work permits were also denied to the undergraduate students.
The Canadian government has, however, said that only post-graduation students would be eligible for a work permit.
However, in a U-turn, this facility has been withdrawn for this category of students as well.
A Canadian government spokesperson has, however, clarified that the work permits will still be available to a particular category of students.
"The graduates of certain designated learning institutions may still be eligible for a PGWP.
The work permits will be granted to students who study in high-demand fields like IT, healthcare, and construction.
They will have to produce a job offer from a Canadian employer to get a work permit", the spokesperson said.
The decision, say the immigration agents, will not only affect the post-graduation students but also the general visitors who earlier used to get their visitor visas converted into work permits easily.
To make the situation even more grave for students seeking study visas, conversions of visitor visas into work permits have also been banned.
This has resulted in a dramatic decrease in the number of Indian students in Canada.
The Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) data says that nearly 45,000 study permits were granted to Indian students by the Canadian government in January and February this year.
The number came down to just 4,210 in March 2024.
Interestingly, while the number of Indian students declined in Canada, the number of students from various other countries, including Senegal, Guinea, Ghana, and Bangladesh were given more study permits.
The work permit restrictions in Canada prompted Indian students to look elsewhere in Australia for higher studies. However, the Australian government has also capped work at up to 48 hours.
Source: https://www.indiatoday.in/india/story/number-of-indian-students-seeking-canadian-visa-drops-due-to-restrictions-2558127-2024-06-26
