International Student Program Update ICEF 2016 Toronto, Ontario

To provide an update on Canada’s International Student Program and to share other information on immigration issues related to education in Canada such as:

International student trends; Immigration, Refugee and Citizenship Canada’s current operational context;

and Policy and program updates.

Purpose and Outline

International Education in Canada: Current Context

• International students enrich the academic environment for domestic students and contribute more than $8 billion a year to the Canadian economy.

• The Government of Canada launched a new International Education Strategy in 2014 designed to drive growth even further over the next decade.

• The International Student Program has seen a decade of steady growth with 224,106 study permits issued in 2015* – an increase of 80% from 2005.

• Increasingly coordinated recruitment efforts together with immigration policy changes have enhanced Canada’s attractiveness.

• For Canada, a successful International Student Program requires balancing facilitative measures to attract international students with program integrity checks to prevent program abuse and protect the Canadian labour market.

• International students are increasingly viewed as a potential pool of qualified candidates for permanent residency.

Role of IRCC’s International Student Program

IRCC is responsible for study authorizations and related work authorizations: • Study permit issuance limited to foreign nationals enrolled at Designated Learning

Institutions • Study permits allow eligible students to work on and off campus during studies

(study permits not required for some programs or for study programs less than six months);

• Work permits are also facilitated for co-op students, spouses of students;

• Post graduation work permit program allows international student graduates to access an open work permit with duration of up to three years, upon completion of program/degree.

Provinces/territories: key partners in maintaining the integrity of the Program: • Ministries of education designate those institutions that may receive international

students, based on minimum pan-Canadian standards; Over 800 post-secondary institutions have been designated by provinces and territories.

Study Permits

• The Immigration and Refugee Protection Act and Regulations regulates the entry of all foreign nationals destined to Canada for the purposes of study.

• There are no numerical limits/quotas, but students must meet all regulatory

requirements, including health, financial and security requirements.

• Study permits not required for: • Short-term course (i.e., of less than 6 months) • Courses of general interest or self-improvement • Audited courses • Distance learning • Kindergarten

• Top Reasons for refusal:

• R216(1) length of proposed stay in Canada (purpose of visit, travel history) • R220 sufficient and available financial resources, without working in Canada, to

maintain yourself and any family members who are accompanying you during your proposed stay

Classification (le cas échéant)

International Student Trends

Increasing Numbers of International Students

• Canada continues to see strong but steady growth.

• The number of study permit holders has increased at an average rate of 9% every year between 2011 and 2015.

• In 2015, 224 106 international students had study permits signed.

• Total number of students residing in Canada also increased to: — 357,762 international

students with a valid permit on December 31, 2015.

Source: IRCC, Permanent and Temporary Resident January 2016 data.

167.506 177.214 194.075 211.988 224,106

0

50.000

100.000

150.000

200.000

250.000

2011 2012 2013 2014 2015

International Students by sign year 2011-2015

248.827 275.883 304.876

336.503 357.762

0

100.000

200.000

300.000

400.000

2011 2012 2013 2014 2015

International Students with a valid permit on December 31st, 2011-2015

Students by Top 10 Source Countries

• Students from China (68,019) and India (32,420) represented 45% of total study permits signed in 2015, followed by Rep. Korea (14,885), France (12,006) and Saudi Arabia (7,748).

• Top 10 source countries represented 75% of signed study permits in 2015.

Source: IRCC, Permanent and Temporary Resident January 2016 data.

International Students by Top 10 Countries of Citizenship and Sign Year, 2014 and 2015

0

10.000

20.000

30.000

40.000

50.000

60.000

70.000

80.000

2015

2014

Students by Province/Territory of Destination

98,238

58,834

30,743

14,587 6,998 6,423 3,935 2,332 1,683 925 50

0

20.000

40.000

60.000

80.000

100.000

120.000

20152014

International Students by Destination and Sign Year 2014 and 2015

Source: IRCC, Permanent and Temporary Resident January 2016 data.

IRCC’s current operational context

Study Permit Processing

• Efforts to significantly increase the number of international students in Canada are having an ongoing direct operational impact on IRCC.

• Changing immigration levels and the implementation of Express Entry have created additional pressure on the network’s capacity to process all applications.

Overseas: • In 2015, 92% of cases are processed abroad within 60 days. Processing times abroad

have not grown despite increased volumes of applications.

• The variation in study permit processing times across the network reflects program integrity issues, such as whether there is a requirement for biometrics, medical exams, concerns about fraudulent documents, etc.

Inland:

• In-Canada processing times for both study permit applications and extensions are currently, 27 days (online) to 115 days (paper applications) for study permits*

Modernization: • IRCC’s modernization initiatives (e.g., increasing client support through an extensive

network of Visa Application Centres, reducing application burden through electronic applications) have helped to manage growing volume pressures over the last several years.

* As of May 2, 2016.

Study Permit Approvals

• The overall study permit approval rates declined slightly in 2015 (72% in 2014, 76% in 2013). However, year over year rates are generally stable and volumes are up.

COUNTRY OF CITIZENSHIP (Top 10 Source Countries)

2015 APPROVAL RATES

CHINA 85%

INDIA 64%

SOUTH KOREA 95%

FRANCE 95%

SAUDI ARABIA 84%

BRAZIL 89%

USA 96%

NIGERIA 40%

JAPAN 97%

MEXICO 91%

OTHER COUNTRIES 57%

ALL COUNTRIES 70%

Policy and Program Updates

International Student Program June 2014 Reforms

Limits study permit issuance to those attending designated learning institutions. Requires study permit holders to study once arrived in Canada. Allows issuance of removal orders for non-compliance.

Allows international students attending designated institutions to work off-campus without a separate work permit. Expands off –campus work allowances to international students destined to private, non-degree granting institutions. Expands groups of foreign nationals eligible to apply for a study permit from within Canada.

Integrity Measures

Facilitative Measures

Strengthen Program Integrity

Additional changes to enhance Canada’s global competitiveness

Reform Implementation

Implementation of reforms generally successful: • Program integrity measures have not hindered growth, volumes of study permit

applications continue to rise. • 700+ designated institutions are registered with IRCC and listed on IRCC’s website

80 institutions have been de-designated by provinces, in coordination with IRCC, as a result of school closure or failing to meet designation standards since June 2014.

• National launch of compliance reporting activities in April 2015. Reforms supported by new tools available to students: • An updated letter of acceptance template. • A self-assessment tool is available for international students to determine their

eligibility to work off campus: http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/study/study-assess.asp

• Online application for visitors in Canada to apply for an initial study permit. • Online applications for post-graduation work permits available outside of Canada. • Best practices information for stakeholders to support study permit processing.

15

SECRET

Express Entry

• First introduced in January 2015, Express Entry is the electronic application management system which applies to Canada’s key economic immigration programs.

• IRCC ranks and sorts candidates within in the Express Entry pool to identify the candidates mostly likely to financially establish themselves based on their profile (age, education, language skills, Canadian work experience) and/or a job offer or provincial/territorial nomination.

• International students are positioned for success under the Canadian Ranking System (CRS):

— Official language proficiency, education and Canadian work experience are critical factors;

— Students aged 20-29 receive maximum points for age; — Students with LMIA-backed job offers in NOC O, A, B are well-placed to

receive invitation to apply.

• Express Entry rounds of invitations will be done at a frequency and in numbers that align to IRCC's processing capacity and annual levels targets.

• Express Entry candidates benefit from processing times of six months or less1.

1 At least 80% of applications, following receipt of complete application for permanent residence.

Express Entry and International Students

• IRCC is currently examining the Express Entry system and the implications for international students.

• Data suggests that the comprehensive ranking system is generally favourable to former international students and Post-Graduation Work Permit Holders.

• Former students are typically awarded high points for education, Canadian work experience, strong official language skills and age (youth). – Express Entry candidates in the pool who have previously held a study permit have a

higher median Comprehensive Ranking System score (408) compared to others in the pool (360).

– In general, proportionally more Express Entry candidates that have been Invited to Apply (22%) have study experience in Canada in comparison to those in the pool (13%).

Number of candidates in the pool who have ever been in possession of a study permit by category*

EE Category Total# % # %

PNP 67 28 174 72 241FSW 5 139 10 45 531 90 50 670CEC 2 573 39 4 082 61 6 655FST 4 2 223 98 227Total 7 783 13 50 010 87 57 793

Ever been in possession of a study permit

NoYes

EE status Total# % # %

PNP 1 151 39 1 827 61 2 978FSW 2 947 29 7 355 71 10 302CEC 1 243 13 7 996 87 9 239FST 70 3 2 161 97 2 231Total 5 301 22 18 908 78 24 209

Ever been in possession of a study permit

Yes No

PNP = Provincial Nominee Program FSW = Federal Skilled Worker CEC = Canadian Experience Class FST = Federal Skilled Trades Program

* IRCC data as of November 23, 2015

Canada offers a competitive study and work package.

Recent International Student Program reforms focus on ensuring genuine students international students get a quality education.

Canada’s immigration policy supports the transition of international students at Canadian post-secondary institutions to permanent residency.

International students who are eligible for permanent residence comprise an expanding group of highly qualified potential immigrants.

Closing

Points of Contact

IRCC website on international students: http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/study/index.asp

Application processing times: http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/information/times/index.asp?utm_source=website&

utm_medium=website&utm_content=contact8&utm_campaign=contactus

Case Specific Enquiry form: https://secure.cic.gc.ca/enquiries-renseignements/canada-case-cas-eng.aspx

Help Centre: http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/helpcentre/index-featured-can.asp

Designated Learning Institution (DLI) Inbox: DLI-list-liste-EED@cic.gc.ca

Immigration Representatives Inbox: ImmigrationRepresentatives@cic.gc.ca

Statistics: — Facts and Figures: http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/resources/statistics/menu-fact.asp — Open data http://open.canada.ca/data/en/dataset/052642bb-3fd9-4828-b608-

c81dff7e539c