Recent Immigration Announcements

A number of important immigration updates were announced by the IRCC minister on September 18, 2024, these updates include:

• Revised national cap on the number of study permits to be issued for 2025.
• Language proficiency requirement for PGWP applicants starting November 1, 2024
• PAL requirement for graduate students outside Canada for the 2025-26 academic year
• Changes to Open work permit eligibility for spouses/common-law partners of certain masters students

For detailed information, refer to the Sep 18, 2024 backgrounder and the Sep 18, 2024 news release.

Through the national associations, we have been told to expect the following upcoming changes:

• International students in Canada who are completing high school and will need to apply to extend their study permits to attend a post-secondary institution will require a PAL moving forward.
• As of January 2025, visiting and exchange students whose program of study in Canada is more than 6 months will be exempted from the cap and will not be required to have a PAL when applying for a study permit.

IRCC announced the Francophone Minority Pilot Program (FMCSP) for French-speaking foreign nationals who are interested in studying in communities outside of Quebec. Applicants applying under the FMCSP will not be required to demonstrate that they will leave Canada after completing their studies in Canada. They will also be exempt from the current study permit cap and therefore will not require a Provincial Attestation Letter (PAL) for the study permit application process.

University of Alberta is approved to participate in this pilot program by IRCC. Participating designated learning institution (DLI) list can be accessed here.

The eligibility criteria for the FMCSP program is as follows:

• Be a citizen of an eligible country 
• Have received a Letter of Acceptance from a participating DLI in an eligible study program
• Meet the financial sufficiency requirements (i.e. possess sufficient financial resources to cover the cost of tuition fees and living expenses) 
• Meet the French Language Proficiency requirements of level 5 in speaking, listening, reading, and writing by providing test results for either of the approved language tests - TEF Canada or TCF Canada 
• Be outside Canada at the time of application submission 
• Provide a medical exam (if applicable) 

Provide a Police Clearance Certificate (if applicable - check the visa office-specific instructions to verify if this requirement applies to you by choosing your country of citizenship from the list)

Detailed information about the eligibility requirements and how to apply for this program can be found on the IRCC website.

The Federal Government of Canada decided to partially re-impose a visa requirement on Mexican nationals, effective February 29, 2024, at 11:30 p.m. EST. This change aims to balance mobility for Mexican visitors with the sustainability of Canada’s immigration program and support services at all levels of government.

When this change takes effect, Mexican study permit holders in Canada will not be impacted. Students with a valid study permit and valid electronic travel authorization (eTA), including those who have yet to travel to Canada, can continue to use their existing eTA until it expires. We are committed to working with you to minimize any impacts you experience as a result of this change.

There will be no change to the study permit application process for Mexican nationals going forward.

Under a partial visa requirement, Mexican nationals seeking to visit Canada can still travel to Canada without a visa if they are flying to Canada, and hold a valid U.S. visa, or have held a Canadian visitor visa in the past 10 years. These clients will still be able to apply for a light-touch eTA.

Mexican citizens who do not meet these new rules will need to apply for a visa. All Mexican nationals (including students) seeking entry to Canada via the land border now require a visa.

As part of this change, Canada is opening more Visa Application Centers in Mexico. This will improve IRCC’s service to Mexican study permit applicants.

Please note that Mexican students participating in an exchange, or visiting scholars, who do not require a study permit due to the short duration of their studies, will be subject to these new rules. These students will need to apply for an eTA, or a visa, in accordance with the above criteria. Mexican students participating in an exchange or visiting scholars, who are already in Canada when this change is made, do not have to leave Canada until the end of their authorized period of stay. However, their eTA will be cancelled, and after they leave Canada, should they wish to return, they will need to apply for a new eTA or a visa.

• For more information, visit this page.
• Additional resources

The IRCC Temporary Public Policy for Iranian Nationals was extended for one more year, until February 28, 2025.

IRCC has introduced special measures to support Iranian temporary residents in Canada as well as Canadian citizens and permanent residents living in Iran. These measures will make it easier for Iranians who wish to extend their temporary status in Canada and to move between temporary streams, allowing Iranians to continue studying, working or visiting family by applying for a new permit from inside Canada. An open work permit pathway has been made available for Iranians already in Canada as well. Applications from Iranians in Canada are also being processed on a priority basis. 

Under these special measures, the following clients may be eligible:

• a national of Iran (holds a passport issued by Iran) in Canada with valid temporary resident status; who applies for an extension of their authorization to remain in Canada as a temporary resident or to change their temporary resident status via the following applications:
  1. a work permit or extension or
  2. a study permit or extension or
  3. a visitor record extension or
  4. a temporary resident permit
• Canadian citizens or permanent residents who reside in Iran and have applied for
  1. a citizenship certificate – if the client does not have a certificate for passport issuance (as eligible via the online application or through the paper stream via Canadian consular services) or
  2. a passport (see below for details)
     1. a one-year limited validity passport (no fees to be charged)
        • Should the client wish to obtain a full-validity passport, fees apply
        • Fees for the temporary passport are to be waived at all times.
     2. permanent resident travel documents

A number of important immigration updates were announced by the Government of Canada on January 22, 2024. Announced changes are designed to protect international students and strengthen Canada as a top study destination for international students. A two-year cap on the number of initial study permits that will be issued by Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) will be distributed by the province.  Measures are designed to enhance predictability and distribution of the number of international students in Canada, and to ensure enriching academic experiences such as those provided by institutions like the University of Alberta. 

This cap does not apply to students who are currently in Canada on a study permit and are in application to extend or will need to extend their study permit. 

The changes announced impact graduate and undergraduate students differently.

Graduate Students 

• The announced cap will not apply to students in Masters and PhD programs.
• Spouses of graduate students will continue to be eligible for open work permits.
• It was also announced that graduates of master’s and other short graduate-level programs will be eligible to apply for a 3-year PGWP even if the length of their program of study is less than 2 years in duration. We will provide updated information when more details are available.   

Undergraduate Students

• The announced cap will apply to new undergraduate students but does not apply to students currently enrolled in undergraduate programs needing to extend study permits.
• While new undergraduate students applying for a first-time study permit will be required to provide a PAL from the province where they study, this is not a requirement for those already studying in an undergraduate program and applying to extend their study permit.
• There are no changes to the PGWP for undergraduate students enrolled in University of Alberta programs.
• Spouses of most undergraduate students will no longer be eligible for open work permits.

The temporary policy that allows some international students to work more than 20 hours per week between January 1, 2024, and April 30, 2024, will end as of April 30, 2024. For detailed information about eligibility requirements for this policy, please click here.

International students who submit their study permit applications to IRCC on or after January 1, 2024, are now required to show $20,635 CAD (for a single applicant) in funds to cover their cost of living for the first year in addition to their first year of tuition and travel costs. The cost-of-living amount will be adjusted each year based on Statistics Canada's low-income cut-off, so students will need to review the adjusted yearly amounts. For detailed information, please click here.