New Scotland has released details of its allocation of international students to post-secondary institutions.
By 2024, the federal government has granted Nova Scotia 12,900 study permits. This is approximately 7,000 fewer than the number of permits the province issued to international students in 2023.
As of October 2023, Nova Scotia had approximately 16,000 international students enrolled full-time.
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The province distributes study permits among 32 designated learning institutions (DLI), which are the only post-secondary institutions in Canada that are allowed to accept international students. According Canada Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship (IRCC), Nova Scotia officially has 41 DLIs.
Permissions are assigned as follows:
- 11,565 to the 10 universities in the province and the Nova Scotia Community College
- 710 to a dozen private professional universities
- 526 to nine language schools.
The province says it will also retain 99 application slots to have flexibility to adapt to unexpected circumstances.
Brian Wong, Nova Scotia’s Minister of Advanced Education, said: “We have taken a thoughtful approach to allocating the federal cap across the province, considering many factors such as enrollment in our high-need programs and managing growth in communities. That said, we will continue to advocate for increased allocation from the federal government.”
The federal cap on study permits was introduced on January 22 as one of many measures IRCC has taken to stabilize the number of international students in the country and improve the sustainability of the system. Overall, Canada expected to issue 360,000 study permits to international students in 2024, a 35% reduction from the previous year.
The number of study permits is aligned with the number of Provincial certification letters (PAL) that a province can issue and it is up to the provinces to decide how to issue them to study permit applicants who have obtained a acceptance letter from a DLI.
Please note that the limit does not apply to international students enrolled in master’s or postgraduate programs, students who are current study permit holders, or study permit renewals.
International student applicants must now include a PAL in their final study permit applications.
Prince Edward Island
March 7th, Prince Edward Island announced that it has 2,000 study permits to issue to international students.
These will be distributed in three DLIs:
- College de l’Ile (105 study permits)
- Holland College (710 study permits)
- University of Prince Edward Island (1,185 study permits)
In PEI, the Department of Workforce, Advanced Learning and Population will provide PAL to DLIs. DLIs will then issue them to international student applicants as part of their federal student permit application.
Assignments in other provinces
Ontario and British Columbia revealed how they intend to distribute their PAL allocation earlier this month.
Ontario will issue 96% of study permits allocated to public universities and colleges. The remaining 4% will be distributed among “language schools, private universities and other institutions” throughout the province. The province has not announced how many PALs the federal government has allocated.
By contrast, British Columbia is distributing its 83,000 study permits almost evenly between public and private DLIs (53% vs. 47%).
reference: www.cicnews.com