Speaker 1: A few weeks ago, I made a video discussing eight potential changes to the post-graduation work permit and their impact on international students. Recently, on September 18th, Immigration Minister Mark Miller and Employment Minister Randy Bossineau held a media advisory to announce updates to Canada's immigration and labor policies. Although the focus began on the temporary foreign worker program, it quickly shifted to upcoming changes for international students. Before we dive into the changes, I do want to give a quick disclaimer. While Mark and Randy have made verbal announcements about the upcoming changes, I suggest taking their word for now, but expect more concrete details by November 1st. And the reason I say this is that there have been many instances where verbal statements didn't exactly match what the IRCC website officially posted. So it's always best to rely on the official text to ensure that you have a clear, documented record of meeting the requirements. With that, let's break down each of these changes that relate to international students, as well as my thoughts on them. Reduction in international student cap. So the first major change is a further 10% reduction in the cap for international students. Right now, the target for 2024 is 485,000 students, but by 2025 and 2026, that number will drop to 437,000 for each year. That's 48,000 fewer students each year, or nearly 100,000 fewer international students over the next two years. From the government's perspective, the move is intended to ease some of the immediate pressures on housing and labor demand. Fewer students could mean less strain on rental markets and more job availability for Canadian citizens and permanent residents. But in the long run, fewer international students will lead to a negative impact on the economy. In 2022 alone, international students brought in about $30 billion to the Canadian economy, about 1.2% of the GDP. So by reducing the number of international students, Canada risks losing a significant portion of this revenue. Schools in smaller towns that rely heavily on international students will be hit hardest, potentially facing staffing cuts, reduction in program offerings, and less resources for school upgrades. Additionally, with fewer spots available, competition among students applying to schools will increase. Schools will likely prioritize top candidates, meaning that higher language proficiency scores and stronger academic transcripts will become even more crucial for students hoping to secure admission. This could make it harder for some students to gain entry into their preferred programs, further tightening the opportunities available. UCAP and PAL requirement for master's and doctoral students. Next, another major change coming is that anyone applying for a master's or doctoral program will need to obtain a provincial or territorial attestation letter. Previously, these students were exempt from this requirement, but that exemption has now been removed. This will once again reduce the overall pool of students, with 12% of spots specifically reserved for master's and PhD students under this new requirement. Now, this change was largely triggered by schools trying to get around the student reductions by adding new master's and doctoral programs. And basically, this created an imbalance, so the federal government had to step in to prevent schools from enrolling more students While provinces are usually responsible for overseeing education and managing student numbers, the federal government has made it clear that they'll step in if provinces don't do enough to reduce those numbers. And so, here we are. Now, requiring PALs might be a good way to ensure fairness among schools and prevent oversaturation in certain fields, but for students, it adds more red tape and makes the process more complicated. This could easily discourage prospective students, especially those students planning to apply to smaller provinces or territories where fewer spots are available. New language proficiency requirement for PGWP applicants. Starting November 1st, 2024, there will be new language requirements for those applying for the post graduation work permit. University graduates will need to demonstrate a Canadian language benchmark level 7, while college graduates will need to meet a CLB level 5. This change is expected to cut down PGWP applicants by about 175,000 over the next three years. I mean, I get the idea. This ensures that graduates have the language skills needed to succeed in the workforce, especially for students from schools with low or even no language requirements. I mean, it makes sense. But applying this to everyone? I don't know. That feels a bit too much. For instance, for students who've already provided their language skills for school admission or through the student direct stream program, I think they should be exempted from this requirement. And side note, I can already picture the frantic rush of students booking their approved language tests, especially those close to graduating. And so, if you're one of them, my advice is to lock in your slot early and get it done ASAP. Now, before you book anything, they haven't said exactly which tests will be accepted, so we're still in the dark until November 1st. But keep a tab on this and be ready to pounce once that's clear. PGWP eligibility linked to field of study. Up next, IRCC announced that graduates from public colleges will only be eligible for a PGWP if their field of study is linked to occupations in long-term shortage. Previously, PGWPs were available to graduates from various levels of study, but now eligibility will be tied to the specific field of study. And you know what? It's a little confusing though because during the live announcement, the minister mentioned that PGWP eligibility will be tied to the

Speaker 2: program level. Let me play that clip for you. Fourth, for prospective students applying on or after November 1st, post-graduation work permit eligibility will depend on the level of study. Graduates from bachelor's, master's, and doctoral degree programs will remain eligible for a work permit up to three years. These graduates are more likely to acquire transferable knowledge and skills and be able to adapt to changing economic circumstances over the long term. However,

Speaker 1: in the official news release, IRCC states that eligibility is linked to the field of study. So there's a bit of discrepancy here and we'll need to wait for the official clarification which will hopefully come by November 1st. Now you might be wondering what exactly are these occupations in long-term shortage? Well, the government hasn't really given us a specific list of occupations in long-term shortage, but it's likely to be similar to the occupations we see in category-based express entry draws, namely skill trades, construction, agriculture, transport, healthcare, STEM occupations, to name a few. But looking at this at a different angle, this shift worries me because IRCC has a history of opening up pathways and then closing them without much notice. Take hospitality for example. Post-COVID, there was a high demand for workers in that sector and they opened pathways for hospitality graduates to get permanent residency. As expected, a lot of students enrolled in hospitality programs only to find the door shut later when demand dropped. The same thing happened with master graduates. There was a push to prioritize them for a study permit and PGWP eligibility and as you can expect again, many students transferred into master's programs to take advantage of it. But now with the eligibility tightening again, those students are left wondering what happened. So yeah, this restriction could create more concentrated labor force in a few industries which might backfire. I mean, like if there's a slowdown in construction for instance, where will all those newly trained plumbers or electricians go? This approach limits students options and could leave them vulnerable if the job market shifts again. And I don't know, it just feels like IRCC is constantly pulling the plug without giving students enough time to adjust. Restricting spousal work permit eligibility for master's students. Now the final change is about limiting spousal open work permit eligibility for master's degree students. Now, only those enrolled in programs that are at least 16 months long will be able to bring their spouse on an open work permit. Previously, it was announced that master's students could get a three-year PGWP even if their program was shorter than 16 months, which was great news for students. But now, if you want to bring your spouse or common law partner with you on an SOWP, they won't be eligible unless your program is at least 16 months long. This means that master's students who want their spouse to join them on an open work permit will need to enroll in a longer program. Also as an FYI, if you're planning to study in Canada and you're enrolled in programs that aren't a master's doctoral or professional program, for example like a diploma or certificate program, your spouse will no longer qualify for an SOWP. So just keep that in mind. The recent announcements have put international students in a tough spot. The constant policy changes make it difficult for both current and prospective students to plan for their future in Canada. For prospective students, I understand how frustrating it must be to see the rules shift so often, leaving you unsure of how to move forward, maybe even rethinking your plans entirely. Meanwhile, current students are left scrambling to adapt to frequent changes with new requirements popping up every few months. While some of these changes aim to address larger issues like inflation, housing, and unemployment, it feels like international students are being pushed into a corner. The government is using these policies to manage its problems and unfortunately international students have become an easy target. I've seen it in my comments section too, like people saying go back home or Canada is full. I mean it's clear that everyone is feeling the pressure but international students aka the non-voting group are taking all the heat. Normally this is where I'd offer some practical tips on how to navigate these changes but to be honest, I'm just as shell-shocked as many of you and there's no easy way to make sense of it right now. With everything shifting so fast, it's hard to give any solid guidance but hopefully after November 1st, I'll have more concrete suggestions for how to navigate these changes. But for now, I think it's better to open up the conversation by leaving you guys with these three questions. For prospective students, does this change your plans to study in Canada? For current students, how are you coping with all the sudden policy shifts? And for Canadians, do you think these changes will solve the country's socio-economic issues? Let's talk in the comments section below. I mean your experiences and thoughts might help us all make sense of what's happening. Thanks for watching, be kind, and as always catch you in the next video. Cheers.