Recent changes announced by IRCC related to international students
On January 22, 2024, IRCC announced different changes that will effect applications related to international students. Changes will have an effective changes in different dates. For that reason, we have compiled in the following link examples on how these changes will affect specific type of applicants.
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Applicants that are currently in Canada and are eligible to apply for a study permit within Canada are exempted from most of these restrictions.
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This link has been updated on March 25, 2024 and we will be updating this link with the latest version as soon as possible.
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Timeline of recent changes
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March 22nd, 2024: IRCC issues an update on public-private college partnership programs for international students by moving the date of effect. This means that international students who begging this type of program on May 15, 2024, or later will not be eligible for PGWP.
March 19th, 2024: IRCC announces changes to open work permit for spouses and/or common-law partners of international students. Effective same date. The only eligible programs for this type of work permits are:
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Master's degree or doctoral degree in an university or polytechnic institution, or one of the following professional degree programs at a university:
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Doctor of Dental Surgery (DDS, DMD)
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Bachelor of Law or Juris Doctor (LLB, JD, BCL)
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Doctor of Medicine (MD)
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Doctor of Optometry (OD)
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Pharmacy (PharmD, BS, BSc, BPharm)
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Doctor of Veterinary Medicine (DVM)
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Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BScN, BSN, BNSc)
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Bachelor of Education (B. Ed.)
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Bachelor of Engineering (B. Eng., BE, BASc)
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February 5th, 2024: IRCC issues additional information about International Student Program reforms:
1. Further specifications of who needs an attestation letter (same announced in the Canada Gazette). 2. Eligibility to a 3-year PGWP for master's students with a program of less than 2 years starts on February 15, 2024. 3. Changes to open work permit eligibility for spouses continue to be updated in the following weeks. 4. The concept of professional degree-granting programs is introduced for those that will continue to be eligible to PGWP.​
February 3rd, 2024: IRCC issues official information through the Canada Gazette, Part I, Volume 158, Number 5 where specifies concept related to the student class applications. Cap of 606,250 applications for the following calendar year starting on January 22nd, 2024, is announced.
January 31st, 2024: IRCC modifies list of the exemptions to obtain the Provincial Attestations letters, deleting the pos-graduate studies from these exemptions.
January 30, 2024: the requirement to validate LOAs of post-secondary programs is extended to inside Canada applicants. No exemptions applicable from this date.
January 22nd, 2024: new requirements to submit Provincial Attestations letters for international students applying from outside Canada. Few exceptions apply. This change is effective immediately.
January 1st, 2024: effective date for new amounts of financial means of support for the applicants and if applicable, their accompanying family members.
December 1st, 2023: DLIs new process to validate LOAs within new portal takes effect. This measure is applicable only for post-secondary programs and applicants from outside Canada.