Study permits granted in Canada, the country most favoured by foreign students, will decline the most.

It is expected that the number of new study permits in Ontario, Canada, a popular destination for international students, will fall less than originally predicted.

In Canada, Ontario is about to witness the sharpest decline in the number of study permits granted. Permits are down 41% from 239,753 in 2023 to 141,000 this year, according to official data released on Friday. However, this number is better than the administration of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s previous projections, which had predicted a roughly 50% decline because of the implementation of a student cap announced in January.

Minister of Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship Marc Miller stated, “To address the significant influx of overseas students in Canada, I imposed a countrywide cap on study permit applications on January 22. The assignments of provinces and territories for 2024 have now been decided upon. This is my chance to present those numbers and discuss the reasoning behind our choices.

The cap on students, which was first assigned according to population, was modified. In order to “mitigate the adverse impact in the initial year and bolster broader regional immigration objectives,” as stated in the announcement, provinces that were anticipated to get fewer foreign students this year had their allocations adjusted. On the other hand, provinces that were supposed to accept a higher number of foreign students had their allotments changed to cap growth at 10%.

It is expected that, in Canada, the number of new postsecondary study permits for programs subject to new limits—which do not include master’s and doctoral degrees—will drop by 28% from 2023 levels. Under the cap, this equates to almost 290,000 additional students coming to Canada in 2024. Immigration Minister Marc Miller stated that the national cap intends to keep the total number of foreign students in the nation constant this year, with fresh permits being issued in accordance with those that have expired.

The federal government declared earlier this year that each province would receive a set amount of international study visas. Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada will allot study permit funds to the provinces under this arrangement; each province will be free to decide how to divide these permits among approved post-secondary schools under its control.