Thousands of international students who planned to study at three Ontario colleges this fall are unable to attend classes due to visa delays and recent federal policy changes. The impact is being felt deeply by institutions that rely heavily on international student enrollment.
According to Glenn Vollebregt, president of St. Lawrence College in Kingston, the college expected 1,600 new international students this fall but ended up enrolling only 775. Vollebregt attributed the drastic drop to tightened federal policies and significant delays in processing student visas. He noted that around one-third of affected students had their enrollment deferred to a later semester.
“This is not normal,” said Vollebregt. “This is a direct result of some of the federal policy decisions that we’ve seen take place.”
In January, the Canadian government announced a cap on international study permits for 2024, and last month, Immigration Minister Marc Miller lowered that cap by an additional 10%, reducing the number of permits that will be issued over the next few years. The revised cap will allow for a limit of 437,000 study permits to be issued in 2025 and 2026.
Vollebregt warned that these changes are damaging Canada’s reputation as an education destination, adding, “Essentially, it’s Canada saying we’re closed for business.”
Michael McDonald, director of government relations and policy for Colleges and Institutes Canada, echoed this concern, noting the financial reliance many institutions have on international tuition fees. He expects significant declines in enrollments across the organization’s member institutions, due in part to the uncertainty caused by federal policy shifts.
“We think that kind of uncertainty further depresses enrollments and raises questions about ongoing recruitment efforts,” McDonald said.
A spokesperson for the Immigration Department, Michelle Carbert, defended the policy changes, stating that the rapid growth of the international student population was unsustainable. “International students are not responsible for the challenges that communities are facing, but the recent skyrocketing growth of this population puts significant pressure on services,” Carbert explained.
She advised foreign students to apply for visas as soon as they receive acceptance letters from their institutions to mitigate delays.
Mohawk College, which has multiple campuses across Ontario, welcomed about 1,500 international students this fall — a 38% drop from last year. Katie Burrows, vice-president for international students at Mohawk, described the decrease as “significant” and “completely out of the norm.” She expressed concern about the financial impact, especially with a new 300-bed student residence in downtown Hamilton housing only 60 students.
Burrows attributed the decline to policy-related concerns among international students, including the impact of new work permit restrictions set to take effect on November 1. These changes will limit post-graduation work permits to areas experiencing labor shortages in Canada, further adding to student anxieties.
Visa delays are also a major factor, affecting institutions like Conestoga College, which reported that 1,400 international students deferred their programs to the winter semester due to visa complications, according to Brenda Bereczki, the college’s executive director of corporate communications.
Brian-Paul Welsh, an immigration consultant at Northern Education Consultants, confirmed that visa processing times have increased due to stricter reviews by Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC). He explained that recent criticism of the department for allegedly lax application assessments led to a more thorough approach, which may be contributing to delays.
Welsh also pointed to another layer of bureaucracy: Ottawa’s new requirement for provinces to issue attestation letters for international students, which are now necessary for visa applications. He believes the larger issue is the federal government’s policy direction, which is causing potential students to reconsider Canada as a study destination.
“Students may be holding back while they wait and see whether the possibility of becoming a permanent resident after their studies is still in the cards,” he said. “The potential benefits might not outweigh what they know it would actually cost.”
For now, institutions and international students alike are grappling with the consequences of these policy changes and visa delays, creating a ripple effect across Ontario’s education sector.