The New Canadian Policy of Study Permits Cap Does Not Impact CIC Students

Dear Parents,

On Monday January 22, 2024, Canada Immigration Minister Marc Miller announced that the federal government will implement a study permit cap for the next two years.

Here are the main facts on the Study Permit Cap Policy:

• New international students applying to Canadian universities and community colleges for their first-year undergraduate/diploma studies will be subject to the study permit cap. In 2024, the maximum number of approved study permits will be 360,000 for the entire country, a 35% decrease from 2023.
• Universities and community colleges in Ontario are expected to face a reduction of up to 50% in study permits for direct applicants from overseas applying to come to Canada for the first time for their undergraduate or diploma studies.
• Those pursuing master’s and doctoral degrees, and elementary and secondary education are not included in the cap.
• Current study permit holders will not be affected.
• As per the Study Permit Cap Policy, a province-issued attestation letter is mandatory for every study permit application. The study permit application will be returned if the student applies without an attestation letter.

This policy does NOT affect students currently studying at Columbia International College.

Study permit renewals will not be impacted. Columbia International College students who plan to continue their studies at a Canadian university or community college, will follow the routine process, and extend their study permit to cover post-secondary education within Canada. Their applications will not be subject to the Study Permit Cap Policy restrictions and conditions. This is because the policy applies only to international students who have finished high school and are seeking admission to a Canadian university or community college from outside Canada.

In addition, when applying for a Canadian university or community college, Columbia International College graduates have these advantages over international applicants from outside Canada:

Seamless transition for Columbia International College graduates	Overseas applicants graduated from high school
Getting accepted to and enrolled in a Canadian university/community college depends on two criteria only: Meet the admissions requirements of the university. Seamless extension of their study permits upon receiving an offer of admission from a Canadian university.	Getting accepted to and enrolled in a Canadian university/community college depends on three criteria: Meet the admissions requirements of the university. Obtain a letter of attestation from the provincial government. Obtain a study permit. This may not be possible if your university/community college has already reached its quota.

Reference

Announcement by Canada’s Minister of Immigration on January 22, 2024

Federal government announces 2-year cap on student permits

Studying at Columbia International College, your child has a better chance than ever before to successfully be admitted to one of the world’s top 50 ranked Canadian universities.

1) Obtaining a study permit extension is easy.

• No restrictions by the Study Permits Cap Policy
• No requirement for a province-issued attestation letter
• As part of our practice, our school’s Admissions/Liaison staff will assist and guide our students when they apply for the study permit extension

2) The transition from Columbia International College to university is seamless.

Since the Study Permit Cap Policy will not affect Columbia International College graduates when they pursue their post-secondary studies in Canada, there is NO RISK of being denied admission to a Canadian university due to a lack of study permits (study permit cap does not apply to Columbia International College students).

3) Columbia International College students applying to Canadian universities will be considered a
domestic applicant.

Since Columbia International College students are not under the Study Permit Cap Policy, Canadian universities will consider the applications of Columbia International College graduates the same way as the ones from other domestic students in Canada. In comparison, international students applying from overseas will risk not getting admitted to a Canadian university simply because the Study Permit quota for that university has been reached.

4) There are extensive admission privileges from our University Partners.

Columbia International College has a strong relationship with many top Canadian universities, and we have the most extensive University Partnership Program in Canada. Our partners include the University of Toronto, McMaster, Western, York, Ottawa, Ontario Tech University and Waterloo. The Columbia International College partner universities offer admission privileges to our graduates, including:

• IELTS/TOEFL exemption
• Guaranteed admissions
• Designated scholarships
• The privileges vary between universities

5) Columbia International College has a continuous proven successful record of 100% of its graduates being admitted to a university and/or college.

• Year after year, all our graduates have successfully gained admission to universities and colleges
  worldwide.
• Our students were awarded $13,190,549 in scholarships from prestigious universities in 2023

In summary, there is nothing for you to worry about with the new Canadian Study Permit Cap Policy because it does not affect your child’s studying at Columbia International College.

The new Study Permit Cap Policy has made it clearer than ever before that Columbia International College is the best path for your child to pursue the goal of studying at one of the world’s top 50 universities in Canada because:

	Join Columbia International College and then proceed to Canadian postsecondary undergraduate studies	Apply directly to Canadian postsecondary undergraduate studies from overseas
Post-secondary admissions advantages	NO IMPACT because: Columbia International College students only require a study permit extension when proceeding to post-secondary undergraduate studies in Canada Universities will consider Columbia International College graduates as a domestic applicant in the application process	A MAJOR IMPACT because: There will be a 35% decrease in study permit issuance in 2024 due to the cap. A letter of attestation is required from the provincial government. A study permit may not be issued if your university/community college has already reached its study permit quota.
Post-secondary admissions advantages	Columbia International College’s university/college partners provide admissions privileges to Columbia International College graduates, including: IELTS/TOEFL exemption Guaranteed admissions Designated scholarships The privileges vary between universities	None

If you have any questions or need any assistance, please feel free to contact our multilingual Admissions and Liaison team:

www.cic-totalcare.com/contact/multilingual-staff

Mrs. Diana Reid

Principal