Canada Announces Tougher Visa Restrictions On Nigerian Students, Others

Canada has announced a two-year cap on new study permits for international students, including Nigerians, aiming for approximately 364,000 permits in 2024, marking a 35% decrease from 2023.

VerseNews reports that the immigration Minister Marc Miller said the federal government would work with the provinces, which oversee the educational system, to apply the cap.

He said the main reason for the cap is to protect students who attend colleges, which are often private-public partnerships, that provide inadequate services at high costs, but also to ease pressure on housing and services.

“Some private institutions have taken advantage of international students by operating under-resourced campuses, lacking supports for students and charging high tuition fees, all the while significantly increasing their intake of international students,” Miller told reporters.

“This increase is also putting pressure on housing, healthcare and other services,” he said, adding that fewer numbers would primarily help lower prices for rent.

Rapid population growth fueled by immigration has put pressure on services, like healthcare and education, and has helped drive up housing costs. These issues have weighed on Liberal Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s support, with polls showing he would lose an election if one were held now.

In the third quarter of last year, the population grew at its fastest pace in more than six decades, with non-permanent residents – mostly students – increasing by 312,758, the most in more than five decades.

The Canadian Alliance of Student Associations (CASA), a student advocacy group, criticized the cap.

“The biggest problem is that … there’s been announced a cap that is a reaction to the housing crisis,” said CASA Director of Advocacy, Mateusz Salmassi, adding that what is needed is more support and housing for international students.

The University of Toronto welcomed the announcement and said it would work with all levels of government on the allocation of study permits.

The changes are “focused on addressing abuses in the system by particular actors and are not intended to adversely impact universities such as ours,” the university said in a statement.