Post-secondary schools in Ontario say thousands of international students will miss fall semester

Thousands of international students will miss their fall semesters at Ontario’s colleges and universities. Some post-secondary institutions say it’s an early ripple effect of Ottawa’s move to cap international student enrolment and crackdown on the study permit system.

“I hired an agent in India, so I also got the study and work permit recently,” said one second-year student at Conestoga College. “I did all the process myself and the college helped me regarding all the processes, how to apply for the study permit and work placements, so no issue regarding that.”

That process may not be as seamless going forward.

In January, the federal government began tightening policies around international students.

Federal Immigration Minister Marc Miller said, in a conference at the time: “Some of these students have experienced serious challenges navigating life in Canada.”

The cap was recently dropped by a further 10 per cent.

Post-secondary schools in Ontario are now starting to feel the impact of those changes.

A number of students, with plans to study in Waterloo Region, will be missing their fall semester because their study permits have not yet been approved.

“There’s sort of a quota that the schools have, in regards to accepting applications or students for their school,” said Moumita Chakraborty, a regulated Canadian immigration consultant. “With a lot of these changes, we can see why there is an extensive amount of students waiting for a decision.”

CTV News reached out to Conestoga College to find out how many of their students were affected.

“Conestoga currently has approximately 1,400 international students who have deferred fall enrolment to the winter 2025 term,” they said in a statement. “These deferrals may be the result of visa delays. The college recognizes the challenges these students may face as they adjust their plans and arrival dates. We will work with them closely to ensure they have housing and needed support services for the winter term.”

It continued: “This fall we had more than 400 beds still available to our students. In 2024-25, the college will invest approximately $78 million on domestic and international student support services that include health and wellness programs, food security and nutrition programs, and housing and employment supports.”

The University of Waterloo said a number of its students have also had to delay the start of their studies.

In a statement to CTV News, they said: “Across the sector, Canadian universities including Waterloo have maintained modest levels of growth of international students to ensure those who do enroll are well supported and successful. However, the recent decision by the Canadian government to reduce international undergraduate allocations in 2024 and beyond will restrict the ability for universities across the sector to maintain enrollment levels and could exacerbate financial pressures for these institutions.  

Roughly 10 per cent of our first-year international student cohort has requested to defer their studies due to visa-related delays. We expect to have exact figures of our fall 2024 international student cohort to come later this fall.”

Immigration experts recommending international students submit their applications early.

“When we’re submitting an application for a study permit, you want to have at least five or six months in your hand to make sure that you don’t have to go through the deferral process,” Chakraborty said.

The changes also require students coming to Canada to have at least $20,000 in their bank accounts to help ensure they have the financial means to support themselves.

CTV News reached out to the University of Guelph and Wilfrid Laurier University to find out if students there would be missing their fall semester. They did not respond by our deadline. CTV News also reached out to the office of Federal Immigration Minister Marc Miller about the delays, but did not hear back.