Canada: Quebec blocks work permits for students at some private colleges
This closes down the pathway for international students to garner work permits after completing their courses, a necessity towards qualifying for permanent residency. It’s proven a carrot for many students from India, particularly from Punjab, in recent years
TORONTO: The Canadian province of Quebec, along with the national government, is shutting down a route towards permanent residency that was used by some private colleges to entice large numbers of international students, the majority of whom were from India.
The announcement of the measure to “tighten access to post-graduation work permits for certain graduates of non-subsidised private educational institutions”, was made on Tuesday jointly by Quebec’s Minister of Immigration Jean Boulet and Canada’s Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Sean Fraser in Quebec City.
“This measure consists in giving access to the post-graduation work permit only to people who have graduated from a subsidised study programme,” the release in French stated. It will come into force on September 1, 2023. Colleges and universities subsidised by the provincial government and thereby monitored by it, will not be impacted.
In the statement, Fraser was quoted as saying the change will “improve programme integrity” and “protect” Canada’s “well-deserved reputation as a destination of choice” for “foreign students”.
This closes down the pathway for international students to garner work permits after completing their courses, a necessity towards qualifying for permanent residency. It’s proven a carrot for many students from India, particularly from Punjab, in recent years.
Between 2016 and 2018, the number of foreign students obtaining a study permit from such educational institutions was estimate at 4,900, according to the release. That jumped to 11,500 for the 2019-21 period.
Indian students were vulnerable to such a lure. Earlier this year, nearly a thousand were left in the lurch when three such institutions, M College in Montreal, CED College in Sherbrooke, and CCSQ College in Longueil, closed down.
Total fees per year charged by some such dubious institutions could range between 15,000 and 25,000 Canadian dollars (approximately ₹9 lakh to ₹15 lakh).
In an advisory issued in February, India’s high commission in Ottawa warned, “Students from India planning higher studies in Canada are again advised to make thorough checks of the credentials and standing of the institution where they are seeking admission before making any payment to such institutions. Please demand certificate of recognition by Canadian/provincial government from the institutions and verify that the institution selected is included in the list of designated learning institutions published on the Government of Canada website.”
