Immigration Crackdown Over? Ottawa Scraps Important “Field Of Study” Rule For International Students

Last fall, the federal government imposed “field of study” requirements on international student post-graduate work permits (PGWPs) as part of its overall crackdown on temporary resident numbers. While international students graduating from a university would still be eligible for a PGWP provided they met the language proficiency criteria, students from colleges would be required to “graduate from a program linked to certain occupations in long-term shortage”. These fields included “agriculture and agri-food”, education, healthcare, STEM, trade, and transport.

The goal was to weed out the vast numbers of international students taking degrees in fields unrelated to Canada’s economic needs – notably, the nearly 800,000 foreign students studying business. The broader ambition was to reduce Canada’s temporary resident population to 5% of the total population. This rule has now been axed. According to a report from ICEF Monitor:

“Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) has revised its requirements so that international students in degree programmes delivered by Canadian colleges will now no longer have to meet a field-of-study requirement to be eligible for a Post-Graduation Work Permit (PGWP). That requirement had been put in place in 2024 for Canadian colleges but not universities, and it was part of an effort by the Canadian government to apply heavier scrutiny to the international education sector.”

This major relaxation of immigration rules has gone virtually unreported by Canadian media, but will have far-reaching effects. What this means is that international students studying at colleges will now have free rein to apply for PGWPs, with the potential to significantly increase Canada’s temporary resident population. It will also likely boost international student numbers, as colleges will be able to promise recruits a guaranteed chance to work in Canada after graduation. As the ICEF Monitor notes:

“Given how popular Canada’s PGWP programme is among international students, Canadian colleges will now be able to go forward on a stronger footing when recruiting foreign degree students.”

Post-graduate work visas not only allow international students to work in Canada for anywhere between eight months and three years, they also pave the way for permanent residency. As the Canadian Immigration Law Firm puts it:

“PGWPs enable eligible graduates to gain valuable Canadian work experience. With enough work experience in Canada, many foreign nationals become eligible for Canada’s permanent residency programs…”

So, the removal of the field of study requirement will likely increase international student numbers, boost the temporary resident population, and raise the demand for permanent immigration down the line. Why would the Liberal government make this change at the same time as it is pledging to control immigration?

The answer is probably related to the incoming tide of millions of expiring international student and foreign worker visas. According to information obtained by the Conservatives from Canada’s immigration department, an astonishing 4.9 million temporary visas are set to expire this year. The unprecedented rate of newcomers who arrived in Canada since the pandemic, along with the caps placed on foreign workers and students to control that population growth, are dovetailing to create a biblical scale exodus. Judging by the scrapping of the field of study requirement, the federal government seems to be keen on slowing this outflow. This could indicate a fear on the part of the government that a significant portion of the temporary resident population intends to stay even if their visa expires.