By Adedapo Adesanya
Canada has announced plans to cut international student permits next year and tighten foreign worker rules to further bring down the number of temporary residents in the country, a move that will affect Nigerian migrant hopefuls, for whom the North American country is a destination choice.
The move comes after several recent rounds of restrictions aimed at taming record immigration levels that pushed Canada’s population past 41 million earlier this year.
Migrants trooped to Canada en masse after the nation opened employment pathways and immigration opportunities to international students upon completion of their study degrees.
According to data from Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC), Nigeria saw over 10,000 new immigrants in the first six months of last year.
Nigeria ranked fourth behind the Philippines (14,450), China (18,760) and India (84,425). The rest of the six countries are Afghanistan (7,670), the US (6,675), Pakistan (6,355) Eritrea (5,910), France (5,750) and Iran ( 4,840).
Canada’s aging population and the lower birth rate have been shrinking its labour force, forcing the country to intensify its efforts to attract large, young and vibrant immigrants by offering immigration-friendly policies.
However, the Canadian government has pointed out that high immigration is straining the country’s housing sector, jobs market and social services.
“It is a privilege to come to Canada. It is not a right,” Immigration Minister Marc Miller told a news conference, according to AFP.
In 2025, the country plans to issue 437,000 study permits to international students, down from 485,000 this year and more than 500,000 in 2023.
It also puts new limits on work permits for spouses of some international students and foreign workers. It will also step up checks before issuing travel visas to stem a spike in fraudulent or rejected asylum claims.
The country has already said it would reduce the number of temporary residents to five per cent of the population, down from 6.8 per cent in April.