International students are excellent candidates for permanent residency
Canada offers some of the best study programs in the world
By Luis Aparício | July 16, 2021
Canada offers some of the best study programs in the world and is home to some of the world’s leading research facilities and academic institutions, so it’s no surprise that it’s one of the top destinations on the list of international students applying for a study permit.
Combining this with a general view, mainly from the federal government, that international students are seen as a promising pool of skilled individuals who can be an asset in the Canadian labour market; and higher levels of earnings from employment while studying, or after graduation, and we can easily understand why many international students are choosing to transition to permanent residency.
Study Permit Holders
A report by Statistics Canada, from a study conducted in collaboration with Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada, reports that the number of study permit holders increased from 122,700 in 2000 to 642,500 in 2019 (IRCC 2020).
Findings show that international students who arrived in Canada throughout the 2000s and the early 2010s had similar rates of transition to permanent residency five years after receiving their first study permit. Among international students who arrived in the 2000s, about 3 in 10 became landed immigrants within 10 years of their arrival.
Also, according to the report, the number of international graduates who first enrolled between 2010 and 2014 and who became permanent residents, more than doubled, compared with those who first enrolled between 2000 and 2004.
Meanwhile, international student graduates who worked during their period of study or after graduation were more likely (60 per cent) to become permanent residents.
In addition, those with higher paying jobs were more likely to become permanent residents. For those who got their first study permit between 2005 and 2009, and who had an annual salary of $50,000 or more, 87 per cent transitioned to becoming permanent residents. For those with an annual salary below $20,000, just 46 percent made the transition.
International students are a good fit for Canada
The Government of Canada’s International Education Strategy 2019–2024 described international students as making “excellent candidates for permanent residency: they are relatively young, proficient in at least one official language, have Canadian educational qualifications, and can help address this country’s current and pending labour market needs, particularly for highly skilled workers”.
As such, international students may have advantage over permanent residents coming from abroad with foreign credentials and work experience.
International student graduates may be eligible to apply for a Post Graduation Work Permit (PGWP). This is an open work permit that allows graduates of a designated learning institution (DLI) to work for any employer in Canada and gain invaluable Canadian work experience.
Through doing so, graduates may be able to transition to permanent residence. Those with at least one year of work experience in Canada who can demonstrate proficiency in one of Canada’s two official languages (English or French) may be able to get permanent resident status through the Canadian Experience Class (CEC).
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