The requirement coincides with proposed shifts in tuition fees, including increases for students from other Canadian provinces and decreases for students from France, Belgium, and potentially Switzerland.
The requirement coincides with proposed shifts in tuition fees, including increases for students from other Canadian provinces and decreases for students from France, Belgium, and potentially Switzerland.
Quebec is reportedly considering making intermediate French proficiency mandatory for 80 percent of international students.
The potential requirement coincides with proposed shifts in tuition fees, including increases for students from other Canadian provinces and decreases for students from France, Belgium, and potentially Switzerland, according to La Presse report via Erudera.
Proposed tuition fee changes
Under the proposed changes, targeted international students would pay an annual fee of $2,880, aligning with Quebec students and representing a 70 percent reduction. These adjustments are part of the new university funding policy led by Minister of Higher Education Pascale Déry.
Collaboration with English universities
The Legault government is also said to be planning a collaboration with English universities, urging them to assist at least 80 percent of their students, including those from other Canadian provinces and international backgrounds, in achieving intermediate French proficiency before completing their studies.
The potential changes are seen as efforts to attract more French speakers to Quebec, supported by data indicating that, during the 2019-20 academic year, 16,000 French students constituted one-third of all international students in Quebec universities.
The province annually hosts around 60,000 international students, offering over 3,000 university programs across 700 centers.
Over the past decade, the number of international students in Quebec has doubled, reaching 58,675 as of December 2022, an increase of 10,000 compared to the previous year.
Changes in cost-of-living financial requirement
Starting Jan. 1, 2024, Canada will raise the minimum financial requirement for study permit applications from CA$10,000 to CA$20,635—the first increase in almost two decades. The adjustment aligns with the current cost of living and aims to bridge the gap between previous financial requirements and actual expenses.
Applicants for 2024 must demonstrate they have CA$20,635, representing 75 percent of the Low-Income Cut-Off, in addition to first-year tuition and travel costs. The change applies to study permit applications received on or after Jan. 1, 2024.
The extension of the off-campus work hours limit waiver until Apr. 30, 2024 (originally set to expire on Dec. 31), allows international students to work more than 20 hours per week during the winter semester.
Meanwhile, Immigration Minister Marc Miller has not ruled out the possibility of permanently increasing off-campus work hours to 30 hours per week.
“We are revising the cost-of-living threshold so that international students understand the true cost of living here. This measure is key to their success in Canada,” he said.
“We are also exploring options to ensure that students find adequate housing. These long-overdue changes will protect international students from financially vulnerable situations and exploitation,” the minister added.
International student statistics in Canada
In 2022, Canada welcomed a total of 807,750 international students with study permits across all education levels, with 373,599 exclusively enrolled in tertiary education.
Among them, 551,405 students secured study permits during the year, and India led the way with the highest number of study permit holders at 226,450. Examining provincial distribution, British Columbia claimed the top spot with 164,875 international students, closely followed by Ontario with 411,985 study permit holders.
In the academic year 2020-21, the majority of international students, totaling 231,291, were enrolled in Canadian universities, though this represented a slight decrease of 1.7 percent from the previous year. In higher education, bachelor’s degrees were the predominant choice, attracting 160,842 international students—a 3.7 percent increase from the prior year.
Subject-wise, BHASE (Business, Humanities, Arts, Social Sciences, and Education) fields saw the highest enrollment with 233,577 students, while 133,776 opted for STEM subjects.
