Study permit for foreign students | Half of the requests for Quebec refused by Ottawa

The federal government refuses 47% of study permit applications to foreign students selected by Quebec and accepted by a Quebec university.

This disturbing statistic emerges from a study by the Institut du Québec (IDQ), published Thursday.

The rejection rate for applications from Quebec, which has been on the rise for ten years, is significantly higher than in the rest of Canada.

One of the main reasons given by the federal government to justify these refusals is the risk that the foreign student will not return to his country after his studies.

“Nonsense,” say the authors of the study, Emna Braham and Daye Diallo, because, on the one hand, governments believe that foreign graduate students are prime candidates for immigration, but that, on the other hand, the authorities put a spoke in the wheel which hinders their registration and, later, the obtaining of permanent residence.

Requests in French

In fact, the federal government refuses more permit applications submitted by Francophones and African students.

Refusal rates are twice as high for applications filed in French than in English.

These rates are also higher when requests in French come from Quebec (55%) than from Ontario (51%).

Applications from African students are also much more often refused, particularly those from Quebec, an imbalance that was debated in Ottawa in October 2022. Immigration, Refugees, Citizenship Canada (IRCC) has recognized that the decisions of its agents could be “tainted by racial prejudice” and pledged to correct the situation.

In 2022, 72% of applications made by African students in Quebec were refused. The refusal rate was 52% in Ontario.

The requirements for obtaining a study permit vary according to the country of origin, notes Emna Braham, director of the IDQ. In addition, files are not handled by the same authorities from one place to another. “We cannot exclude that there are cases of discrimination,” she underlines. “On the other hand, we see that there are inconsistencies even within the selection criteria. »

Ultimately, the IDQ fears that this “penalizing” situation will reduce Quebec’s attractiveness, particularly among French-speaking students.

English-speaking students

Despite these pitfalls, the number of foreign students is increasing in Quebec, where it has more than doubled in ten years.

In 2019, foreign students represented 15% of enrollments in Quebec universities, 8% in CEGEPs and colleges.

The vast majority (84%) of license holders attend post-secondary institutions, but there are increasing numbers in the elementary, secondary and vocational education sector.

The increase in foreign students was more marked between 2017 and 2021, due to a very strong increase in their attendance at private colleges. The existence of streams has led to a 535% growth in study permits issued to students from India.

“This trend, which should ease with the implementation of regulatory restrictions to oversee these recruitments, has transformed the portrait of study permit holders in Quebec, with more students in the English-speaking network in particular”, analyzes the ‘IDQ.

At the university level, 43% of registrations went to the Anglophone network, a relatively stable proportion.

Long delays

“The increase in the number of foreign students not only counters the decline in enrollment in postsecondary institutions, but also ensures the viability of the training offer, especially in the regions,” indicates the IDQ. Indirectly, these registrations also contribute to the financing of certain establishments. »

In addition, almost half (44%) of foreign students work during their studies. Many come to fill positions in sectors struggling with recruitment, such as restaurants and accommodation.

Foreign students are also increasingly numerous to settle here after their studies. Indeed, one in six new permanent residents admitted in 2022 had first entered the country as a student.

However, access to permanent residence for a graduate of a Quebec institution takes longer than in the other provinces.

On the one hand, foreign graduate students must have worked 12 to 18 months in Quebec before they can be selected under the Quebec Experience Program (PEQ).

On the other hand, the processing times for files by IRCC are longer for applications for permanent residence from Quebec (21 months) than those from other provinces. Foreign students who have studied elsewhere in Canada can obtain their permanent residence in four months under the Express Entry program.