Canadian permits issued to Indian students fell by over 32% in 2024

Reduction due to govt measures to stem inflows after immigration became a major political issue

- Anirudh Bhattacharyya [e-mail]

TORONTO: The number of study permits issued to students from India seeking admissions in Canadian higher education institutions last year fell steeply by 32% when compared with the figures for 2023.

According to data from Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC), Indians were issued 1,89,070 study permits in 2024, as against 2,78,110 the previous year, a decrease of over 32%.

In 2024, they comprised 36% of the total permits issued - 5,18,125. That overall figure also fell from 6,81,390 in 2023, when Indians were also the largest country cohort, at nearly 41% of the total.

Of course, the numbers have still risen sharply since the Government of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau first came into power in 2015, when a total of 2,19,030 permits were issued, with Indians securing just 31,920 or 14.5% of the total.