Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) has issued new policies to prioritise international student recruitment.
Regardless of the recent announcement of a substantial cut to the country’s overall foreign enrolment cap, the country has introduced new policy changes for students pursuing masters and PhD degrees.
Here are some of the key policy changes at a glance:
Cap exemption for public Institutions
From January 1, 2026, master’s and doctoral students enrolling at public Designated Learning Institutions (DLIs) will be exempt from the national enrolment cap.
Consequently, these students will no longer require provincial/territorial attestation letter (PAL/TAL).
Expedited doctoral visas
Study permit applications for doctoral candidates applying from outside Canada will now be processed via an expedited process within just 14 days.
Family inclusion
This fast-track processing also applies to accompanying family members, provided they apply concurrently with the doctoral student.
A focus on top-tier talent
IRCC has also explicitly stated that the purpose of the expedited process is to recognise the significant contributions that doctoral students make to Canada’s research and innovation agenda, particularly in crucial sectors such as healthcare.
Faster processing is intended to make it considerably easier for high-performing international doctoral students to pursue their education, research, and post-graduation careers in Canada.
The effect on enrolment figures
While the overall foreign student cap has been significantly reduced, these exemptions complicate year-to-year comparisons.
Historically, graduate students have constituted a relatively small fraction of Canada’s international student population, accounting for just over 10 percent of all approved study permits in 2023 (approximately 53,000 permits).
The exemption for public DLI graduate students suggests that Canada could potentially welcome an additional 30,000 to 50,000 students (or more) in advanced degree programmes in 2026, in addition to the new cap of 155,000 new study permits.
This means the actual reduction in the total number of incoming international students, previously calculated at a 49 percent drop, could be closer to between 30 percent and 41 percent.
Structural bias and competition for global talent
The new guidance introduces a structural bias into the study permit system, explicitly incentivising public universities to ramp up recruitment for advanced degree programmes.
In a bid to expand faster processing and streamlined application process, the government also launched a dedicated webpage highlighting these new incentives specifically for graduate students.
Although Canada is tightening its reins on overall foreign student numbers, it is simultaneously making it easier to enrol master’s and PhD students in the public sector.
