The number of new students and workers arriving in Canada is declining this year. Till July 2025, there has been a 69% decrease in the number of international students arriving in Canada.
The IRCC plans to issue 437,000 study permits in 2025, a 10% decrease from the 2024 cap. In the calendar year 2024, a total of 2,93,295 students arrived in Canada. Between January and July 2024, Canada received 1,42,175 students, compared to 44,105 in the same period this year, resulting in a shortfall of 98,070 students. This is a nearly 69% decline in the number of international students arriving in Canada so far this year.
International students coming to Canada are reducing at a sustainable level. January and April 2025 recorded 11,235 and 8,545 foreign student arrivals. New student arrivals to Canada in July 2025 were 7,685, indicating a pick-up from the previous two months.
Canada introduced an annual cap on international student study permits in 2024, with a 10% reduction in 2025. This measure reduced the number of international students arriving in Canada by 40% and eased pressures in rental markets with high student populations.
The study permit allocation process was also tightened, with every application to IRCC requiring an attestation letter from a province or territory. Starting September 1, 2024, international students starting a curriculum licensing arrangement will no longer be eligible for a post-graduation work permit upon graduation.
Further, open work permits are now only available to spouses of international students in master’s and doctoral programs, and not to those in undergraduate and college programs.
Canada’s new immigration targets seem to be working as per the 2025-2027 Immigration Levels Plan. Canada’s temporary immigration plan aims to limit the number of temporary residents, including international students and foreign workers, to 5% of the country’s total population by 2026.
Between January and July 2025, there were 235,070 fewer arrivals for students and workers to Canada compared to January to July 2024.
This is nearly a 56% fall in the total arrivals, including international students and foreign workers, in the first six months of the year, compared to the same period last year.
