Recent statistics reveal a substantial 40% reduction in the approval of study permits for Indian students seeking education in Canada since July of this year.
Between July and October 2022, the Canadian government greenlit nearly 146,000 new study permit applications for Indian students. However, during the corresponding period in 2023, approvals dwindled to less than 87,000. This signifies a decline of 60,000 in the processing of student visas for Indian students from July to October 2023 compared to the same interval in 2022.
ApplyBoard, an online platform for recruiting international students, conducted a sentiment analysis of prominent Indian media outlets, indicating that a contributing factor to this decrease may be the growing number of international students expressing concerns about the high cost of living in Canada on social media. ApplyBoard found a fivefold increase in articles about housing in Canada between April and August of 2023, with the proportion of negative information rising from 12% to 30%.
While study permit application processing has decreased, approval rates for Indian students have continued to rise. Despite the decline in processed applications, 32,000 more Indian students were approved to study in Canada from January to September this year than in the previous year.
In 2022, Canada set a record by welcoming 551,405 international students from 184 countries, with India being the leading source country, contributing 226,450 students. Although processing volumes have decreased, ApplyBoard projects that 200,000 to 210,000 Indian students will be approved to study in Canada in 2023, depending on the current approval rate.
Interestingly, ApplyBoard’s insights also indicate a robust interest from students of other nations to study in Canada, with a 34% increase in study permit processing for all other countries between July and October 2023. This diversification has resulted in Indian students comprising only 36% of the total student visas processed in 2023, compared to nearly half in the previous year.
Source: MSN
