The number of study permits issued to international students in Canada last year fell by a quarter as compared to the corresponding figure for 2024. The drop in the permits issued to Indian students was even sharper in 2025, almost half of the number in 2024.
According to the annual data from Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada or IRCC, the total study permits issued fell from 514,915 in 2024 to 383,905 in 2025, a 25% reduction, having already declined from its 2023 record high of 680,795.
This was also the lowest intake since 2018 when 354,260 permits were issued during 2020 when the Covid-19 pandemic disrupted international travel and the number plummeted to 255,530.
As far as Indian students were concerned, the number of study permits holders last year nearly halved, dropping from 188,715 to 94,605. The number for 2023 was 277,965.
IRCC noted it was reducing international students numbers to a “sustainable level.” It pointed out there were 61% fewer new student arrivals in 2025 compared to 2025, a drop of 177,595. The total number of study permits issued includes these new arrivals as well as those already in the country with such valid visas.
In a speech in Toronto last week, Canada’s Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship, Lena Metlege Diab, said when she was appointed to the post by Prime Minister Mark Carney last spring, “the task was clear” and it included restoring control and balance, and rebuilding confidence in the immigration system.
As part of the process, Canada has capped international student numbers, made acceptance letter review mandatory to prevent study permit fraud and raised financial requirements.
The decline follows policies instituted in the last quarter of 2023, as further restrictions were ordered over the following months amid concerns over a surge in temporary immigrants contributing to a spike in housing affordability and placing pressure on public infrastructure.
In its levels plans announced in November last year, the government projected a 7% decrease in the total number of international students issued permits this year. IRCC noted that the total number of study permits to be issued in 2026 will be capped at 408,000, including 155,000 visas issued to newly-arriving international students plus 253,000 extensions for current and returning students.
“This number is 7% lower than the 2025 issuance target of 437,000 and 16% lower than the 2024 issuance target of 485,000,” IRCC said.
IRCC said that the cap that was first introduced in 2024 “has been an effective tool in slowing the growth of Canada’s temporary population” as the number of study permit holders has fallen from over a million in January 2024 to about 725,000 by September 2025.
“While this progress is significant, further reductions are needed to meet our commitment of reducing the share of Canada’s temporary population to below 5% of the total population by the end of 2027,” it added.
The immigration levels plan introduced in Parliament earlier this month had Canada sharply reducing its intake of temporary residents, including workers and international students, by nearly 43%.
In its previous levels plan, the government had looked at admitting 305,000 new international students each year. However, the latest plan showed the target at 155,000 this year, reducing further to 150,000 in 2027 and 2028.
