Foreigners get Canadian student visas and don't enroll in universities

Statistics Canada has released a study on those who come to the country on a student visa. It found that almost a quarter of those who receive a study permit do not end up enrolling in Canadian institutions.

Approximately 717,300 people were enrolled in higher education in 2019. Of these, 24% (172,152 people) did not enroll in post-secondary education. There could be several reasons for this — including not coming to Canada at all. However, according to Longitudinal Immigration and the Postsecondary Student Information System (PSIS), 54% (93,822) of these non-enrolled students eventually came to the country and pursued other activities.

What are they doing in Canada?

48% of the non-enrollees had a work permit in addition to their study permit — and at least a third were working full-time. About 72% of those who worked were employed in three industries:

• accommodation and catering services (22%);
• wholesale and retail trade (31.2%);
• business support services, construction and other support services (17.1%).

The specifics of the most popular industries signal that at least some of these workers chose to work part-time. This means that they may not have had a separate work permit, but rather used the opportunity to work part-time up to 20 hours per week that a study permit provides.

The Statistical Office only has data on enrollment in state-funded universities. It is impossible to say how many authorized students end up studying in private institutions.

What's the problem?

The highest numbers of study permit holders who were ultimately not enrolled in publicly funded programs were in British Columbia and Ontario. There, the figure reached 31% and 39%, respectively. Sociologists cite the main problem as additional strain on an already troubled housing market — given that those not enrolled will not be eligible to live on campus.

At the same time, these students, who have technically violated the terms of their stay in Canada, are in part still helping Canada's economy. The industries in which they choose to work are represented by a huge number of open positions, and without the failed students, the situation in these areas would be much worse.

However, at the end of October, the Ministry of Immigration issued an update regarding the International Student Program. With these changes, the authorities intend to ensure greater security and protection of the interests of potential students.