Canada to launch a pilot program that will grant a selected group of international students permanent residence after graduation
Ottawa is launching a new pilot program to attract and retain Francophone international students, providing them with a direct pathway for permanent residency in Canada after graduation.
The initiative is touted as a flagship measure of the new Francophone immigration strategy meant to boost the French-speaking population outside of Quebec, which has declined since 1971 from 6.1 per cent of the Canadian population outside the province to just 3.5 per cent today, threatening the country’s bilingual national identity.
“Promoting French is of prime importance to us,” Immigration Minister Marc Miller said in a statement on Wednesday to announce the pilot program.
“We are all the more determined to help more Francophone international students come to Canada and build a future in our dynamic Francophone communities, while contributing to the development of the French-speaking world.”
The majority of French-speaking international students are coming from Africa, the Middle East and the Americas – places historically have staggering low approval rates for study permit applications to Canada.
The new program, to be launched officially on Aug. 26, aims to make access to Canada’s international student program “fairer” to this pool of students by offering unique exceptions to certain criteria stipulated for other applicants.
Officials say applicants to the pilot program will be exempted from having to demonstrate that they will leave Canada at the end of their temporary stay.
All study permit applicants are required to show they have $20,635 in their account to cover one year of living expenses in Canada, but this required financial threshold will be adjusted for Francophone applicants in the pilot to reflect 75 per cent of the low-income cut-off associated with the community where their intended school’s main campus is located.
The pilot participants will have access to government-funded settlement services while in school – something not eligible for other international students – and become permanent residents after obtaining their diplomas or degrees. Their spouses can also accompany them to Canada.
The new program comes in the wake of a series of policy changes introduced this year by the Immigration Department to rein in the runaway growth of international students. Although the pilot is not included in the cap of 291,914 new study permits – a drop from 404,668 in 2023, it has a target of 2,300 applications for the first year.
Officials say this is a partnership with French-language and bilingual post-secondary learning institutions that are designated to receive Francophone international students, and each will be allocated a limited number of acceptance letters under the program.
Miller is also expanding an existing initiative that’s designed to attract Francophone newcomers to settle in pockets of French-speaking communities outside of Quebec. Ten communities in B.C., Manitoba, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Saskatchewan and Ontario (Cornwall, Cochrane and London) will join 14 others to welcome Francophone newcomers and assist their integration with dedicated efforts and services.
This article was first reported by The Star
