Why the ‘Canadian dream’ is not so tempting for Indian students anymore

Synopsis

The article delves into the waning allure of Canadian education for Indian students, citing visa restrictions, soaring living expenses, uncertain employment prospects, and housing challenges. Key highlights include:

• An 86% plunge in study permits issued, reflecting the dwindling interest among Indian students.
• Merely 14,910 out of 1,08,940 issued study permits were availed by Indian students, indicating a substantial decline in applications.
• The Guaranteed Investment Certificate amount surged from 10,000 to 20,635 Canadian dollars, exacerbating financial hardships for students.
• Canada’s unemployment rate reached 5.8% in December 2023, posing challenges for international student employment opportunities.

Read the full article for a detailed understanding of the situation and its implications.

Study Abroad in Canada: Evolving Challenges

For millions of students, the journey to Canada has been their life’s biggest goal. Planning often starts in school, with families doing everything possible to send their children abroad, specifically to Canada. 

According to an Economic Times report, 2,26, 450 students made it to Canada last year. Right up till August 2023, Canada was the ultimate destination for Punjabi youth, but this changed around October and December 2023, when the issuance of study permits to Indian students declined by 86%. A minister in Canada gave information suggesting that of the 1,08,940 student permits issued in the corresponding period in 2022, only around 14,910 Indian students opted for Canadian institutions, according to a report by India Today.

The shift has been too significant to be missed. While the Federal government’s visa clampdown did not help matters much, the interest of Indian students in getting Canadian visas started dwindling even before that. 

In 2023, the Canadian Federal Immigration Department processed around 308,000 study permit applications from India, which marked a 15% reduction from the previous year, according to a report in the Globe and Mail. Also, processed applications may not necessarily fall through. Many do not make it. 

In January, the Canadian government announced temporary limits on the number of visas issued to students. In Ottawa, the financial requirement condition has been raised more than double to 20,635$, said the report. 

The Indian students who reached Canada over the past five years or so are also experiencing the vagaries of uncertainty and a weak labour market. 

For a large majority of Indian students, education in Canada depends on the jobs available to them. Of late, the job market and the living conditions that Indians in Canada can expect have nosedived. 

“Costs are increasing but there is no job stability. It is difficult to afford the living expenses and fees if you get laid off, which is what happened to me,” said a Punjabi student in Canada on condition of anonymity. 

Another student, a 21-year-old woman who went to Canada two years back, says that she regrets the decision. “For my family, studying and living in Canada was a matter of prestige. I came with high hopes, that too after studying in one of the most reputed schools of Punjab. It was fine for some time but with escalating costs, I had to find work urgently. However, either I did not find work or ended up in establishments where Indian students do not get ideal work conditions. I worked at a food joint recently and was made to stay on the shift for 15 hours straight. I did it because I needed to complete my course,” she said, requesting anonymity. 

The struggle also leads to emotional issues, exacerbated by a lack of social support in a new country. 

A 44-year-old woman who went to Canada a few years ago to study and practice psychology told this correspondent on the phone, “People back home think everything is perfect. It is on the outside but it’s a mess on the inside. The rentals are so high that I consider myself lucky to have found a basement to live in. Besides, there are no close friends here. Everyone is busy. So my advice would be, do not come,” she said. 

India and Canada are not exactly on friendly terms at the moment. Diplomatic tensions brewing for the past two years have come out in the open and there is a sense of uncertainty about the prospects of Indians aspiring to study in Canada. However, that is not the only deal-breaker. 

An immigration consultant in Sector 34, Chandigarh said that his business suffered greatly over the past year as the number of applications for Canadian study permits reduced significantly. “For us, the unthinkable has happened. Not to say that we don’t get applications for other countries but Canada has taken the lion’s share. Things got pretty bad and we had to downscale operations. Now, we are forced to look for other avenues,” he said. 

What has driven this decline?

Although Indian students are a pillar of Canada’s economy, they have inadvertently accelerated the country’s growing housing crisis. The rentals are spiraling out of control. A report by the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation said that the country needed around 3.5 million home units to restore housing affordability by 2030. 

This has led to the exploitation of Indian students, who form part of the vulnerable section of society. They are quoted exorbitant rent for cramped, unhygienic, and even illegal quarters. This is corroborated both by studies and accounts of students in Canada. 

In Ontario, a family which moved to Canada seven years ago decided to stay in the accommodation provided by the University of Toronto. Although the house was too small for the family of four, they said that they considered themselves fortunate to have an entire house to themselves. 

Increased educational expenses

Things became a lot tougher for Indian students after the Canadian government increased the Guaranteed Investment Certificate amount to 20,635 Canadian dollars from 10,000 Canadian dollars. This meant an even sharper rise in terms of the rupee. Suddenly, students found that they had to pay Rs 13.2 lakh. After the addition of institutional fees, the amount skyrocketed to Rs 22-23 lakh. To make matters worse, students still had no guarantee of work permit and PR. With this, the greener pastures of Canada were not so tempting for Indian students anymore. 

Any improvement in the situation can be expected only if and when the Canadian economy recovers. Till then, Indian students are looking at other destinations. 

Stringent work permit rules

Unaffordable housing is only part of the problem. New regulations of the Canadian govt have made it difficult for Indian students to get a work permit and PR. The economic slowdown in Canada has also led to substantial job losses.  According to Statistics Canada, a government agency, the unemployment rate was recorded at 5.8% in December 2023, which was the highest since January 2022. Figures suggested that there were around 1,245,200 unemployed individuals in Canada during the period. Indian students, rather, than international students in Canada, faced the brunt of the crisis as they were the first to be laid off. The others did not find jobs at all. 

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