Tag: permits

  • Canadian sector hits back over plan to cancel study permits in crises

    Canadian sector hits back over plan to cancel study permits in crises

    Immigration Minister Lena Diab told a House of Commons committee last week that the Strengthening Canada’s Immigration System and Borders Act (Bill C-12) would target “people who are going to be committing large-scale fraud”.

    However, an opposition member, Conservative MP Michelle Rempel Garner, rejected the idea that the Liberal government needs sweeping powers to keep the immigration system functioning.

    “That sounds like an authoritarian dictatorship to me,” Rempel Garner said.

    Languages Canada Executive Director Gonzalo Peralta told The PIE News there was a need to define under what conditions Immigration Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) could cancel student visas.

    “The term ‘public interest’ as grounds for cancelling visas or applications is vague and does not provide the assurances needed to ensure that legitimate students are not inadvertently impacted by the legislation,” Peralta said.

    At the committee meeting, Rempel Garner argued: “It seems like you’re trying to give yourself and your department more powers to correct mistakes in the system that they could have made in screening out potential fraud to begin with.” 

    The term ‘public interest’ as grounds for cancelling visas or applications is vague and does not provide the assurances needed

    In the wake of a large number of fraudulent study permit applications made by unscrupulous education agents, in 2023 the department implemented a system requiring applicants to present a verified letter of acceptance from a designated learning institution in order to obtain a study permit.

    In many cases, the students said they were not aware that their agent was submitting fraudulent documents on their behalf.

    MP Rempel Garner called out the minister for blaming students and other newcomers to Canada. “Why don’t you make the system work instead of punishing the victims of human trafficking,” she demanded at the meeting.

    Larissa Bezo, president of the Canadian Bureau for International Education (CBIE), told The PIE her group supports measures to uphold the integrity of the International Student Program. “However, we do not want to see international students who have been the victims of fraud unfairly punished,” Bezo said.

    Peralta of Languages Canada condemned the Liberal government for failing to consult with the sector about this legislation and other policy changes.

    “In the case of the proposed Bill C-12, a more comprehensive definition is needed of the specific conditions under which IRCC could cancel visas,” Peralta said.

    Canadian immigration policy has hit the headlines over the past week after Prime Minister Mark Carney’s government set out its intention to cut new international study permits by more than 50% in 2026-2028 – going further with enrolment caps that are already causing significant problems for the international education sector.

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  • Canada’s study permits plunge by 60% in immigration reset

    Canada’s study permits plunge by 60% in immigration reset

    New IRCC data has revealed plummeting international student arrivals from January to August this year, with stakeholders bracing for further declines as the government pushes forward with efforts to reduce temporary residents in Canada.  

    “The international education sector is rightly concerned that study permit approvals are far below the caps, but the news release makes clear that those concerns are not shared by the Carney government,” Regulated Canadian Immigration Consultant (RCIC) Matthew McDonald told The PIE News. 

    The figures showed less than 90,000 new international students entered Canada from January to August 2025, making it highly unlikely that Canada will meet its goal of issuing 437,000 study permits this year, as announced in January 2025.  

    While international student arrivals have fallen by 60%, the government has painted the figures as a “story of success” in reducing Canada’s temporary resident population, said McDonald.  

    Taken together, the number of work permit holders and study permit holders decreased by 22% from August 2024 to 2025 – a trend that the IRCC said was “a clear sign the measures we’ve put in place are working”.  

    The drop has brought the total number of study permit holders (including those who hold a work and study permit at the same time) down to 802,425 – 21% less than in 2024 and the lowest level since 2021 during the pandemic. 

    It sets Canada on track to drastically miss the government’s target of issuing a total of 437,000 study permits this year, which was a 10% reduction of the original 2024 cap. 

    Given the expected shortfall, stakeholders are calling for greater transparency about IRCC’s objectives, highlighting the detrimental impact of the decline on institutions whose budgets were largely guided by the 10% cap.  

    The TR data release is a weather balloon … to see if the Canadian public accepts the message that immigration is now under control in Canada

    Matthew McDonald, RCIC

    The timing of the release less than two weeks ahead of the 2025-2027 Immigration Levels plan has not gone unnoticed by commentators, who are expecting an update to align with the incoming 2025 budget and the shifting vision of Canada’s long-standing openness to immigration. 

    “The temporary resident (TR) data release is a weather balloon, alongside updated processing times, to see if the Canadian public accepts the message that immigration is now under control in Canada,” said McDonald. 

    “The Carney government is concerned about the floor, not the ceiling—i.e., about wrestling down the TR population below 5%,” he added.  

    Currently, the government aims to reach the 5% goal by the end of 2027, with Carney acknowledging it will take several years to reduce TR levels by restricting those coming in and transitioning more temporary residents to permanent residency.  

    Notwithstanding any surprises in the upcoming budget and Immigration Levels Plan, McDonald said he expected the government to “hold their foot” on new study and work permit approvals for several years to come.  

    Ahead of the federal budget announcement, the Canadian Bureau for International Education (CBIE) is urging the government to launch a renewed International Education Strategy to “restore Canada’s global brand to bolster its foreign policy and trade relationships”. 

    The body highlighted the economic contributions of international students who contributed nearly CA$40bn to the country in 2022, boosting local communities and filing labour shortages. 

    What’s more, CBIE emphasised the cultural perspectives international students bring to Canada’s campuses and their importance to the country’s soft power, with students who leave becoming ambassadors for Canada in their home countries.  

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  • One day after FIRE lawsuit, Congress passes changes to filming permits in national parks

    One day after FIRE lawsuit, Congress passes changes to filming permits in national parks

    On Wednesday, FIRE and the National Press Photographers Association filed a lawsuit challenging the arbitrary and unconstitutional laws that require Americans to apply for a permit and pay costly fees before exercising their right to film in national parks. The very next day, the U.S. Senate passed a bill addressing these same issues. The bill now goes to President Biden, who is expected to sign it in a huge victory for filmmakers — and for the First Amendment.

    Currently, filmmakers must obtain a permit and pay a fee if they intend to later profit from their footage in national parks, even if they are using the same handheld camera or phone that a tourist would use. Permits are routinely denied for arbitrary and unpredictable reasons, making it difficult for people like documentary filmmakers, press photographers, and wedding videographers to earn a living. Under the EXPLORE Act, that changes. 


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    The EXPLORE Act, championed in the Senate by West Virginia Democrat Joe Manchin and Wyoming Republican John Barrasso, does several things to fix the constitutional problems with the permit scheme that FIRE is challenging. First, so long as the filming takes place where the public is allowed, doesn’t impact other visitors or damage parks resources, and involves five or fewer people, no permit is required. Second, no permit is required simply because the filmmaker intends to make a profit. Third, no permit is needed to film activities that are already allowed in the park. And fourth, the EXPLORE Act makes clear that when the National Park Service has already approved an event like a wedding to take place in a national park, no additional permit is needed to film or photograph the special occasion.

    After filing, FIRE and NPPA took the story to the media and to Capitol Hill. FIRE looks forward to seeing this bill become law.

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  • DHS to Temporarily Increase the Automatic Extension Period of Work Permits for Certain Visa Applicants – CUPA-HR

    DHS to Temporarily Increase the Automatic Extension Period of Work Permits for Certain Visa Applicants – CUPA-HR

    by CUPA-HR | May 4, 2022

    Effective May 4, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced a Temporary Final Rule (TFR) to increase the automatic extension period of expiring employment authorization documents (EADs) for certain renewal applicants from 180 days to 540 days.

    Specifically, the TFR applies to three groups of applicants in EAD categories currently eligible for the previous 180-day automatic extension of employment authorization and EAD validity. They are as follows:

    • Renewal applicants whose renewal Form I-765 application remains pending as of May 4, 2022, and whose EAD has not expired or whose current 180-day auto-extension has not yet lapsed.
    • New renewal applicants who file Form I-765 during the 18-month period following the rule’s publication to avoid a future gap in employment authorization and/or documentation.
    • Renewal applicants with a pending EAD renewal application whose 180-day automatic extension has lapsed and whose EAD has expired will be granted an additional period of employment authorization and EAD validity beginning on May 4, 2022, and lasting up to 540 days from the expiration date of their EAD.

    Categories that are eligible for the lengthened automatic extension can be found here and include refugees and asylees (a3 and a5), spouses of certain H-1B principal non-immigrants with an unexpired I-94 showing H-4 non-immigrant status (c26), and adjustment of status applicants (c9), among others.

    The TFR is part of a trio of efforts USCIS announced on March 29, 2022, to address the agency’s major backlogs and crisis-level processing delays. According to USCIS Director Ur M. Jaddou, “as USCIS works to address pending EAD caseloads, the agency has determined that the current 180-day automatic extension for employment authorization is currently insufficient,” and this temporary rule is necessary to “provide those non-citizens otherwise eligible for the automatic extension an opportunity to maintain employment and provide critical support for their families, while avoiding further disruption for U.S. employers.”

    CUPA-HR will continue to monitor the implementation of the new auto-extension period and keep members apprised of further developments.



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