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What Canada has actually set
408,000
study permits in 2026
IRCC, 2026-2028 Immigration Levels Plan
155,000
of those for newly arriving students
Down from 305,900. The rest are extensions.
5%
target share of temporary residents by end of 2027
IRCC. It was 7.6% at the 2024 peak.
The 408,000 target is 7% below the 2025 figure of 437,000 and 16% below 2024's 485,000. Each province gets its own share of the cap, worked out from its population and how many of its applications have been approved before, so the squeeze is not spread evenly across the country.
Working in Canada after the course ends
The permit that lets a graduate stay and work is the post-graduation work permit. It now carries a language test, and the level depends on what was studied. Someone finishing a bachelor's, master's or doctoral degree needs Canadian Language Benchmark 7 in reading, writing, listening and speaking. Someone finishing a college programme below degree level needs Benchmark 5. The test result has to be less than two years old when the application goes in, which catches people who sat it before they left home.
There is a second rule for programmes below degree level: the field of study has to be on Canada's eligible list, which is built around occupations the country is short of. Degrees are exempt from that list whether they were taken at a university or at a college. In January 2026 Canada froze the list for the whole year, so nothing will be added to it or removed from it during 2026.
If your child is planning to apply
Worth settling before any money is paid
- Which province the institution is in, since each has its own share of the cap.
- Whether the programme is a degree or below degree level, because that decides both the language level and whether the field-of-study list applies.
- If it is below degree level, whether that exact field is on Canada's eligible list.
- When the language test was sat, and whether it will still be under two years old at the work-permit application.
- What the plan is if the permit is refused, including what of the money paid is refundable.
Canada publishes all of this itself, and the pages are free to read. Start with the study permit cap notice and who can apply for a post-graduation work permit. An agent's summary is worth checking against them, because the rules have moved several times in two years.
Sources
Every figure and date above comes from one of these. Open them; a story about your child's school is worth checking.
- 1የካናዳ መንግሥት የውጭ ሀገር ተማሪዎችን የኢሚግሬሽን ደንብ አጠበቀ!Tikvah Ethiopia Magazine, 17 August 2026 (ነሐሴ 11 ቀን 2018 ዓ.ም.), crediting Business Insider Africa
- 22026 provincial and territorial allocations under the international student capIRCC, Government of Canada
- 3Supplementary Information for the 2026-2028 Immigration Levels PlanIRCC, Government of Canada
- 4Post-graduation work permit: who can applyIRCC, Government of Canada