Planning to move to Canada? As immigration laws tighten, here’s what Google trends suggest:

Canada has become a top choice for international students who want to study and work while living abroad. Many students come with study permits that allow them to work part-time while they study and start earning immediately. After graduation, a Post-Graduation Work Permit (PGWP) allows them to stay in Canada for a longer period of time and often gain permanent residence.

However, recent changes in Canada’s immigration policies and tightened restrictions are now making it more difficult for students to settle in the country in the long term.

In recent years, Canada has seen a large increase in the number of temporary residents, largely due to an increase in international students and temporary foreign workers. In response, the Canadian government is currently implementing measures to limit the flow of international students, temporary workers and new permanent residents into the country.

According to Google Trends, searches for “moving to Canada from India” have decreased in the last five years. Interest increased when Canada reopened immigration post-COVID-19, but the trend has been declining since then.

The number of temporary foreign workers in Canada increased from 437,000 in 2019 to more than 1.2 million in 2023. In response, the Canadian government plans to reduce the proportion of temporary residents in the total population from 6.5% to 5% over the next three years. . This marks a historical change; Canada will now include targets for temporary residents as well as permanent residents in its annual immigration plans. While the government strengthens temporary residence programs, important decisions are expected to be made in 2025 and 2026 migration planning.

Additionally, the trend for the search term “Canada from India” peaked in April 2021 but has been on a downward trend since then.

In 2023, Canada hosted more than 900,000 international students. However, there was a significant decrease between January and August 2024; More than 200,000 international students arrived; a 38% decrease compared to the previous year. In addition, Canada reimposed restrictions on off-campus work hours for international students, limiting these hours to 20 hours per week; A new 24-hour limit has been set that will come into effect later this fall.

Meanwhile, search interest for “Canadian Study Permit” trended upward until October 2022, but has seen a decline in interest since then.

Canada has increased living standards for international students and introduced new regulations for comprehensive verification of acceptance letters from designated educational institutions. These measures aim to protect students from possible fraud.

Canada’s international student cap has become a major point of contention, and the government has confirmed it will remain in place.

In a significant policy change, Canada plans to issue 10% fewer study permits in 2025 and 2026 compared to 2024. This means a limit of up to 437,000 study permits for each of these years; This indicates a 36% decrease compared to the figures in 2023. .

Additionally, starting from 2025, master’s and doctoral students will also be included in this ceiling. With this change, Canada includes temporary residents in its immigration plan and will set annual targets specifically for international students moving forward.

Starting November 1, Canada will impose a new language proficiency requirement for candidates seeking a post-graduation work permit, aligning it with standards for permanent residence streams.

Effective November 1, 2024, applicants must demonstrate a Canadian Language Benchmark (CLB) level of 7 for university graduates and a CLB level of 5 for university graduates.

The eligibility of students who apply after this date for a post-graduation work permit will also depend on their level of education. Graduates with a bachelor’s, master’s or doctoral degree will be eligible for a work permit for up to three years. However, graduates of public university programs will only be eligible for a work permit during this period if their field of study relates to areas where there is a labor shortage in Canada.

Canada is expected to implement additional measures to restrict spousal eligibility for open work permits. These changes will limit work permit eligibility for spouses of students enrolled in certain doctoral and master’s programs, selected professional programs, and certain pilot programs. Over the next three years, these regulations are expected to result in a reduction of work permits issued to spouses of student groups by approximately 50,000.

Moreover, Canada will limit work permit eligibility to spouses of highly skilled professionals, including senior executives, scientists, engineers, lawyers, professors and technicians, as well as workers in industries facing critical labor shortages. However, spouses of workers working in essential sectors such as healthcare and construction will also be entitled to receive a work permit. It is estimated that this will lead to approximately 100,000 fewer work permits for this group of spouses over the next three years.

Additionally, Canada has implemented a controlled Immigration Level Plan for the period from 2025 to 2027, targeting both temporary and permanent residents, including international students and foreign workers. Targets for permanent residents will drop from 500,000 in 2024 to 395,000 in 2025, to 380,000 in 2026, and finally to 365,000 in 2027. For temporary residents, 673,650 in 2025, 516,600 in 2026 and 543,600 in 2027.

The data clearly shows that interest in moving to Canada is decreasing.