Canada will issue approximately 360,000 new international student permits in 2024, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) confirmed on its Canada.ca portal, describing the figure as a move to stabilise growth and reduce intake in a programme that has expanded sharply in recent years.

The announcement marks the first time the federal department has published a numerical allocation for the study-permit stream before the start of a calendar year. It binds the intake to provincial envelopes and attestation-letter accounting rather than leaving each visa office to approve applications against an open target.

How does the allocation work?

Each designated learning institution (DLI), the formal status Canadian authorities grant to schools permitted to enrol international students, receives an annual attestation-letter share tied to its province, its sector and its compliance record. IRCC now requires visa officers abroad to confirm the prospective student's attestation letter at intake, before the file moves to substantive review.

The 360,000 envelope covers new study-permit approvals. Three streams sit outside the cap:

• Renewals by students who remain inside Canada in the same programme at the same institution
• K-12 enrolments at recognised primary and secondary schools
• Master's and doctoral candidates under existing institutional attestations

The remainder is divided among universities, public colleges, private career colleges and language schools. Universities and large public colleges hold the largest absolute share; private career colleges and certain language programmes sit lower in the priority order.

What does the change mean for applicants?

Prospective students without an attestation letter from a DLI cannot complete their application for the 2024 cohort. Refusal rates are likely to rise at institutions operating near the ceiling of their allocated share, since visa officers cannot approve files outside that envelope.

IRCC's online study-permit tool carries the current processing times and the document checklist for each visa office. Applicants should verify the institution's allocation status before paying tuition or arranging travel. Decisions on each file rest with the visa officer reviewing it.

What does not change?

Students already inside Canada continue under their existing permits and may renew under the same rules that applied before the announcement. The Post-Graduation Work Permit (PGWP) pathway, spousal open work permits and the 20-hour-per-week off-campus work limit for eligible students remain unchanged.

The cap does not affect eligibility for permanent residence through the Canadian Experience Class, the Federal Skilled Worker programme, the Federal Skilled Trades programme or a provincial nominee stream. Graduates of Canadian institutions continue to apply under those streams on the same criteria as before.

Bottom line

Canada's 2024 figure of approximately 360,000 new international student permits replaces an open-target intake with a numerically defined ceiling tied to institutional attestation letters. The shift lets IRCC and the provinces align temporary-resident admissions with housing and service capacity before issuing the next round of approvals.