Canada Housing Market

Canada’s Minister of Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship, Marc Miller, recently announced plans to increase the financial requirement for incoming international students, effective January 1. The existing $10,000 requirement for study permit applicants has been in place since the early 2000s, but Miller highlighted that this hasn’t kept pace with the rising cost of living in Canada, leaving many students with insufficient funds upon arrival.

The updated standard will more accurately reflect the cost of living and studying in Canada, starting with $20,635, representing 75% of the low-income cut-off (LICO) for a single applicant, in addition to tuition and travel costs for the first year. This adjustment will apply to new study permit applications from January 1, 2024, with subsequent annual adjustments linked to Statistics Canada’s updates on the LICO.

Miller also announced other updates, such as extending the waiver on the 20-hour-per-week off-campus work limit for current international students until April 30, 2024, and considering expanding off-campus work hours to 30 per week during class sessions. Additionally, a measure allowing online study time to count toward post-graduation work permits will continue for students starting study programs before September 1, 2024.

The government aims to limit visas for international students significantly to ensure adequate support from learning institutions, especially in housing, aligning with a new framework to recognize institutions offering high-quality services and housing support for international students.

Miller emphasized the importance of learning institutions only accommodating students they can adequately support or assist in finding housing, acknowledging the responsibility to provide necessary assistance to incoming students.