In a major setback for lakhs of students from Punjab and Haryana aspiring to study and settle in Canada, the Canadian government on Tuesday, January 23, announced a two-year cap on international student visas, besides other changes, leading to anxiety among students and their parents.

From International English Language Testing Skills (IELTS) centres, where one can easily find more students than those in the colleges, to people across villages and in the cities, the only topic of discussion has been the Canadian government putting a cap on student visas.

The announcement was made by Canadian minister of immigration, refugees, and citizenship (IRCC) Marc Miller during a press conference on January 23, in Ottawa. Miller said, 'International students enrich our communities and are a critical part of Canada's social, cultural and economic fabric. In recent years, the integrity of the international student system has been threatened. Some institutions have significantly increased their intakes to drive revenues and more students have been arriving in Canada without the proper support they need to succeed. Rapid increases in the number of international students arriving in Canada also put pressure on housing, health care and other services.'

The cap meant for two years would lead to a 35% overall reduction in new study visa permits this year and around a 50% decline in Ontario province alone, where bulk students were heading to popular colleges like Humber, Sheridan, Lambton, Centennial, and George Brown to name a few.

The change in study visa rules was almost imminent, as last year the Canadian government had increased the Guaranteed Certificate Limit (GIC) amount, a mandatory requirement for a study visa permit from CAD 10,000 to CAD 20,635, which means Rs 12.58 lakh as compared to the previous amount of Rs 6 lakh. This directly increased the overall study visa expenses to almost Rs 30 lakh.

A major reason behind this decision has also been the housing crisis and inflation in Canada, making it difficult for immigrants to sustain, a topic that has remained in the news.