Parents and students listen to advice from Canadian college representatives
On the morning of October 13, CEI Vietnam Company organized the Canada Education Fair 2024 in Ho Chi Minh City, attracting about 1,000 parents, students and representatives of the Canadian Consulate General and hundreds of post-secondary educational institutions in this country. Talking to Thanh Nien on the sidelines of the event, Mr. Tung Phan, Director of CEI Toronto Office (Canada) and Director of Phan Immigration (Canada), shared many notes for Vietnamese international students.
Canada's policies are constantly changing, what do you need to know?
Specifically, Mr. Tung said that since the beginning of 2024, Canada has updated its policy related to international students four times. The first time in January, the country said it would limit the number of study permits to 360,000, a 35% reduction compared to 2023, and require additional provincial or territorial endorsement letters (PAL) to be submitted in the study permit application.
Also according to Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) at that time, students who graduated from master's degrees and other short-term postgraduate programs were eligible to apply for a post-graduation work permit (PGWP). In addition, open work permits were only granted to spouses of international students studying master's and doctoral programs.
In April and June, IRCC issued two new announcements. First, IRCC will allow international students to work more, from 20 hours to 24 hours/week, but there is no official information yet, "so international students still have to comply with the old regulations," Mr. Tung noted. Second, Canada will stop issuing PGWPs to foreigners at the country's borders.
Most recently, in September, IRCC announced a further 10% reduction in study permit quotas for the following year, which will now include master’s and doctoral degrees. Additionally, applicants pursuing master’s programs that are 16 months or longer in duration will now be eligible for their spouse to apply for a work permit, instead of just master’s degrees as before.
Mr. Tung Phan, Director of CEI Toronto Office (Canada) and Director of Phan Immigration (Canada)
Following the information announced in September, in early October, IRCC provided more detailed updates. Specifically, from November 1, applicants who want to apply for a PGWP must now provide an additional English or French language certificate according to the requirements of their level of study. In addition, for those who do not graduate with a bachelor's, master's or doctorate degree from a university, applicants must study a major on the list announced by IRCC to be eligible to apply for a PGWP.
"The latest regulations only apply to candidates who are applying for a study permit for the first time, but if you are studying in Canada, you will still follow the old regulations," said a licensed immigration consultant (RCIC), noting that the Canadian government has only issued a press release and has not yet provided instructions on how to practice, so international students will have to wait for more detailed information.
Mr. Tung added that at this time, the parties are reviewing the training programs to determine which programs are eligible for PGWP and some schools have released an official list, while the rest have not. It is expected that by the end of this month, the schools will complete the above work, the male director commented, while noting that the groups of industries with the most potential for settlement are health care and STEM.
Advice for Vietnamese international students
According to Mr. Tung, Canada's recent tightening of regulations does not have a big impact on Vietnamese students compared to countries like India, China or Nigeria. To date, IRCC has recorded 5,405 study permits issued to Vietnamese people, and this number is expected to continue to increase in the coming time. Meanwhile, the total number of study permits issued in 2021, 2022, 2023 is 9,225, 9,910, 10,760, respectively.
Another thing to note, according to experts, is that tightening regulations also brings many new opportunities for Vietnamese international students. As with the requirement to apply for an additional PAL, applications are now reviewed at all three levels: the school, the provincial or territorial government, and finally the federal government. This helps improve the quality of applications, which means that classmates with Vietnamese international students will also be more genuine, according to Mr. Tung.
According to experts, Canada's tightening of regulations helps improve the learning experience of Vietnamese international students.
"Based on data on the number of study permits issued to countries, we can also see that Canadian classrooms will be more diverse in terms of nationality, culture... than before, helping your learning experience to become better and better. In addition, due to the impact of economic and policy fluctuations, the number of international students coming to Canada this year will decrease, helping you increase your chances of being admitted to very competitive majors and schools and increase your chances of settling down," Mr. Tung analyzed.
Meanwhile, Ms. Sarah Scott, international recruitment and admissions specialist at College of the Rockies (British Columbia, Canada), shared that it is worth noting that the school's foreign language requirements are currently higher than those required for PGWP. This is also common at many other universities and colleges, so you do not need to worry about losing your job opportunities due to your foreign language ability.
Another thing to note, according to Ms. Scott, is that the new regulation does not clearly state whether candidates who graduate from a college with a bachelor's degree can apply for a PGWP or not, because some colleges still offer bachelor's degrees. The new regulation only informs candidates who graduate from colleges in fields with long-term labor shortages to apply for a PGWP, while those who graduate from a university with a bachelor's degree can freely apply for a PGWP, without being limited by field of study.
"But you can still study at college and then transfer to university to get a bachelor's degree, because not all majors at school are on the list of human resource shortages announced by the government," Ms. Scott shared.
Ms. Margaret Cameron, Director of International Admissions and Recruitment at Mount Allison University (New Brunswick, Canada), said that the new changes mainly affect colleges, not universities. However, to meet the new requirements, the school requires international students to pay a higher deposit to ensure their commitment to study. "This amount will then be deducted from tuition fees," Ms. Cameron said.
University representatives in Canada advise students
"To increase your chances, we encourage students to study in Canada under the Financial Support Scheme (SDS) and prepare their study permit application about 6 months before the official start date. I also know that many of you are currently overwhelmed by the huge amount of information, so talk to a school representative or study abroad company to get the simplest explanation," Ms. Cameron advised.
"Please note that if you are a serious student, prepare a complete study permit application, have a clear financial plan and apply early, the opportunity to study in Canada is still very high. Because the recent tightening moves only target cases that do not really intend to study in Canada," the female director emphasized.
According to a report from IRCC, Canada attracted more than 1 million international students to study in 2023. IRCC statistics also show that the total number of Vietnamese studying in Canada has been on a continuous downward trend, from 21,480 in 2019 to 16,140 in 2022. However, in 2023, Vietnamese students in Canada increased slightly, to 17,175 people and ranked 8th in terms of quantity.
Source: https://thanhnien.vn/canada-siet-quy-dinh-du-hoc-sinh-viet-co-the-huong-nhieu-loi-ich-tich-cuc-185241013171432807.htm
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