Canada's asylum seeker surge likely to create additional hurdles for Indian PR aspirants, students 

Last year, Canada launched a category-based selection for its flagship economic immigration management system, Express Entry.

Indian nationals aspiring for permanent residency (PR) and educational pursuits in Canada may be impacted by an unprecedented influx of asylum seekers that is overwhelming cities and straining resources in the North American country.

Canada has long been a favoured destination for Indian nationals, offering a blend of economic opportunities and education, and a welcoming environment from the large number of Indians there. However, immigration experts and study abroad consultants say the current surge in asylum seekers has a high chance of inadvertently creating a bottleneck that may cause delays and uncertainties in visa processing, residency applications, and educational enrollments.

This will be a fresh challenge amid the stricter migration policies in Canada as the Justin Trudeau government strives to curb the immigration population. Canada plans to welcome 4.85 lakh PR in 2024 and 5 lakh in 2025. Starting in 2026, the government said it will stabilise PR levels at 5 lakh.

“While the influx of asylum seekers may have some indirect effects on Indians seeking PR in Canada, the specific impact would depend on various factors including government responses, processing times, resource allocation, and broader immigration trends. This could potentially lead to changes in immigration policies that may impact the experiences of Indian nationals seeking PR in Canada,” Shalini Lambah, Chief Executive of India, Migrate World at DU Digital Global, told Moneycontrol.

ALSO READ | Fees for Canada's permanent residency programmes set to rise from April 30: Report

According to reports, certain areas of Canada such as Toronto’s Peel, Brampton, Montreal, Ottawa and Vancouver are overstressed due to the recent rise in the number of refuge seekers.

Last month, Canada said it plans to reduce its temporary residents and set a cap on temporary immigration – for the first time. The government wants to reduce temporary residents to 5 percent of the total population over the next three years from 6.5 percent in 2023. That would be a cut of about 20 percent from Canada's 2.5 million temporary residents in 2023.

“The introduction of the cap, aimed at managing the allocation of permits more sustainably across provinces and territories, also reflects the government's attempt to balance the influx of international students with the available infrastructure and resources,” said Aritra Ghoshal, Founder and Director of business consultancy firm OneStep Global.

Students caught in the middle

The recent challenges are bound to put a strain on students’ purses while securing an affordable home for pursuing education abroad.

“The surge in asylum seekers in Canada has indeed presented challenges in the accommodation sector, particularly for students. The heightened demand for affordable housing from asylum seekers has resulted in limited availability of accommodations for students,” said Mayank Maheshwari, Co-Founder & COO of University Living.

ALSO READ | FDs, MFs, top choices for parents saving for child's overseas education plans

He added that a standard accommodation costs about 800 Canadian dollars– 1,000 CAD and the rent deposit that was earlier for one month is now two months, with an 8-month lease tenor as against the 3-month tenor that was available to students earlier.

“Some housing providers have even increased the rentals by 250-300 CAD per month in the past six months, making it increasingly difficult for students to manage the cost of living. With limited supply in the market, students are facing significant challenges in finding affordable and suitable accommodations,” he said.

Maheshwari suggested students need to identify areas with higher concentrations of asylum seekers and make informed decisions about where to pursue their education.

Challenges galore

Last year, Canada launched a category-based selection for its flagship economic immigration management system, Express Entry. Category-based selection will allow Canada to invite prospective PRs with specific skills, training or language abilities.

ALSO READ | Here are major immigration policy changes in Canada, UK, Australia and US

As per new immigration policy changes, the cost-of-living financial requirement for study permit applications has been raised. A single applicant will need to show he has $20,635, representing 75 percent of the low-income cut-off (LICO), in addition to his first-year tuition and travel costs.

Among other changes, international students already in Canada, as well as applicants who have already applied for a study permit, as of December 7, 2023, will be able to work off-campus for more than 20 hours per week until April 30, 2024.

Additionally, the rule that lets international students include online study time in the calculation of a post-graduation work permit as long as it's less than half of the total program will still apply to students starting a program before September 1, 2024.