Canada is closing its doors fast for Indian students. Between April and June 2025, a gigantic 65 per cent plunge in the number of Study Permits issued, practically sounded a death knell to many in India. The number of Study Permits issued for the same period in 2024 was 55,660 and in 2025 it is a mere 17,885. Along with these significantly low numbers is a significant drop in approval rates for Indian student applicants. According to reports, the approval rate for study permits for Indian applicants in the second quarter of 2025 dropped to 20 per cent, a sharp decline from the 80 per cent approval rate seen just three years prior.
If this does not mean the end of Canadian dream for many Indian students who had planned to go to Canada, nothing will.
This isn’t just by accident but design to set their own house in order first.
New and more restrictive regulations – SDS and PGWP
The Canadian governments new and more restrictive approach to end the Student Direct Stream (SDS) and Post-Graduate Work Permit (PGWP) for two-year courses, a two-year national cap on new Study Permits decreased by a whopping 10 per cent from the previous year to just 437,000 for 2025, coupled with higher financial requirements for students like – proof of funds doubled from USD10,000 to 20,635 will send many Indian students dreaming Canada into frenzy.
Some experts believe the ending of the SDS and PGWP programmes has hit the Indian students the most. The SDS programme had faster visa processing times, mostly 20 calendar days for eligible applicants, making the Study Permits super easy. In fact, too easy. Almost everyone who applied, was able to get a visa. Not any more.
Sadly, for Indian students, this decline is likely to continue into 2026 and beyond.
The changes made to PGWP last year, made the path to permanent residency in Canada tougher. Also, many non-degree programmes that were popular earlier among ordinary and not so serious students , no longer qualify them to achieve pathway to Canadian permanent residency.
Colleges hit too
In grief are not only the Indian international students, but also many (mainly privately run) colleges, relying on international student tuition fees too. Many Canadian colleges called ‘visa shops’ for lack of seriousness of operation by critics, face significant revenue losses due to reduced enrolments. Some experts put the numbers of faculty and staff jobs losses into hundreds of thousands.
The Canadian dream not completely shut
Chasing the Canadian dream and realizing it, is still possible. Its pursuit has fundamentally changed and become more challenging. The era of Indian students packing their bags in villages and landing in Canada with admission in some courses in (even private) colleges, to be able to then gradually follow the ‘certain’ path to permanent residency (via a PGWP) in Canada is over.
The Canadian government is now after high-skilled workers and advanced students with strong academic backgrounds in high-demand fields. Going to street corner agents in India for admission to private colleges run by Indian expats running shonky operations will no longer let you into Canada. If you are serious about life in Canada, seek admission into public university and in courses achieving the skills that are in demand in Canada, and you should be able to navigate your way to Canadian permanent residency.
Reasons for these changes
Experts believe the primary driver for these changes is the strain on housing affordability and pressure on other public infrastructure, such as transportation and health services due to the high number of temporary residents and international students. These changes touted to be part of a wider policy to cap the overall number of temporary residents in Canada, with a target of 5% of the population by 2028.