Update on CIC Initiatives for International Students

CAPS-I Conference

Saskatoon, May 31, 2010

Purpose

To provide an update on recent initiatives related to international students including:

Trends on international students Student processing overseas and in Canada Update on E-applications and Visa Application Centers Work permit programs Best-practices exercise

Trends of International Students

Annual entries increasing in recent years 85,301 international students

entered Canada in 2009 18,303 international students

entered Canada at K-12 level in 2009

Total number of students residing in Canada also increasing 196,227 students residing in

Canada (as of December 1, 2009)

34,445 students residing in Canada at K-12 level (as of December 1, 2009)

Source: Facts and Figures, Citizenship and Immigration Canada

2005 2006 2007 2008 20090

10,00020,00030,00040,00050,00060,00070,00080,00090,000

67,883 71,795 74,03479,536

85,131

16,810 18,891 19,513 19,831 18,303

Annual Entries of International Students, All Educational Levels and K-12, 2005-09

2005 2006 2007 2008 20090

50,000

100,000

150,000

200,000

250,000

167,145 170,089 175,933 178,037196,227

30,513 32,531 34,539 34,392 34,445

Students Residing in Canada on December 1st, All Educational Levels and K-12, 2005-09

Students by Level of Education Large share of international

students destined to universities and K-12 level

35,718 students entered at university level in 2009 (42% of total)

18,303 students entered in K-12 level (21% of total)

Decrease of 8% in number of students destined to K-12 from

2008-09 Relates to decrease in numbers

of students from Korea

University K-12 Other PSE Trade Other Not stated0

5000

10000

15000

20000

25000

30000

35000

40000

32,9

56

19,9

01

11,1

51

9,90

6

5,60

4

18

35,7

18

18,303

17,3

73

7,59

8

6,12

5

15

Entries of Students by Level of Education, 2008-09

2008 2009

Students from Korea (4,190) and China (2,974) represented 39% of total annual entries of foreign students at K-12 level in 2009 But decrease of 29% of

Korean students from 2008 to 2009

Followed by Germany, Mexico, Brazil, Japan, USA, UK, Hong Kong, and Taiwan

Top 10 source countries represented 75% of annual entries at K-12 level

Source: Facts and Figures, Citizenship and Immigration Canada

Student at K-12 by Countries of Origin

Korea

China

Germ

any

Mex

icoBra

zil

Japa

nUSA UK HK

Taiwan

-

1,000

2,000

3,000

4,000

5,000

6,000

7,000

5,9

10

2,0

78

1,6

93

1,3

97

811

809

596

775

542

540

4,19

0

2,97

4

1,53

1

1,37

6

902

765

521

508

482

403

Entries of Students at K-12 by Source Country, 2008-09

Student at K-12 by Province and Territory of Destination

BC ON AB QC MB NS SK NB PEI NF YK NWT -

1,000

2,000

3,000

4,000

5,000

6,000

7,000

8,000

9,000

7,8

77

6,2

11

2,2

47

1,2

07

574

662

543

297

66

109

-

7,27

0

6,02

5

1,65

7

1,23

9

625

622

443

279

72 58 7 6

Entries of Students at K-12 Level by Province of Destination, 2008-09

2008 2009

CIC Processing of Study Permits

Approval Rates of Study Permits

• 75% approval rate globally for study permit applications for all levels of study in 2009

• 89% approval rate for study permit applications destined to secondary level of study in 2009

• 83% approval rate for study permit applications destined to primary level of study in 2009

Processing times at Missions Overseas

• 50% of SP decisions finalized within 21 days for all levels of study in 2009

• 50% of SP decisions finalized within 21 days for secondary level of study in 2009

• 50% of SP decisions finalized within 21 days for primary level of study in 2009

Operational Improvements

On-line applications On-line applications now available for study permit extensions in Canada, off-Campus

WPs, post-graduation WPs, and WPs for spouses of international students

Upcoming pilot project on study permits in select visa-exempt countries

Request being evaluated by CIC Legal Services on access to on-line applications by minors and/or their parents

Visa Application Centers (VACs) General information and services provided by VACs available on-line in CIC best-

practices “bulletin” and directly from CIC Mission websites

In addition to existing VACs, 3 additional VACs were opened in Mexico in Mexico City, Guadalajara, and Monterrey in 2009

CIC Updates – WP Programs and K-12

Work Permit Programs

• Work permit programs for international students currently limited to students attending post-secondary institutions

• Only exception is under work related to an educational program (R 205(c)(i) – Exemption C-30), e.g., Provincial requirement in British Columbia

• British Columbia requires all high school students in grades 11 and 12 to obtain work experience in order to graduate

• In these cases, the employer is the school or school district, the location of employment is British Columbia and the employment is open

• http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/resources/manuals/fw/fw01-eng.pdf (Foreign Worker Manual, page 63)

Best-Practices Exercise

Collection of input completed following Spring 2009 ACISI meeting

CIC working to implement recommendations from PTs/stakeholders that affect CIC operations, including:

Mission websites and communications materials Continued implementation of VACs and e-applications to expedite

processing and improve completeness of applications overseas and in-Canada

Pilot projects being introduced in key source countries (e.g. SPP in India, upfront medicals in China)

Development and sharing of statistical products on students

Best-practices “bulletin” to be available on-line

CIC Information on Minors

CIC website – Minors

http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/study/study-minors.asp

CIC website – Information for Educational Institutions

http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/study/institutions/index.asp

CIC’s OP 12 http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/resources/manuals/op/op12-eng.pdf

Section 5.1 – Study PermitsSection 5.2 -- Exemptions from Study PermitsSection 5.16 – Custodianships and age of majoritySection 5.17 – Minor ChildrenSection 7.14 – Determining Eligibility Periods (i.e. Length of study permits)