Canada cuts foreign enrollment cap by nearly 50%

They amount to a cap of 155,000 new study permits for 2026 (a -49% reduction from 2025 levels) and then 150,000 per year for 2027 and 2028

Actual study permit issuance, however, fell far below the cap limits for 2024, and the number of new permit issues for 2025 is projected to be roughly a third of the enrolment limit prescribed under the cap for this year

In 2024 (which was the first year under Canada's current cap on new international student enrolments), the total number of new study permits issued was 267,890 – a roughly -48% reduction from 2023 levels and nearly 100,000 study permits below the official IRCC target for the year.

A new analysis now projects that Canada will approve only 80,000 new study permits in 2025, more than 2,30,000 below the cap.