Canada is tightening the tap on temporary residents yet again. New ministerial instructions published in the Canada Gazette cap 2026 international-student applications at just under 310,000—roughly 35 percent below the 2024 high-water mark—and require each application to include a provincial or territorial attestation letter.
Immigration Minister Lena Metlege Diab told reporters the move is intended to “restore balance” after non-permanent residents ballooned to 7.3 percent of the population. The federal Immigration Levels Plan still targets 155,000 actual study-permit issuances next year, but the lower application ceiling should curb institutional over-recruitment and lighten IRCC processing loads.
![Ottawa Caps 2026 Study-Permit Intake and Freezes Several Permanent-Residence Streams]()
Amid these changing rules, VisaHQ can help both institutions and individual applicants navigate the new requirements by offering real-time guidance, document checklists, and end-to-end filing support; see https://www.visahq.com/canada/ for details on study permits, work authorizations, and other Canadian immigration services.
The same instruction pauses new permanent-residence filings under both the Start-Up Visa and Self-Employed Persons programs, echoing last week’s SUV work-permit freeze. It also defers the reopening of home-support and childcare caregiver pilots beyond 31 March 2026. IRCC says inventories in all three categories must first be “brought to sustainable levels.”
For post-secondary recruiters, the attestation-letter requirement means closer coordination with provinces on allocation quotas and applicant vetting—a potential administrative bottleneck during peak intake season. Employers that rely on post-graduation work-permit holders should anticipate a leaner pipeline and consider offsetting strategies such as the Global Talent Stream or Labour Market Impact Assessment-based hiring.
Immigration Minister Lena Metlege Diab told reporters the move is intended to “restore balance” after non-permanent residents ballooned to 7.3 percent of the population. The federal Immigration Levels Plan still targets 155,000 actual study-permit issuances next year, but the lower application ceiling should curb institutional over-recruitment and lighten IRCC processing loads.
Amid these changing rules, VisaHQ can help both institutions and individual applicants navigate the new requirements by offering real-time guidance, document checklists, and end-to-end filing support; see https://www.visahq.com/canada/ for details on study permits, work authorizations, and other Canadian immigration services.
The same instruction pauses new permanent-residence filings under both the Start-Up Visa and Self-Employed Persons programs, echoing last week’s SUV work-permit freeze. It also defers the reopening of home-support and childcare caregiver pilots beyond 31 March 2026. IRCC says inventories in all three categories must first be “brought to sustainable levels.”
For post-secondary recruiters, the attestation-letter requirement means closer coordination with provinces on allocation quotas and applicant vetting—a potential administrative bottleneck during peak intake season. Employers that rely on post-graduation work-permit holders should anticipate a leaner pipeline and consider offsetting strategies such as the Global Talent Stream or Labour Market Impact Assessment-based hiring.
