In a survey conducted by a global student recruitment company, more than 21,000 students from 100 different countries chose Canada as their top choice for a study-abroad location.
According to research conducted by an education company report, Canada is the greatest country for foreign students to study, beating out Australia and the United States.
International students chose Canada as their top country, followed by Australia (23%) and the United States (21%). With 18% of respondents choosing it, the United Kingdom came in fourth.
Only 3% of international students chose New Zealand as their favorite location, while only 2% of them chose Ireland, placing New Zealand a distant fourth. International students’ desire to come to Canada appears to be greatly influenced by the chances offered to them to work while they are studying, obtain Post-Graduate Work Permits (PGWP), and subsequently immigrated to Canada through the Express Entry system programs.
According to research conducted by an education company, “globally, 63% of students say post-study work is the main or an influencing factor in where they study.” A variety of nations are showing interest in and driving demand for post-study job programs.
“More than half of students indicate that choosing where to study was influenced by the possibility of finding post-study employment. The demand from a larger and more varied collection of countries will increase in destination countries by establishing clearer pathways from education to employment.
In order to fill the country’s labor needs with trained workers and as a possible source of future immigration, international students are being aggressively recruited, according to Immigration Minister Sean Fraser.
He granted another 18-month extension earlier this year to foreign nationals whose PGWPs had already expired or were about to expire.
Fraser added, “We need to use every tool in our toolkit to enable firms who continue to struggle to find the employees they need to grow.
“At the same time, we’re giving international graduates with expiring or expired work permits a little more time to stay in Canada so they can gain worthwhile work experience and possibly qualify to become permanent residents,” the statement continued.
The PGWP Deadline was extended this year by the Minister of Immigration.
PGWPs are typically not renewable, but as of April 6th this year, foreign graduates having one of these permits that had already expired the previous year or earlier in the year may be eligible for an additional or extended work permit that will allow them to stay longer and get additional work experience for up to 18 months.
Even if they are past the 90-day restoration window, those with expired work permits can now get their status restored. They will be given temporary work permits while their new work permit application is being processed.
Each year, tens of thousands of overseas students make the successful transition to permanent residence; the greatest numbers ever were more than 157,000 in 2021 and approximately 95,000 in 2022.
According to the most recent data from Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC), there were more than 286,000 foreign graduates in Canada with PGWPs at the end of the previous year.
