As a country long known for welcoming immigrants and temporary residents, Canada is gradually closing its doors, not only experiencing significant changes in immigration policies but also setting a record high rejection rate for all types of temporary resident applications, surging to 50%.

Image source: INC

Data from IRCC (Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada) shows that in 2024, Canada rejected a total of 2.36 million temporary resident applications, an increase of 15% compared to 2023 (in 2023, 1.85 million applications were rejected, accounting for 35%).

Among them, visitor visas (visitor visas), study permits (study permits), and work permits (work permits) are all included in the large-scale rejection list.

  • Visitor visa: Approximately 1.95 million visitor visa applications were rejected in 2024, with a rejection rate of 54%, an increase of 14% compared to 2023.
  • Study permit: About 290,000 study permit applications were rejected in 2024, with a rejection rate of 54%, an increase of 14% compared to 2023.
  • Work permit: Approximately 115,000 work permit applications were rejected in 2024, with a rejection rate of 22%, a decrease of 1% compared to 2023.

In March 2024, IRCC stated that by 2026, the proportion of temporary residents in Canada would be reduced from 6.5% to 5%, easing pressure on housing, healthcare, and public services.

Image source: CBC

The surge in rejection rates in 2024 is undoubtedly a direct result of this policy. From the two categories of visas with the largest increases in rejection rates, it can be seen:

Visitor visas have long been considered a potential backdoor for overstaying, and in this adjustment, they have been cut the most strictly. Common reasons for rejection include insufficient ties to the home country (work or family) and unclear travel purposes.

On the other hand, the government has repeatedly stated that it will curb exploitative practices in international student programs and improve the quality of Canadian education.

IRCC stated that nearly 50,000 international students did not actually study after coming to Canada. Therefore, Canada not only set an upper limit on study permits but also introduced stricter regulations, requiring applicants to provide proof of financial stability.

Mixed feelings

After the further reduction in the number of temporary residents, experts predict that Canada's real estate market will ease:

Data from the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) shows that the rental vacancy rate dropped to 1.5% in 2023, setting a historical low, causing rents to soar.

Image source: CBC

After nearly a year of restrictions, the April 2024 "Canada Full Rent Report" pointed out that the rent for one-bedroom apartments in Vancouver fell by 1.6% to CAD 2,500, and the rent for two-bedroom apartments fell by 1.1% to CAD 3,450, down 2.7% and 9% year-on-year respectively.

Although still ranked first in average rent in Canada's rental market, the rent for one-bedroom apartments in Vancouver has reached the lowest point since January 2023.

This is also the sixth consecutive month of overall decline in rents across Canada. In April, the rent for one-bedroom apartments nationwide fell by 0.8% to CAD 1,835, and the rent for two-bedroom apartments fell by 0.9% to CAD 2,265.

In addition, this can also alleviate the burden on healthcare and shorten waiting times for appointments.

However, on the other hand, Canada's appeal as a global talent hub is also weakening:

IRCC data shows that international students contribute more than CAD 22 billion annually to Canada's economy and create 218,000 jobs. While the rejection rate for study permits is skyrocketing, major institutions heavily reliant on international student tuition fees are also inevitably affected.

Image source: CBC

The high rejection rate for visitor visas will also negatively impact Canada's tourism industry, hindering the arrival of tourists and making it difficult to return to the pre-pandemic tourism output of CAD 102 billion.

Besides the persistently high rejection rates, IRCC application backlogs are also significant:

IRCC's latest data shows that there are currently 947,200 temporary resident applications under review - among them, 532,700 are within normal processing times, but 414,500 have exceeded deadlines and entered backlog status.

In the past two months, IRCC completed the review of 112,572 study permit applications (including renewals) and 260,431 work permit applications (including renewals). It is expected that by the end of April 2025, 38% of all temporary resident applications will be in backlog status.

Source: INC, IRCC, Vancouver is Awesome

Original article: https://www.toutiao.com/article/7495855947303207459/

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