Canada: New Measures Prioritize Graduate and Doctoral Student Recruitment

Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) has announced new measures to prioritize international graduate student recruitment, even as the federal government moves to reduce overall foreign student enrollment. Beginning January 1, 2026, master’s and doctoral students enrolling at public Designated Learning Institutions (DLIs) will be exempt from Canada’s national enrollment cap and will no longer require a provincial or territorial attestation letter. Students at private DLIs, however, will remain subject to the cap and attestation requirements. Additionally, IRCC will now expedite the processing of online study permit applications for doctoral students applying from outside Canada, with a target processing time of 14 days (an improvement over previous timelines, which varied by country and were typically longer). The expedited process also applies to eligible accompanying family members who apply with the student.      

This alert is for informational purposes only. If you have any questions, please contact the global immigration professional with whom you work at Fragomen.