Changes to study permit and immigration rules | MyNews | Seneca Students

TO: All students and employees
FROM: President David Agnew
RE: Changes to study permit and immigration rules

Today, the federal government made an important announcement about changes that are coming for the rules governing study permits (or student visas) and Post-Graduation Work Permits (PGWPs).

We understand from the federal government’s announcement that current international students studying in Canada and enrolled in a program will not be directly affected by changes to the PGWP system. Study permit renewals will not be affected. However, enrolling in a new or different program in the future will come under the new rules, which we hope will be clarified soon.

Many details are still to be shared by both the federal and provincial governments about how these changes will be implemented, so it is not possible to predict the impact on Seneca Polytechnic at this time.

The federal minister, Marc Miller, made it clear that a major goal of these changes is to stop the abuse of the study permit and immigration systems by private institutions and interests who are taking advantage of international students. He announced that as of September, the programs offered at the private campuses of partnerships between private career colleges and public colleges will no longer be covered by the PGWP program. Seneca does not have, nor have we ever had, one of those partnerships.

The federal government also plans to reduce the overall number of study permits in Ontario and some other provinces for at least a two-year period. We are working with the provincial government to understand how that will affect us.

In the meantime, we will continue to support our students – both international and domestic – as we work through whatever changes are coming.

For now, that is all that we know. We hope to receive more details soon. We will continue to share information with you as it becomes available.