In 2025, Canada introduced several changes affecting international students and recent graduates—from new rules for changing schools to updated eligibility requirements for Post-Graduation Work Permits (PGWPs).
These updates matter whether you’re planning to study in Canada, are already here on a study permit, or are aiming to work on a PGWP after graduation.
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This article breaks down the following 2025 changes and explains what they mean for international students:
- New rules for changing schools
- Restrictions on open work permits for spouses of international students
- Shrunk study permit cap
- Increased flexibility for master’s and doctoral students students
- Two week application processing for doctoral students
- Overhaul of field of study requirements for post graduation work permit eligibility
- Updated cost of living requirement
- Scaled back student admissions for upcoming year
- Crucial information to help students avoid common PGWP error
New rules for changing schools
During the end of 2024, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) implemented rules requiring international students to apply and be approved for a new study permit before changing their designated learning institution (DLI).
Prior to this, students could switch DLIs simply by informing IRCC of the change through their online account.
In January 2025, new rules came into effect building on the above change, requiring international students to also include a new valid Provincial or Territorial Attestation Letter (PAL/TAL) before submitting an application for a study permit extension.
To make the transition earlier, IRCC instituted interim measures for students who were accepted to a new institution in the Winter or Spring of 2025, to transfer schools and begin their studies while their new application is still in process. This measure remained in place until May 1, 2025.
These rules mean students have to keep processing time for a new study permit in mind if thinking about transferring educational institutions.
Moreover, students seeking PGWPs must also keep in mind that those who applied for their initial study permit before November 1, 2024, are exempt from certain field of study requirements, and seeking a new study permit would remove them from this exemption.
Currently, all international students must be enrolled in a DLI that is named on their study permit.
Restrictions on open work permits of spouses or common law partners of international students
Another big change that came into effect in January 2025 pertained to family open work permit eligibility restrictions for family members of international students.
Starting January 21, 2025, family open work permits for family members of international students were restricted to spouses or common-law partners of students enrolled in:
- *Master’s programs that are 16 months or longer in duration;
- Doctoral programs; or
- Select professional programs in healthcare, education or engineering.
*Previously, spouses could be eligible for a SOWP even if the student’s master’s program was shorter than 16 months.
Those planning on pursuing a higher degree in Canada and bringing their spouse along can find the full list of qualifying programs here.
Shrinking of study permit cap
The federal government also announced its study permit cap for 2025 in January.
The government stated that it planned to process only 550,162 applications between January 22 to December 31, 2025.
It also announced that a total of 437,000 study permits were projected to be issued in 2025, a 10% decrease compared to 2024.
Of this, 305,900 would be specifically for new student arrivals (i.e., new study permits issued).
It is worth noting that from January 2025 to August 2025 the federal government issued only 89,430 new study permits—a mere 29% of its total annual target of 305,900 new permits issued.
This decline in overall student admissions can be attributed to numerous policies put in place by the Canadian government starting 2024 (such as introducing a cap on study permits) aimed at reducing the temporary resident population—an effort driven in part to ease pressure on housing and social services.
In November 2025, IRCC also released its study permit cap for 2026. The department revealed that it has plans to issue up to 408,000 study permits for international students in the coming year, a 7% decrease from the 2025 issuance target of 437,000.
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Increased flexibility for master’s and doctoral students
In November it was announced that starting January 1, 2026, master’s and doctoral degree students applying to study at public institutions in Canada will be exempt from Canada’s study permit cap.
That means these students do not have to submit a PAL/TAL to get a study permit.
This not only allows more graduate students to study in Canada, but it makes acquiring a study permit easier for foreign nationals thinking of pursuing these programs.
That is because graduate students are no longer subject to IRCC’s processing limits and can apply even if the study permit cap has been reached.
Moreover, this could help them reduce upfront costs for their study permit as some institutions require students to pay a deposit to confirm their intention of enrolling.
Two-week application processing for doctoral students
Starting November 6, 2025, doctoral students can get their study permit applications processed in as little as two weeks.
To be eligible, the applicant must be enrolled in a doctoral degree program, apply from outside Canada, and submit their application online.
Eligible family members may also benefit from expedited processing if they apply for a visitor visa, work permit, or study permit, are included in the doctoral student’s (the principal applicant’s) study permit application, and submit their application(s) at the same time.
For the purposes of this measure, eligible family members can include a spouse or common-law partner, a dependent child (of the applicant and/or the applicant’s spouse or common-law partner), and/or a dependent child of a dependent child.
Overhaul of the field of study requirement for post-graduation work permit eligibility
In 2024, IRCC introduced a field-of-study requirement: To be eligible for a PGWP, international students in non-exempt programs must complete a program in an eligible field of study linked to occupations in long-term shortage (including areas prioritized under Express Entry).
International students in bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral degree programs are exempt from field of study requirements.
In June 2025, IRCC announced major changes to the list of study programs eligible for a PGWP.
As part of these changes, numerous programs were added to the PGWP eligibility list, while many others were removed—along with the totality of the “Transport” category of eligible programs.
In July 2025, IRCC postponed the removal of programs from PGWP eligibility. IRCC indicated that the actual removal will instead take effect in early 2026.
As a result, 178 programs remain PGWP-eligible until IRCC publishes further details.
International students who plan to work in Canada after graduation should confirm that their intended program of study is PGWP-eligible before applying.
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Updated cost of living requirement
The Canadian government also increased the proof of financial support requirements for international students planning on studying in Canada, starting September 1, 2025.
For a single person, the minimum amount of funds required—on top of first year’s tuition and travel costs—increased to $22,895, up from $20,635.
International students must provide proof that they have these funds as living expenses to support themselves and any accompanying family members in Canada.
This amount increases according to the number of accompanying family members. You can find the complete list here.
This applies to international students studying in all provinces and territories outside Quebec.
The Canadian government updates this list annually.
Scaled back student admissions for upcoming year
In November 2025, the federal government released its 2026-2028 Immigration Levels Plan, which shows an admissions target of 155,000 new international students in 2026.
This is a near 50% cut in new student admissions compared to 2025 levels as well as the notional targets in that plan for 2026 (both of which were 305,900) featured in the 2025-2027 Immigration Levels Plan.
This continues the government’s trajectory of scaling back on the number of temporary residents in the country.
Crucial information shared to help students avoid common PGWP application error
In 2024, IRCC added two new requirements for PGWP applicants: language tests and field of study requirements.
If you are required to show one or both of these requirements, based on your level of study, proof that you meet them must be included in your PGWP application upon initial submission.
However, IRCC did not share how these documents can be submitted. Due to what Canada’s immigration department described as “system limitations,” the government had not added a section in their application portal for these documents.
This led many to omit these crucial documents, leading to their application getting refused.
In December 2025, IRCC updated its website to include information on how someone can apply for a PGWP—by combining both documents into a single file (like a merged PDF).
More details on the process can be found here.
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