Canada approves more study permits as new arrivals fall

Line drawing: the CN Tower, an arrow to a passport, a round stamp reading 47% and a graduation cap on two books

What happened

Canada's cap on international students allows 408,000 study permits in 2026: 253,000 extensions and about 155,000 new arrivals. ICEF Monitor reports that arrivals are running well below that. From January to July 2026, 28,205 new students arrived, about 18% of the target, down roughly 36% on 2025 and 80% on 2024. ICEF Monitor estimates the full year may not pass 90,000 new students.

Some trends point the other way. The average approval rate for new study permits rose to 47% for January to May 2026, from 36% a year earlier. More students are at universities rather than colleges. Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) says master's and doctoral students made up 21% of new permits from January to June 2026, up from 12% in 2025. IRCC says it introduced two-week processing for new PhD students and exempted master's and doctoral students from the cap.

In Atlantic Canada, the Association of Atlantic Universities reports 3,020 fewer international students on 1 October 2026 than a year before, an 18% fall. It blames federal limits introduced from January 2024.

What it means for you

IRCC says master's and doctoral students are exempt from Canada's study permit cap, which matters if you are planning a postgraduate degree there.
Approval rates for new study permits rose to 47% in January to May 2026 from 36% a year earlier, though more than half of applications were still not approved.
Atlantic Canadian universities report an 18% drop in international students, so check how a province's universities are affected before you apply.