After the Canadian Federal Government announced the imposition of a temporary two-year cap on international student permits in 2024-2025, British Columbia declared its provincial ban on new post-secondary institutions enrolling international students until February 2026, along with other new measures. B.C. claims that the new measures aim to enhance the quality of post-secondary education, ensure greater accountability for educational institutions, and protect BC international students from exploitation.

BC’s 2024 New Measures to Strengthen Standards for International Education

On 29th Jan 2024, Selina Robinson, B.C.’s Minister of Post-Secondary Education and Future Skills, announced the new measures during a news conference in Surrey. The new measures include:

B.C. Pauses Approvals for New Colleges Accepting International Students

• B.C. pauses approvals for new post-secondary institutions enrolling international students until February 2026.
• New institutions will not have access to the federal Designated Learning Institutions (DLI) list to recruit international students until the moratorium ends. Current institutions may renew their designation during this period.

B.C. Is Setting Higher Standards for Private Institutions

• More frequent inspections of private institutions will ensure adherence to quality standards and student support.
• Private degree programs must meet higher standards for approval, including higher assessment criteria for degree quality, demonstrated labour-market need for graduates (whether the new program is needed in the province) and appropriate resources, and student support.
• Minimum language standards will be set for international students at private training institutions.

B.C. Enhancing Its Tuition Transparency

• Public post-secondary institutions will be required to reveal their tuition levels for students for their entire study period. 

Quick Facts about BC International Students

B.C. accommodates around 545,000 post-secondary students, encompassing domestic and international students across public and private institutions.

Among these students, over 175,000 are international students from more than 150 countries.

Public post-secondary institutions in B.C. host around 82,000 international students, while private institutions accommodate approximately 94,000 international students.

For more details, please visit BC’s News Release dated 29 Jan 2024: https://news.gov.bc.ca/releases/2024PSFS0002-000094

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IRCC 2024 New Cost-of-living Requirement for International Students in Canada