{"id":169823,"date":"2026-08-16T07:13:11","date_gmt":"2026-08-16T07:13:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/169823\/"},"modified":"2026-08-16T07:13:11","modified_gmt":"2026-08-16T07:13:11","slug":"canada-language-programmes-see-sharp-drop-in-students-amid-visa-curbs","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/169823\/","title":{"rendered":"Canada language programmes see sharp drop in students amid visa curbs"},"content":{"rendered":"

Canada\u2019s languages programs saw a 13% decline in student numbers and a 19% fall in student weeks in 2025, according to the annual Languages Canada survey<\/a>. The survey attributed the decline mainly to restrictive and unpredictable visa and immigration policies.<\/p>\n

The survey of 160 member programmes found that fewer than 82,000 students enrolled in language programmes last year, completing nearly 799,000 student weeks. This followed a 15% drop in student numbers in 2024.<\/p>\n

The sector\u2019s direct economic contribution fell 1% to CA$1.03 billion in 2025. The decline came as Canada tightened rules for international students, including study permit caps introduced in January 2024. The study permit approval rate fell to 36% last year.<\/p>\n

Also Read: ‘Return home’: Alberta Premier tells international students without PR to leave Canada when visas expire<\/a><\/p>\n

According to The PIE News report, language providers have also faced difficulties with pathway programmes. A rule requiring separate study permits for students moving between two institutions, such as a language school and a university, created additional barriers.<\/p>\n

A Joint Pathway Program was launched earlier this year to make it easier for students to move from private language schools to post-secondary institutions.<\/p>\n

Also Read: Australia\u2019s Go8 universities step up India outreach: Nearly 2,500 students engage<\/a><\/p>\n

International students accounted for 93% of language programme enrolments in 2025. English programmes made up 92% of enrolments, while French programmes accounted for 8%.<\/p>\n

Japan was the largest source of students, followed by Brazil, South Korea and Mexico. Among all students, 40% entered Canada using an electronic travel authorisation, 21% used a temporary resident visa and 13% entered on a study permit.<\/p>\n

The survey said the sector needs policy barriers to be addressed and confidence in Canada restored to support future international student enrolments.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Canada\u2019s languages programs saw a 13% decline in student numbers and a 19% fall in student weeks in…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":169824,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[17,54385,17222,54379,54380,50491,54382,54383,54384,54381,34030],"class_list":["post-169823","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-canada","tag-canada","tag-canada-education-sector","tag-canada-immigration-policy","tag-canada-language-education-decline","tag-canada-language-programmes","tag-canada-student-visa","tag-canada-study-permit","tag-international-students-canada","tag-language-schools-canada","tag-languages-canada-survey","tag-study-in-canada"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/169823","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=169823"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/169823\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/169824"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=169823"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=169823"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=169823"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}