The announcement comes just months after the Canadian government imposed further limits on international study permits by 10% from the 2024 target of 485,000

“Canada’s goal is to strengthen program integrity, address student vulnerability, and give all students equal and fair access to the application process, as well as a positive academic experience,” IRCC said in a statement announcing the changes.

“To meet this commitment, the Student Direct Stream (SDS) and Nigeria Student Express (NSE) initiatives have ended as of 2:00 pm ET today,” the November 8 announcement read.

The SDS, introduced in 2018, was open to students from 14 countries including, Brazil, China, India, Pakistan, Philippines, Senegal, and Vietnam. 

Permits under SDS were usually processed in about 4-6 weeks compared to non-SDS permits which took months to get approved, in some cases. 

Meanwhile, NSE enabled faster application processing for prospective university students from Nigeria. 

According to IRCC, all new study permit applications will be processed through the regular study permit stream, which accepts Guaranteed Investment Certificates as proof of financial support. 

“Canada will continue to welcome international students from all around the world,” stated IRCC. 

Along with meeting other study permit requirements, applicants under the SDS stream were required to submit language test results and proof of a Canadian GIC valued at CAD $20,635.

As per the notice, SDS and NSE applications submitted before 2:00 p.m. ET, November 8, 2024, will be processed under these streams, while study permit applications submitted on or after this time will be processed under the regular study permit stream.

The announcement alludes to a massive shift in Canada’s international student program. Reacting on LinkedIn to the news, some stakeholders expressed concerns for longer processing times, as well as higher refusal rates. 

However, with Canadian study permits projected to drop by nearly half this year, some believe the reduction in volume of applications might have contributed to the decision to end SDS.

“All applications for study permit will be done through regular stream only. As it is, we are seeing visas come much faster,” said Madhav Gupta, director, Enbee Education Centre.

“Maybe the Canadian Government didn’t need two divisions of SDS and regular stream as volumes are lesser due to the caps. The decisions are faster and need for faster SDS doesn’t exist now.”

With the end of these fast-track initiatives, Canada is continuing to pursue overhaul of its immigration policies concerning temporary residents, including international students. 

At the 2024 CBIE conference held in Ottawa, though immigration minister Marc Miller stated that there would be no more “major” policy changes in Canada’s international education sector, he didn’t rule out the possibility of “small surgical corrections” in the future. 

“The broad-brush strokes are there, if there’s anything more to be done by the federal government it will be small surgical corrections,” Miller told the audience.