Currently, international students at the post-secondary level of study are required to inform Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) if they decide to change their Designated Learning Institution (DLI) after applying for their study permit. However, IRCC does not have the authority to penalize students who do not inform IRCC of a change in DLI. Without any restrictions applied to transferring from one DLI to another, movement between DLIs is common and difficult for IRCC to track.
New regulations coming into effect later in fall 2024, will require international students to attend the DLI identified on their study permit and to apply for a new study permit to change DLIs.
Key Messages
Provinces and territories, DLIs, and other stakeholders have raised concerns about the ability of international students to change DLIs without notification, as this could undermine the management of cap allocations.
IRCC is aware of these concerns and is taking steps to address these challenges. The proposed new regulations will require post-secondary international students to apply for a new study permit to change DLIs. Failure to obtain a new study permit prior to attending a new DLI would mean the student would be non-compliant with the conditions of their study permit and temporary resident status.
Going forward, the name of the post-secondary DLI will be printed on the study permit, which will allow for more accurately tracking through the Global Case Management System. This change will also improve the data collected under the International Student Compliance Regime (ISCR).
If a student studies at a different DLI than the one printed on their study permit, the discrepancy will be noted when the DLIs submit their student compliance reports and during the application process. This could also result in a follow-up investigation on the student and may result in a refusal of a subsequent study permit application.
Supplementary Information
As part of the current ISCR, DLIs are required to report to IRCC on the enrolment status of their international student populations twice yearly.
Every spring and fall, DLIs are sent student compliance reports with the study permit holders they have associated to their institution in IRCC’s system. These compliance reporting exercises give IRCC important information on study permit holders and if they are complying with study permit conditions. This data also informs decisions made by officers when processing study permit extensions and post-graduation work permits for these students.
Under the proposed regulations, study permit application processing may be suspended if a DLI fails to comply with the reporting requirement. Previously, there were no federally-imposed consequences for DLIs that did not report.
