In an email sent to Canadian institutions on December 10, the IRCC clarified that students transferring institutions in January or May 2025 “may start attending the new designated learning institution (DLI) they were intending to transfer to while their study permit is being processed”.
The temporary exemption addresses timing concerns created by the IRCC’s changes to the international student program on November 8, 2024, mandating that students transferring between institutions must apply for a new study permit extension and must only begin studying at the new DLI after its approval.
“The immediate implementation of the regulatory changes… cause a great deal of turmoil for our member institutions and put in jeopardy the enrolment of a significant numbers of transfer students for January 2025,” CBIE president Larissa Bezo told The PIE News.
CBIE and others had been advocating for a temporary exemption to the new rule, which only allows students to begin studying at the new DLI after the application is approved.
Bezo said that she was “very pleased that IRCC has responded to these concerns and has agreed to provide a grace period”, echoing the sense of relief felt across the sector, accompanied by frustration at the continued policy changes and corrections by the IRCC.
“For the first time in a while it’s a bit of positive news, albeit due to their policy decisions in the first place,” said Philip Reichert, director of global engagement at the University of British Columbia.
For the first time in a while it’s a bit of positive news, albeit due to their policy decisions in the first place
“This is both a massive win for transfer students starting in January or May 2025, but also, is undoubtedly causing frustrations too for how late this grace period has been granted post announcement of the IRPR changes on November 8,” immigration consultant Bree Carney told The PIE.
“Many institutions would have already had strategy plans and communications plans in place for their impacted students… now they may have to re-communicate with all their students that they can actually start,” added Carney.
To be eligible for the grace period, students must already be accepted to a DLI for either the winter (January) or spring (May) intakes in 2025.
They must hold a valid study permit without the DLI name printed on it and must have applied for a new study permit and meet all their existing study permit conditions.
For Saurabh Malhotra, CEO and founder of Student Direct, the update comes as a “rare piece of good news”, explaining that “many institutions would have lost hundreds of students for the upcoming intakes if this grace period wasn’t introduced”.
Critics of the IRCC’s “erratic” policy changes since January 2024 have highlighted the fact that most institutions have not met their initial cap allocations, urging the government to evaluate the impact of existing changes before enacting more disruptive policies, as highlighted by the most recent correction.
At the time of writing, the update has not yet been published on the IRCC’s official website, though this is due to be “posted shortly”, according to the email seen by The PIE.
I’m an international student facing challenges due to IRCC’s recent policy changes on study permit transfers. I applied for a new permit after receiving an offer on Dec 11 from McMaster University for January 2025, but the grace period announced on Dec 11 doesn’t apply to me because my current permit lists another university’s DLI. I urgently need help to start my studies on time. Please support students like me affected by these sudden changes!
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