Study Permits Issued to Applicants from Asia

Under the 2002 Immigration and Refugee Protection Act regulations, foreign students attending courses in Canada for a period of less than six months do not require a study permit. The number of study permits issued to Asian foreign students increased 10% in 2009. China has overtaken South Korea as Canada’s top source country in recent years. South Korea experienced strong growth rates of students studying in Canada from 1999 until 2008, and China has grown steadily since 1999 . Chinese students entering Canada for studies have increased about 19%. Indian students entering Canada has grown 177% from 2005 to 2009. In 2009, the number of Pakistani and Vietnamese students to Canada increased 22% and 19% from 2008, respectively.

Study Permits
						% Change 08 to 09
	2005	2006	2007	2008	2009	% Change 08 to 09
Australia	573	479	529	445	433	-2.7
Bangladesh	381	364	332	488	510	4.5
China	7,447	9,385	10,140	14,301	17,064	19.3
Hong Kong, SAR	986	958	941	951	944	-0.7
India	2,508	2,982	3,043	3,712	6,964	87.6
Indonesia	418	412	336	351	311	-11.4
Japan	5,697	5,001	4,518	3,767	3,517	-6.6
Malaysia	292	263	308	446	478	7.2
Pakistan	502	521	567	738	902	22.2
Philippines	218	210	407	503	563	11.9
Singapore	185	187	182	162	132	-18.5
South Korea	14,327	15,779	15,826	14,046	11,786	-16.1
Sri Lanka	105	118	154	177	121	-31.6
Taiwan	2,162	2,066	1,884	1,693	1,591	-6.0
Thailand	525	515	465	472	504	6.8
Vietnam	361	243	289	623	742	19.1

Total	36,687	39,240	39,632	42,252	46,562	10.2

Source: Based on original data from Citizenship and Immigration Canada, The Number of Student Permits Issued by Select Countries of Citizenship (In Persons) for Calendar year 2005-2009, 3 July 2010.

Notes: 1. Statistics are collected from documents issued at missions abroad.
2. The statistics reflect student authorizations issued in a given year, and not the cumulative total. Any increases are from the calendar year of 2008 to the calendar year of 2009.
3. Statistics do not include the number of short term students (who do not require a study permit) that come to Canada. There is currently no accurate method of collecting data on these short term numbers, even though in many markets, these students account for a very large percentage of students coming to Canada. For example, short term students from South Korea - who represent a large portion of our market - are simply listed as tourists when they enter Canada.
4.Information about the new Immigration and Refugee Protection Act is available at: http://laws.justice.gc.ca/en/I-2.5/index.html

Study Permits Issued to Applicants from Asia

Statistiques