Study in Canada: Viable Pathway to Permanent Residence?
Growing Trend: Studying in Canada to Immigrate
The Philippines is one of Canada’s chief sources of permanent residents (PR) in the previous decade. The 2016 census shows that the Philippines was the top source of PRs in that particular year. One of the pathways gaining popularity among Filipino PR candidates is the study route.
British Council Philippines, one of the organizations that administers the IELTS English test, noted in 2018 that Canada is becoming the top destination for IELTS test takers in the Philippines (see: https://bit.ly/3h3CJsU). IELTS is one of the more popular English language tests used for college admission purposes in Canada.
Studying as a Strategy to Overcome the K-10 Problem
Canada’s main intake system for economic immigrants is called the Express Entry, an online system that is used to accept candidates for the country’s main immigration programs suich as the Federal Skilled Worker Program and the Canadian Experience Class. It is a points-based system that assigns a score to each candidate using various factors such as age, language, education, and work experience.
In terms of education, bachelor’s degrees from the Philippines generally equate to a two-year college diploma in Canada because of differences in the education system (K-10 vs. K-12). As a result, most candidates coming in from the Philippines are generally handicapped compared to candidates from India or Australia.
Since most candidates from the Philippines are considered two years short of typical Canadian education, a lot of Filipinos dreaming of PR study in Canada to increase their Express Entry points.
The main reason: bonus points are given to candidates possessing Canadian post-secondary education. The higher the program (in this particular order: secondary, college certificate, college diploma, bachelors, masters, and doctorate), the more points assigned to a candidate.
In addition, those who study in Canada with the right program and the right designated learning institution (typically, publicly funded post-secondary institutions) may be eligible for a post-graduation work permit (PGWP).
A PGWP is open, meaning, the worker is not restricted to a single employer or a specific occupation. A PGWP’s duration is tied to the length of studies. They are issued up to a validity of three years. International students should be aware that they are only allowed to apply for a PGWP once in their lifetime. If they had been issued a PGWP and then returned to university for further studies, they will not be eligible for the permit a second time around.
The bottom line: studying in Canada increases chances of securing PR because of bonus points. In addition, points relating to Canadian skilled work experience become reachable because of the PGWP.
2024 Update: Changes in Study Permit Requirements
In 2024, is studying in Canada still a viable pathway to obtain permanent residence? The answer is murkier than it was when we originally came out with this blog post. The quick answer is a qualified yes. If your baseline points in Express Entry (explained here) are high enough that an extra nudge up from studying in Canada gets you comfortably above the higher-trending cut-off scores, then it may be worth it.
Some other factors that you will need to consider are your finances. Canada updated its baseline financial requirements that more accurately reflect the realities on the ground. The minimum liquidity that needs to be shown (on top of the ability to pay your tuition) is now above $20,000 CAD. This represents a doubling of the amount.
In addition, spouses or common-law partners of international students used to be able to apply for open work permits. This time, Canada has limited those who are eligible to spouses or common-law partners of graduate students and select students who are pursuing the enumerated professional programs:
Doctor of Dental Surgery (DDS, DMD)
Bachelor of Law or Juris Doctor (LLB, JD, BCL)
Doctor of Medicine (MD)
Doctor of Optometry (OD)
Pharmacy (PharmD, BS, BSc, BPharm)
Doctor of Veterinary Medicine (DVM)
Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BScN, BSN, BNSc)
Bachelor of Education (BEd)
Bachelor of Engineering (BEng, BE, BASc) only
Moreover, PGWP eligibility has also been limited to those who are pursuing in qualified Designated Learning Institutions (DLI). Specifically, Canada changed the rules to exclude private career colleges that have sub-licencing agreements with public DLIs that indirectly conferred PGWP-eligibility to the said colleges. This loophole was closed and took effect as early as the second quarter of 2024.
We expect further changes to the Canada’s international student program, so watch this space.