When compared to the same period in 2024, the number of study permits granted to international students from India fell by more than half in the third quarter of this year, despite the fact that the Canadian government's measures to reduce intake in this category are projected to continue this trend.
Indian students accounted for 24,030 permits out of 146505, or 16.4%, between July and September 2025, according to data from Immigration, Refugees and Immigration Canada, or IRCC. They made up 52425, or over 30%, of the 177025 study visas that were granted at that time last year.

Indians received 8400 out of 49350 visas in September, the most recent month for which data is available, compared to 14385 out of 46230 in the same month in 2024.

The statistics for the previous three years shows that the number of study permits granted to Indians has been declining. Indians accounted for roughly 41% of the 680880 permits awarded in 2023 (277980). That percentage fell to 188205 out of 515095 in 2024, just more than one-third of the total. In 2025, the percentage dropped to 70180 out of 290105, or less than 25%.

The decrease comes after the Canadian government implemented policies in the final quarter of 2023. In the months that followed, additional restrictions were imposed due to worries that an increase in temporary immigrants was driving up housing costs and straining public infrastructure.
The government predicted in November of this year that the overall number of overseas students granted visas will drop by 7% the following year. The IRCC stated that a maximum of 408,000 study permits will be granted in 2026, comprising 253,000 renewals for current and returning students and 155,000 visas for recently arrived international students.

"This figure is 16% less than the 2024 issuance target of 485,000 and 7% less than the 2025 issuance target of 437,000," the IRCC stated.
As the number of study visa holders decreased from over a million in January 2024 to roughly 725,000 by September 2025, the IRCC claimed that the cap, which was first implemented in 2024, "has been an effective tool in slowing the growth of Canada’s temporary population."
It said, "While this progress is noteworthy, additional reductions are required to meet our commitment to reduce the share of Canada's temporary population to less than 5% of the total population by the end of 2027."

The administration had considered admitting 305,000 new international students annually under its previous levels plan. But according to the most recent plan, the goal was set at 155,000 and will drop to 150,000 in 2027 and 2028.