Regulations Amending the Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations (Designated Learning Institutions)

Proposed regulations would compel the schools to report to the Immigration Department whether a student is attending school and complying with permit requirements.

Three issues have been identified that impact program integrity

1. Under the existing regulations, the federal Government does not have the regulatory authority to compel reporting from DLIs as part of the compliance program and letter of acceptance verification system. Where DLIs are not reporting, IRCC does not have a reliable way of determining whether a student is attending the DLI and complying with their study permit requirements, and IRCC cannot effectively detect fraudulent letters of acceptance.
2. Currently, IRCC cannot impose conditions on a non-compliant DLI, such as the suspension of study permit processing. This means that IRCC is required to issue study permits for students attending the DLI even when the DLI is not reporting to IRCC on student enrollment status or participating in the letter of acceptance verification system.
3. Under the current regulations, IRCC cannot compel international students to notify the Department if they change DLIs. As a result, IRCC is unable in many cases to confirm student attendance and study permit compliance when a student changes DLIs. When students move between institutions without notification, this risks circumventing the study permit cap which has a negative effect on DLIs.

The main objective of the proposed amendments is to provide IRCC with the appropriate tools to ensure that study permits are issued to those who will be attending genuine DLIs that comply with both federal and provincial requirements and to verify that students are complying with their study permit conditions. Additionally, IRCC requires the proper means to take action against DLIs who fail to comply with the proposed regulations.

Finally, the proposed amendments also seek to allow international students to work four additional hours off campus, raising the maximum to 24 hours per week, to help offset the cost of living in Canada.

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