第2106期:Why Is Canada Limiting Foreign Students?

Canada recently announced a two-year limit on the number of foreign students given permission to study in the country. The move is partly to ease a growing housing shortage.

加拿大最近宣布对获准在该国学习的外国学生人数实行两年限制。 此举部分是为了缓解日益严重的住房短缺问题。

Reuters news agency recently reported on some of the details of the plan:

路透社最近报道了该计划的一些细节：

Marc Miller is Canada’s immigration minister. Miller said the government led by the Liberal Party of Canada will introduce a temporary, two-year limit on student visas. That will result in about 364,000 student visas in 2024. The government said that is a cut of 35 percent from the year before.

马克·米勒是加拿大移民部长。 米勒表示，加拿大自由党领导的政府将对学生签证实行临时的两年限制。 这将导致 2024 年大约有 364,000 个学生签证。政府表示，这比前一年减少了 35%。

The new proposals will also set limits on postgraduate work permits issued to foreign students. The new limits will likely cause many postgraduate students to return to their home countries.

新提案还将对向外国学生发放的研究生工作许可证设定限制。 新的限制可能会导致许多研究生返回祖国。

The permits were formerly seen as an easy path to securing permanent residency. People in master’s or post-doctoral programs will be eligible for a three-year work permit.

这些许可证以前被视为获得永久居留权的便捷途径。 硕士或博士后课程的人员将有资格获得三年期的工作许可证。

However, people who are married to foreign students in undergraduate and lower-level college programs will no longer be able to receive work permits. The acceptance of new study permit requests in 2025 will be reconsidered at the end of the current year, Miller said.

然而，与本科和较低级别大学课程的外国学生结婚的人将不再能够获得工作许可证。 米勒表示，今年年底将重新考虑是否接受 2025 年新的学习许可申请。

Canada has become a popular place for international students. It has been easy to receive work permits after finishing study programs in the country. But the increase in international students has led to a shortage of rental homes. This has caused the price of rent to go up. In December, the cost of rent nationwide rose 7.7 percent from a year earlier, government data shows.

加拿大已成为国际学生的热门之地。 在该国完成学习课程后很容易获得工作许可。 但国际学生的增加导致出租屋短缺。 这导致租金价格上涨。 政府数据显示，12月份全国租金成本同比上涨7.7%。

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s popularity has decreased partly because of increasing living costs. Opposition Conservative Party leader Pierre Poilievre has taken a lead over Trudeau in public opinion studies. Elections are expected to be held next year.

总理贾斯汀·特鲁多的受欢迎程度下降，部分原因是生活成本增加。 反对党保守党领袖皮埃尔·普利耶夫在民意研究中领先于特鲁多。 预计将于明年举行选举。

The government has also been concerned about the quality of education offered by some schools.

政府还关注一些学校提供的教育质量。

Canada’s government says international students bring in about $16.4 billion to the nation’s economy. The new policy will hurt many colleges and universities.

加拿大政府表示，国际学生为国家经济带来了约 164 亿加元的收入。 新政策将伤害许多高校。

Ontario, the most populous area, or province, has the biggest share of international students. Some businesses, including restaurants and retail industries, have warned that a limit on foreign students will create a shortage of temporary workers.

安大略省是人口最多的地区或省，拥有最大比例的国际学生。 包括餐馆和零售业在内的一些企业警告说，对外国学生的限制将导致临时工短缺。

For example, restaurants across Canada are dealing with a worker shortage. It is estimated there are nearly 100,000 available jobs. International students made up 4.6 percent of the 1.1 million workers in the food service industry in 2023, an unnamed industry group told Reuters.

例如，加拿大各地的餐馆都面临着工人短缺的问题。 据估计，有近10万个就业岗位。 一个未透露姓名的行业组织告诉路透社，到 2023 年，食品服务行业的 110 万从业人员中，国际学生占 4.6%。

Canadian banks will gain from the new rules for international students. Each student will be required to have a Guaranteed Investment Certificates (GIC) of more than $15,000. The amount is required for international students to be able to cover living costs. The new GIC is more than double the amount from the earlier policy.

加拿大银行将从针对国际学生的新规则中受益。 每个学生都需要拥有超过 15,000 美元的担保投资证书 (GIC)。 国际学生需要这笔金额才能支付生活费用。 新的 GIC 金额是之前保单的两倍多。

Many of Canada’s foreign students, about 40 percent, come from India. China coming in second with about 12 percent, official data from 2022 shows.

加拿大的许多外国学生（约 40%）来自印度。 2022 年的官方数据显示，中国以约 12% 的比例位居第二。