Canada Sets Target of Up to 150,000 New International Students a Year Through 2029

The federal government set a target of up to 150,000 new student arrivals a year from 2027 through 2029. The country released the figure alongside its November 5, 2026 budget, extending the student target through a new Immigration Levels Plan.

That number counts arrivals, not applications for study permits. A separate application-processing cap introduced in 2024 limits how many applications IRCC accepts each year.

The plan places student arrivals within a total target of 370,000 new temporary residents annually. It describes the student figure as “up to 150,000 new international students,” leaving room for an intake below that level.

The 150,000 target had already been set for 2027 and 2028 under the previous plan. The new plan carries it into 2029. Its annual figure is below the 155,000 target for 2026.

The target counts new arrivals, not applications

The distinction is between people newly arriving and permit applications entering the processing system. The annual target concerns the first measure. It is not a count of all permits issued in a year.

The application cap, by contrast, controls how many study permit applications the department accepts for processing each year. Extensions are not new arrivals, and applications made from inside the country are also outside the arrivals count.

Recent planning figures illustrate the difference. Under the previous plan, the government expected to issue up to 408,000 study permits in 2026: 155,000 for newly arriving students and 253,000 extensions. Those permit figures do not equal the new-arrival target.

The broader temporary-arrival target is 370,000 a year for 2027, 2028 and 2029. That total includes 220,000 new workers alongside the student figure. Visitors entering with temporary resident visas or electronic travel authorisations are not counted in the student target.

The “up to” wording makes 150,000 a planning ceiling rather than a promise that the full number will arrive. The government has not described it as a fixed intake.

The national figure covers students arriving for longer study

The target applies to foreign nationals coming to study for six months or longer at a designated learning institution approved by a province or territory. It covers arrivals across the country, rather than creating a separate allocation for applicants of any one nationality.

Study permit renewals and in-country applications fall outside the measure because they do not represent new arrivals from abroad. A student already here who extends a permit is therefore distinct from someone arriving to begin studies.

That scope also separates the target from the total student population already living in the country. The figure tracks a planned yearly flow of newcomers, not everyone holding a study permit during that year.

Current permit holders keep their existing conditions

Students already in the country keep the status and conditions attached to permits already issued. The new plan sets future arrival levels; it does not alter those permits.

The 2028 and 2029 figures remain notional and may be confirmed or adjusted by November 1 of the following year. Prospective students and educational institutions can watch for IRCC’s decisions on those targets.