As new restrictions on international students are introduced, Canada is redoubling its efforts to welcome French-speaking newcomers who will enrich the linguistic, social, cultural, and economic fabric of Francophone minority communities (FMCs).
Marc Miller, minister of immigration, refugees, and citizenship, recently launched the Francophone Minority Communities Student Pilot (FMCSP) program in partnership with designated French-language and bilingual postsecondary learning institutions (DLIs). Minister Miller also announced the addition of ten communities to the Welcoming Francophone Communities (WFC) initiative. The minister made these announcements on the occasion of the Acadian World Congress, in Nova Scotia.
Canada recognizes that large pools of French-speaking international students exist in Africa, the Middle East, and the Americas, and that the study permit approval rate in these regions has been low in the past. The new pilot program is intended to make access to Canada’s International Student Program fairer for a wide range of international students.
The pilot program is a flagship measure of the Policy on Francophone Immigration announced earlier this year and will benefit FMCs by helping them attract and retain international students. To improve the approval rate, students and their families will be exempted from having to demonstrate that they will leave Canada at the end of their temporary stay. In addition, the required financial threshold will be adjusted to reflect 75% of the low-income cut-off associated with the municipality where the institution’s main campus is located.
Pilot program participants will also benefit from a direct pathway from temporary to permanent status after obtaining their diploma, and they will have access to settlement services while they’re studying to help them integrate successfully into their communities. With their proficiency in French and their Canadian education, graduates will be able to contribute to the Canadian labor market and enrich FMCs across the country.
Although an annual cap for most study permit applications was established in January, the FMCSP is not included in the overall cap. Each participating DLI will be allocated a limited number of acceptance letters that can be issued for the purpose of processing study permits under the pilot program.
The maximum number of study permit applications that Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) will accept under the pilot program is 2,300 for the first year. A cap for the second year of the pilot program will be set by August 2025.
“The WFC initiative is an eloquent example of the commitment of Francophone and Acadian communities to the overall success of immigrants.
“Over the past five years, numerous leaders and volunteers have mobilized locally to create new services for French-speaking immigrants. They have set up activities to promote living together and inclusion and have strengthened the attractiveness of our communities with the aim of increasing Francophone immigration,” commented Liane Roy, president of the Fédération des communautés francophones et acadienne du Canada (FCFA).
