B.C. implements federal changes for new international students

The Province will begin issuing provincial attestation letters to eligible post-secondary institutions to allow international applicants to apply to study in B.C. as required by the federal department of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC).

The new provincial attestation letter system will be effective as of March 4, 2024. Provincial attestation letters are now required for new study permit applications. The IRCC announced the new requirements on Jan. 22, 2024.

“Our ministry is moving quickly to ensure that we mitigate negative impacts to our post-secondary institutions and that international students have every opportunity to succeed in their education in B.C.,” said Lisa Beare, Minister of Post-Secondary Education and Future Skills. “While we’ve all agreed that the status quo wasn’t working for anyone – not for students, and not for our communities – the federal cap doesn’t take British Columbia’s unique environment into account. We will continue to work with the federal government to ensure any subsequent changes take British Columbia’s needs into consideration so that we can have a made-in-B.C. solution that properly responds to our shared goals.”

The provincial attestation letter is a verification letter that will be sent from the Province to the institution, then from the institution to the international applicant. The letter will serve as proof that the applicant has been accounted for within the maximum set by the federal government. Applicants will submit the attestation letter along with their study permit application. Institutions that use their full allocation will not be able to submit more applications until a new allocation is issued by the federal government for the following year.

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