Foreign students were unable to reach Canada after March 18 unless they kept a study permit valid as of that date.

The undated letter is signed by Canada’s immigration minister, Marco Mendicino, and health minister, Patty Hajdu, but asks recipients to respond by Friday July 24, 2020. Under the Constitution of Canada, education falls under jurisdiction of the provinces and territories. Like other nations, Canada does not have a department for foreign education, which ensures that Canada’s policies on international students are distributed through several federal agencies. If the federal government decides to make a decision on foreign students, the provinces and territories are consulted to get its input.

Ministers Mendicino and Hajdu, however, write in their letter that they understand how important international students are to Canada’s learning climate, culture and economy.

As such, they aim to strike a balance between respecting provincial and territorial authority over education, while retaining the unique coronavirus steps taken by Canada to restrict further spread of COVID-19.

To this end, the federal government will provide guidelines on how more foreign students can be accepted into the country. The guidelines detail standards for students, governments, and DLIs in support of this aim.

For example, upon arrival in Canada, students will remain required by law to quarantine for 14 days.

The Ministers Mendicino and Hajdu found information

The two ministers are asking recipients to provide them with a list of details by Friday July 24 to confirm whether their jurisdiction is prepared to host a new cohort of foreign students and members of their immediate family. Immediate families are classified as spouses and partners in common law, dependent children, parents and step-parents, and guardians.

Details requested included:

• A list of DLIs in each jurisdiction approved in compliance with the criteria of public health and business recovery plans for operations and student hosting
• Appropriate place to quarantine (and access to medicines, food, medications and other required aid)
• Students won’t have contact with marginalized people.
• Quarantine accommodation would make it possible to separate physically from current infection prevention management protocols

How does the letter signify?

The letter does not mean automatically that any time soon Canada will exclude more foreign students from its existing travel restrictions. However, it strongly indicates that Canada will continue to implement new exemptions for foreign students as long as this is secure and validated by the respective provinces and territories; they’re ready to accept more international students, as well as DLIs.

Travel restrictions in Canada remain in place until July 31.

Canada is now in a prosperous place where, at least, it can start accepting more international students. It had housed over 640,000 students before the pandemic, adding $22 billion to the economy and creating about 170,000 jobs last year.

Even though students will not be able to come to Canada in the immediate future, they can still benefit from a host of new initiatives in place to help foreign students achieve their Canadian immigration goals.

Canada, for example, has a new two-step study permit process in place that requires students to receive pre-approval for their study permits so they can launch their Canadian programs at a DLI online. They will then be able to come to Canada on the premise that they submit a completed application for study permit that is accepted, and that travel restrictions are lifted for them. Additionally, students can study online and count the time against their eligibility for a Post-Graduation Work Permit (PGWP). Then, the PGWP will help them become eligible for permanent residence in Canada.