We are very pleased to share that the Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) has announced changes to travel restrictions that will facilitate the entry of international students into Canada:
- Effective Oct 20, international students,regardless of where they are traveling from or when their study permit was approved, attending a designated learning institution (DLI) that has been identified by their provincial or territorial government as having a COVID-19 readiness plan will be able to enter Canada.
- The list of DLIs with an approved COVID-19 readiness plan in place will be posted on IRCC’s web page for international students affected by COVID-19 restrictionsand updated regularly.
- The travel of asymptomatic international students who have the appropriate documents to enter Canada and whose DLI is on the list of institutions with approved COVID-19 readiness plans in place will be considered to be non-discretionary and non-optional, unless there is evidence that they are clearly coming to Canada for a discretionary or optional purpose, such as tourism.
This announcement is an extremely positive development for colleges and institutes across Canada and reflects our collective efforts to prepare and plan for the safe arrival of international students. As always, we continue to work with IRCC, other government departments and stakeholders to advocate on your behalf.