Leading indicators are essential tools for navigating the dynamic landscape of international education. In addition to leveraging historical visa data, forward-thinking recruitment teams use search trends and sentiment analysis to understand where prospective students want to study. This real-time visibility is especially critical as evolving political rhetoric reshapes the global appeal of major anglophone destinations. In the United States, these shifting dynamics have contributed to an environment of softened demand.

However, while overall demand may have fallen, targeted opportunities remain strong for institutions willing to adapt. Today, we鈥檒l look at external search query trends, student sentiment surveys, and 老九品茶鈥檚 proprietary platform data to better understand prospective students鈥� evolving preferences. By considering these factors, American institutions can align their outreach with the current interests of diverse student populations and support students effectively as they begin their studies in the US.

Most Major Anglophone Destinations Facing Demand Issues in 2026

Heading into 2026, international student demand has softened nearly across the board for major anglophone destinations:

We project that the US granted around 270,000 F-1 student visas in the calendar year 2025.² This would represent a year-over-year decline of 31%, and would be 39% below the post-pandemic peak in 2023. Calendar year data has not been updated past September 2025, hence why these figures are only a projection.³

But the US is not alone in seeing lower levels of demand from future international students. New student visa issuances were down 65% and 12% year-over-year in Canada and Australia, respectively, in 2025. Meanwhile, the UK鈥檚 stability over the full-year masks concerning application declines across Q4 2025 as well as the early months of 2026.⁴

Shifting political rhetoric and policies have contributed to declining demand in all four destinations. The US鈥� strong academic and research history, as well as its highly attractive STEM OPT offerings, have likely helped mitigate greater potential losses to date. Still, with the 鈥攗p from 7.3 million in 2024鈥攂y the end of the decade, American institutions will require strategic outreach efforts to continue attracting top talent from around the world.

Search Trends and Surveys Reflect International Student Uncertainty About the US in 2026

Search trends are one of the most powerful leading indicators available to our sector for determining what and where prospective students want to study. Google鈥檚 search analysis tools show that the popularity of the US has been declining since early 2025:

We’ve used these tools to calculate the popularity score, which compares the proportion of 鈥淪tudy in x鈥� searches for the US, the UK, Canada, Australia, and Germany. The US accounted for just 12% of these search results in April 2025, down by a third from where it was throughout most of 2024.

Google search trends show increased popularity for European destinations like the UK and Germany since the start of 2025.

 
Still, the US’ declining popularity within the Google search trends is corroborated with trends elsewhere, such as in 老九品茶鈥檚 Spring 2026 Student Pulse Survey:

The survey found that 45% of students indicated they were 鈥渆xtremely鈥� interested in studying in the US. This high enthusiasm secured the US鈥檚 position as the second most popular destination overall, though this response also marked a drop of 13 percentage points among respondents compared to the prior year’s survey. The Spring 2026 survey also revealed a growing hesitation among potential students, with the share of respondents showing zero interest in the US growing from 8% to 16% year-over-year.

Our survey also asked students how government and policy updates have influenced their study abroad plans, and 21% stated their interest in the US fell specifically because of these factors. This was a significant jump from just 8% the year before.

Leveraging leading indicators like search trends and survey results gives institutions insight into how prospective student demand is changing. Rather than waiting for application numbers to roll in or for the US government to release up-to-date visa data, these tools and data points can empower decision makers to strategize and respond to real-time shifts in student sentiment.

Health Sciences Capturing Larger Share of Searches on the 老九品茶 Platform

老九品茶鈥檚 proprietary search data is another leading indicator of prospective students鈥� preference changes. Since its inception, the 老九品茶 platform has helped over 1.5 million students during their international study journey. For many, the first step towards becoming an international student is the search bar, and our team is proud to empower students鈥� connection with programs and destinations which suit their academic goals.

Our internal data shows how interest in different broad fields of study has shifted over time. One notable trend is that the popularity of health programs has steadily risen among students considering the US:

In 2026 (January through May), 15% of all searches for programs in the US on the 老九品茶 platform were for health programs. This was an increase of five percentage points from full-year 2023.

This uptick in interest coincides with rising demand for healthcare workers in the US. Over the next decade, the National Center for Health Workforce Analysis projects that (all full-time equivalents). Additionally, as soon as 2030, in health care settings.

The graphic below allows you to see how study preferences changed among some of the US鈥檚 largest student populations from 2023 to 2026 (January through May):

Students from African countries tend to have proportionally higher interest in health programs than those from other regions. Health programs accounted for 20% or more of searches from Nigerian, Ghanaian, and Kenyan students during the first five months of 2026. The field鈥檚 share of searches grew by at least five percentage points among each of these student populations compared to 2023.

Meanwhile, engineering and technology programs continue to be popular among students from South Asia. These programs captured at least 20% of searches by students from Bangladesh, India, Nepal, and Pakistan in 2026 (January through May). However, the relative popularity of these programs was either the same or lower than it was in 2023, with health programs seeing a higher proportional share of searches among these students so far this year.

Leveraging Data and Leading Indicators for Strategic Planning in 2026

Recognizing which student populations are drawn to specific fields allows institutions to refine their international outreach strategy. American healthcare shortages present a clear opportunity to align program marketing with practical workforce needs. Focusing on these high-need areas is one way that institutions can suggest compelling career trajectories for prospective students.

However, providing these trajectories in an environment of softened demand also requires deep awareness of global trends and intentional student support. The 老九品茶 platform equips American academic institutions with the proprietary search data needed to match incoming student populations with the right programs for their dynamic study preferences. By leveraging real-time insights, recruitment teams can guide students toward fields that align with both their ambitions and the realities of the global workforce.

Connecting applicants with these tangible outcomes is essential for building resilient, diverse campuses. Connect with our Commercial Partnerships Team to discuss how leading indicators can strengthen your recruitment strategy. Together, we can help international students navigate this shifted landscape and successfully begin their studies in the US.

About the ApplyInsights Team

FOOTNOTES:

1. Here, Google search results compared the proportion of 鈥淪tudy in x鈥� searches, with results calculated for the US, the UK, Canada, Australia, and Germany.

2. All US student visa data used in this report is sourced from the .

3. Our forecast combines the January鈥揝eptember actual data with historical October鈥揇ecember trends.

4. Data courtesy of , , and .

The post How Has International Student Demand Softened for the US in 2026? appeared first on 老九品茶.

The process of becoming an international student is always a balancing act. Students, and the advisors who support them, weigh program availability, affordability, graduate outcomes, destination culture, and more when deciding where to study. To better understand which factors are pivotal to the current cohort of international students, and how students perceive top study destinations, the 老九品茶 team sent out the eighth edition of our Student Pulse Survey earlier this spring.

Over the Spring 2026 survey period, nearly 300 future students shared their insights on everything from how affordability was affecting their study abroad plans to which destinations were top-of-mind.¹ We’re grateful to all the students who responded鈥攊f you participated, thank you!

Below, we’ll explore what the survey results indicated about popular post-study plans, current interest levels in different programs, student perceptions of top destinations, and more.

Growing Interest in Undergraduate Programs

In the Spring 2026 Student Pulse Survey results, 40% of respondents expressed interest in undergraduate degree programs.³ That’s an increase of almost 15 percentage points over the results from each of the previous three surveys:⁴

It’s possible that the survey cohort this round is at an earlier stage in their academic journey, but this change remains a notable shift in interest toward undergraduate degrees, and is one our team will monitor when this survey repeats in the fall.

Meanwhile, for the second consecutive Student Pulse Survey, interest in postgraduate programs declined. Among the surveyed students, interest in pursuing a master’s degree dropped by 11 percentage points compared to Spring 2025 levels. The proportion of students interested in postgraduate certificates or diplomas also dipped鈥攂y six percentage points鈥攁nd interest in doctoral programs was eight percentage points lower than it was in last spring’s survey results.

While there’s no single reason for this shift, it may reflect how viable the next cohort of potential students think pursuing postgraduate study abroad will be. Over the past few years, several of the top study destinations have made pursuing this level of study more challenging, whether by limiting which students are eligible to bring dependents (older postgraduate students are more likely to have partners or children), shifting the parameters of post-study work opportunities, or proposing limits to overall student visa duration.

Canada Remains a Top Study Destination Among Surveyed Students

We also asked students to share how interested they were in a range of popular study destinations. This spring, Canada kept its position at the top of students’ lists:

While government policies and other factors continue to affect student mobility, it’s encouraging to see that student interest levels in Canada remain high. 81% of respondents expressed they were either “very” or “extremely” interested in studying in Canada, up from 77% in the Spring 2025 survey. This improvement suggests that, at least among this cohort, the negative impacts on Canada’s international education brand may be softening.

The US captured the next highest level of extremely interested students (45%). However, this proportion was down by 13 percentage points compared to our survey findings from a year ago. The proportion of students who were “not at all” interested in the US also doubled (from 8% to 16%) over the same timeframe. This shift in sentiment extended to a separate question, where we asked students how their interest in studying abroad in different countries was affected by government or policy changes. The percentage of students who noted their interest in the US had “greatly decreased” due to these factors was 21%,⁵ rising from 8% a year ago.

Looking across the pond, the UK received the second-highest amount of strong interest from our survey respondents.⁶ In fact, student interest in both the UK and Ireland strengthened compared to the previous survey results. Strong interest in Ireland allowed the destination to jump from sixth place to fourth in Spring 2026 among 老九品茶’s study destinations, up nine percentage points compared to Fall 2025 results.

Interest in Study Destinations Diversified in Early 2026

When we asked where future students wanted to study, fewer were focused on established destinations than in either of our 2025 Student Pulse Surveys. In fact, for the first time in four survey iterations, under 60% of respondents were solely interested in studying in one or more of the following destinations: Australia, Canada, Germany, Ireland, the UK, and the US. The 58% of students solely focused on the destinations listed above dropped by seven percentage points from our Spring 2025 survey results.

When we asked where else students were thinking of studying, our team also found that interest levels were more evenly divided between destinations, versus being focused on a handful of popular emerging options, which had been the case in past Student Pulse Surveys. In the Spring 2026 Pulse Survey, students shared 58 different destinations they were interested in, and no single destination was mentioned by more than 6% of respondents:

This spring, Italy and the Netherlands captured the most interest from prospective students. The high levels of interest in these destinations mirrored the results from our survey of student advisors earlier this spring. Unlike the advisor survey results for this question, which were more Eurocentric,⁷ students cited more African and Asian study destinations in their write-in answers.

Students Gravitating Toward Programs with Clearer Ties to Industry Needs

Business programs remained the most popular subject among future international students, and were included in 34% of students’ responses. However, these programs’ lead has shrunk compared to previous surveys:

This spring, interest in a number of fields other than business expanded. 26% of respondents shared they were interested in math, computer science, and IT programs, rising nearly three percentage points compared to the Fall 2025 survey. Math and IT remained the second-most popular field of study among respondents, and started to catch up to business’ lead.

Social sciences programs, fine arts programs, engineering programs, and health programs all captured more interest, each rising by 3 percentage points versus the previous survey. There’s a lot of diversity among these fields, but something they have in common is that several of the disciplines within them are more resilient in the face of automation. As this newest generation of students comes of age in an era with widespread corporate layoffs and massive investment in artificial intelligence, they’re witnessing how this workplace shift disproportionately decreases the number of entry-level positions.⁸ As such, it’s likely some future students are shifting their focus to fields where they can more feasibly build a career after graduation.

Over the last few decades, institutions have built more work-integrated learning opportunities into post-secondary programs. Learn more about how work-integrated learning is supporting Canada’s evolving labour market.

Build Your International Student Strategy with 老九品茶

The Student Pulse Survey lets us see what future international students are thinking, and where they see opportunity and challenge alike on their horizon. If you’re looking for more in-depth sector analysis, check out the 2026 老九品茶 Trends Report, and stay tuned for its next edition in November. Every year, we take a look at how our sector is evolving, and share strategies to help your team prepare for a constantly shifting landscape.

If you’re part of an institution which is interested in developing your international recruitment strategy, 老九品茶’s sector insights, real-time dashboards, and global partner network can help you reach diverse student audiences. Ready to get started? Contact our Commercial Partnerships team today.

About the ApplyInsights Team

FOOTNOTES:

1. The Spring 2026 老九品茶 Student Pulse Survey ran between April 22 and May 6, 2026. It received 279 responses from 56 different international student populations.

2. Australia, Canada, Germany, Ireland, the United Kingdom, and the United States.

3. Students could select one or more study levels they’re interested in pursuing in their answer to this question. This is why the percentages don’t add up to 100.

4. 24% of respondents noted they were interested in pursuing an undergraduate degree in the Fall 2025 Student Pulse Survey. In the Spring 2025 and Fall 2024 surveys, that percentage was 25%.

5. This also represented the largest proportion of students disinterested in any of the Big Four destinations: in the Spring 2026 Student Pulse Survey, only 6% of respondents were disinterested in the UK, 5% in Canada, and just 3% had no interest in Australia.

6. Here, “strong interest” captures students who were either “very” or “extremely” interested in the destination.

7. 8 of the 10 most popular destinations cited in the Spring 2026 Recruitment Pulse Survey were European.

8. Forbes, “.” August 15, 2025.

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Several metrics show that student demand for an international education is stronger than ever: some recent projections suggest that by 2030, as many as 9 million international students will be enrolled worldwide.¹ Studying abroad is a life-changing experience, both for individual students and the campuses they’re part of.

Earlier this spring, the 老九品茶 team surveyed our global network of international student advisors. We heard from over 450 advisors, who were supporting students from 45 nationalities, on everything from which destinations their students preferred to how student motivations were evolving. They also shared how shifts in popular study destinations were affecting students’ decision-making processes. Before we dive into the analysis, a heartfelt thank you to everyone who participated in the 老九品茶 Pulse Survey. Your insights help us better understand our sector and support the next generation of learners.

To illustrate how student choices have changed, we’ve presented the most recent survey data along with surveys from 2023 through 2025.

Proportion of Advisors Reporting Uptick in Student Interest Climbs

This spring, we asked international student advisors to answer 11 questions about the trends they’ve observed among the students they support.³ For the first time since Fall 2023, over 50% of respondents shared they were working with more students than in the previous quarter:

A full quarter of respondents reported they were working with a significantly larger number of students this quarter versus the previous one. This was ten percentage points higher than the proportion of respondents who answered this way in Spring 2024.

It’s encouraging to see the trend of strengthening demand continue year-over-year. Hearing from our advisors that they’re working with more students also grounds the projections of a global student body which is expected to grow through 2030; now, these estimates start to feel more real. The growing numbers also speak to international students’ resilience and determination. Despite the challenges that come with studying in a foreign country and added economic and geopolitical uncertainty, millions of young learners remain motivated to gain a world-class education.

Student Advisors Perceive the UK as the Most Welcoming and Attractive Study Destination

When gauging which destination future students find most attractive, it was almost a photo finish between the UK and Canada this spring:

The difference in opinion came down to a third of a percentage point: 83.6% of respondents found the UK was an attractive study destination to Canada’s 83.3%. And, where sentiment around the UK has remained relatively stable over the last three surveys, Canada’s attractiveness improved by 12 percentage points versus spring 2025. This is a hopeful sign for Canadian institutions that, as they prepare for 2026 and 2027 intakes, more international students are seriously considering Canada.

Future students’ level of interest in Australia remained fairly constant, tipping up three percentage points from 66% attractiveness in Fall 2025 to 69%. However, it rose to the third spot in part due to students’ shifting sentiment about the US. In the previous Pulse Survey, 67% of respondents said their students thought the US was an attractive destination, but this spring, that percentage dropped to 56%. And, while a higher proportion of students still found the US a very attractive destination (24%) versus Germany (20%), because more students generally thought Germany was an attractive option, it also climbed past the US to rank fourth.

Return on Investment Perceived as Strongest Among Australian Grads

When gauging graduate engagement and return on academic investment, Australia received the highest marks among Pulse Survey respondents this spring:

55% of respondents strongly agreed that international students in Australia were likely to find good jobs and become successful after graduation. That’s 12 percentage points higher than the next destination (Canada, at 43%).

Student advisors are least confident in international graduates’ outcomes from Irish institutions when strongly agreeing (29%). However, a further 45% just agreed, which means that the total proportion of respondents who agreed international graduates from Irish institutions were successful was 74%. This is actually higher than the proportion who agreed with this statement for UK-based international grads (69%).

Nearly worldwide, youth unemployment is in the news, whether in regards to reductions in entry-level roles or heightened competition for graduate-level jobs. While academic institutions can’t change the headlines, they can illustrate how their institution builds the practical and interpersonal skills students need to get the job and thrive in the workplace itself. Effective strategies vary by institution, but highlighting outcomes from work-integrated learning opportunities or sharing relatable examples of alumni success can help to address students’ and advisors’ uncertainty.

All Destinations Seen as More Welcoming of Students in Spring 2026

Overall, in the most recent Pulse Survey, a higher proportion of advisors shared that the study destinations in our survey were perceived as open, safe, and welcoming to students than in Fall 2025:

While the UK remained the most welcoming destination, positive perception of Canada also climbed to just 0.3 percentage points lower than the UK’s approval score of 87.6%.⁴ Compared to last fall, not only were all six study destinations perceived as more welcoming this spring, but the variance between the top five destinations also shrunk.

At the other end of the scale, respondents’ perception of their students’ safety in the United States remained well below 2023 and 2024 levels. Factors including ongoing immigration policy changes, the US’ involvement in geopolitical conflicts, and higher levels of polarized rhetoric all likely contribute to this changing perception. In a separate question, 36% of respondents noted that government and policy changes had prompted much less interest in the US among their students, nearly twenty percentage points higher than the next destination (Canada, at 17%).

Affordability, Career Growth, and Safety Drive Student Destination Choices

While safety and welcomeness are intangible concepts, they have tangible effects on future students’ decisions. Half of respondents shared that feeling welcome in a study destination ranked among their students’ top five priorities when choosing where to study:

This change is remarkable, as the proportion of respondents who selected it among their top five choices has doubled year-over-year.

However, the overall cost of studying remained most likely to influence students’ study destination choice. Over 90% of respondents noted it was highly likely to shape where their students were applying to. The other top reasons also tied in to affordability, both directly (cost of living) and indirectly (the ability to work while studying, or pursue full-time work after graduation). Respondents reinforced this finding throughout the survey, including when we asked about where future students were hoping to go.

European Destinations Remain Top-of-Mind for Future Students

老九品茶 is proud to support students headed to Australia, Canada, Germany, Ireland, the United Kingdom, and the United States. And, by levels of student inflows, these are some of the world’s most popular study destinations. However, it’s also important to understand the breadth of options students are considering.

When we asked respondents where else their students were thinking of studying, they shared over 50 destinations:

New Zealand was the most popular emerging study destination for the second consecutive survey, and was included in 28% of all responses. It received a similar proportion of votes in the previous survey. New Zealand’s international student community is smaller compared to the Big Four anglophone destinations. Nation-wide, international enrolments in tertiary education grew to just under 60,000 students in 2025,⁵ slightly less than the international student population in the American state of Illinois.⁶ However, since the pandemic-era lows in 2020 and 2021, this cohort in New Zealand has grown steadily. In 2025, international enrolments in tertiary studies went up 15% year-over-year, but has not yet exceeded pre-COVID totals. Still, the growing yearly count and the strong level of interest in New Zealand in our survey suggests that this study destination’s international student cohort is likely to recover fully by next year.

Meanwhile, France was the second-most commonly cited emerging destination with 24% of responses, and Spain climbed from fifth place in Fall 2025 to take the third position. Spain was cited by 20% of respondents (up 3 percentage points versus Fall 2025). European destinations composed 8 of the 10 most popular alternative destinations, a similar proportion to previous surveys. Further, 15% of respondents included some variant on Europe as a region, or the more specific Schengen Area, in their answer.

Finland and Italy tied as the fourth most popular emerging destination, both capturing 19% of responses. However, compared to the previous Pulse Survey, the interest levels in these destinations had different momentum. Interest in Finland remained steady, but the proportional interest in Italy jumped by seven percentage points versus Fall 2025. International enrolments are rising in Italy every year, supported by measures like a growing number of university-level programmes taught in English (this measure is also true of France, and may help to explain the steady, high levels of interest in both countries).⁷ Italy’s growing number of highly ranked academic institutions, the country’s strong cultural cachet, and social visibility among students thanks to the recent Winter Olympics may be further contributing factors.

Japan (appearing in 9% of responses) was the most popular among Asian study destinations. It was also the tenth most popular option overall. The proportion of respondents whose students were considering Japan also grew by three percentage points versus the Fall 2025 survey. This growing interest aligns with an international student population which is also growing quickly: July 2025 statistics from the Japanese Immigration Services Agency note that the number of people with a student residence status grew by just over 33,000 year-over-year to 435,000.⁸

Building Institutional Strategy with 老九品茶

Thanks to the feedback from international recruitment advisors worldwide, the 老九品茶 Pulse Survey is a vital check-in on our sector. It offers helpful insights into how future students are making key decisions, and what advisors across the sector are hearing.

If you’re part of an institution that wants to level up its international recruitment strategy, we can help drive your success. Whether you’re looking for data-driven insights from our platform, or to connect with advisors at engaging webinars or our signature TRW event, 老九品茶 is constantly developing opportunities for institutions to respond to student needs.

To connect with our market insights, real-time platform data, and global partnership network, reach out to our Commercial Partnerships team.

About the ApplyInsights Team

FOOTNOTES:

1. ICEF Monitor, “.” Sept. 17, 2025.

2. Australia, Canada, Germany, Ireland, the United Kingdom, and the United States.

3. The Spring 2026 老九品茶 Pulse Survey ran between April 8 and April 22, 2026. It received 447 responses from international student advisors in 45 markets.

4. Here, approval score refers to survey participants who agreed or strongly agreed that the country in question was open, safe, and welcoming to international students.

5. Education Counts, New Zealand Government, “.” Updated March 2026.

6.听IIE, Open Doors 鈥� “.” November 17, 2025.

7. ICEF Monitor, “.” Jan. 28, 2026.

8. Immigration Services Agency, “.”听 Accessed May 5, 2026.

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As our team reported earlier this month, the number of new Canadian study permits approved for post-secondary students fell 64% in 2025. What that headline number did not show was the uneven shape of the year, and the uneven study permit¹ approval rates across different study levels and fields of study. For example, when we look at full-year 2025 data, new post-secondary study permit approval rates ranged from under 11% for vocational students to nearly 79% for doctorate programs.²

Post-Secondary Study Permit Approval Rates Varied Considerably in 2025

The approval rate for post-secondary study permits in 2025 did not follow a linear trajectory. That said, the rising approval rates through the first half of the year looks similar to how approval rates evolved through early 2023, albeit at a much lower average approval rate:

In 2025, new study permit approval rates began the year at just 22%, climbed steadily through the spring and early summer, spiked at 56% in August, and then averaged in the low 30s from September through December. Ultimately, the full-year 2025 visa approval rate for new post-secondary applicants was 36%. This is considerably lower than the full-year approval rate in 2024, which was 45%, and over twenty percentage points lower than 2023’s study permit approval rate for this cohort (58%).

The H1 2025 lift in approval rates reversed in the fall and winter, and ended up looking similar to Q4 2024 averages. This dip in approval rates late in the year is important, as the first eight months of 2025 suggested a return to higher approval rates that the full year didn’t deliver. That said, post-secondary study permit approval rates in December 2025 were five percentage points higher than they were in December 2024, and this improvement has continued into 2026. For example, January 2026’s study permit approval rate was 32%, compared to 22% in January 2024, marking a strong positive change of 10 percentage points year-over-year.

If we treat the approval rate spike in August 2025 as an anomaly, the delta between July and September 2025’s study permit approval rates is only 10 percentage points. This difference fits between the July-August dip in 2023 (a 6 percentage point drop) and the August-September dip in 2024 (down 13 percentage points). This suggests that the study permit approval rate may continue to stabilize, versus the downward trajectory we saw in 2024. Forward-looking academic institutions can use this stabilization as a foundation to build more targeted 2026 recruitment strategies.

Program Level Was a Defining Divider

The variance among study permit approval rates by level of study widened sharply in 2025. Approval rates for new Canadian study permits at the post-secondary level ranged from 11% for students applying to vocational programs to 52% for university undergraduate programs in 2025. College (27%) and postgraduate university programs (47%) approval rates landed in the middle of this range.³

These evolving study permit approval rates also influenced the overall proportion of study permit approvals issued to students enrolled in different post-secondary study levels:

The composition of the post-secondary study permit approval pool shifted materially between 2022 and 2025. Degree-granting programs saw their proportion of study permit approvals improve over 2024, where the proportion of approvals to students entering college and vocational programs shrank year-over-year. From 2022 through 2023, students entering college programs accounted for roughly two out of every three new post-secondary visa approvals. By 2025, applicants to college, university – undergraduate, and university – postgraduate programs each held between one-quarter and one-third of the visa approvals.

This rebalancing highlights a clear signal鈥擟anada’s international student cap and the federal focus on programs tied to long-term economic contribution have contributed to the assessment of program fit during the study permit application process. In many cases, student visa applications with a clearer path to graduate study, or recognized long-term labour market outcomes were approved more consistently. Meanwhile, study permit applications to shorter post-secondary programs were approved less often.

Proportion of Study Permit Approvals to Business Students Dipped in 2025

The proportion of study permit approvals received by applicants to different fields of study also changed notably in 2025:

The proportion of visa approvals to Business, Management, and Economics applicants declined the most in 2025. After holding between 46% and 48% of post-secondary approvals from 2022 to 2024, Business study permit applicants received only 27% of approvals in 2025, and had an overall study permit approval rate of 31%. The compression was concentrated in the Business Management and the Marketing and Business Commerce sub-fields, which are the largest sub-fields in this field of study.

Engineering and Technology strengthened as the rest of the pool contracted. Engineering held roughly a quarter of approvals through 2022, 2023, and 2024, then rose to 29% in 2025. However, its gain didn’t come from volume expansion. Visa approval rates fell across most fields in 2025, but Engineering and Technology fell less steeply, from 44% in 2024 to 36% in 2025, so its share of the smaller pool of approvals grew accordingly. Computing and IT, Applied Sciences, and Architecture were the sub-fields within Engineering and Technology that held their weight most durably.

Meanwhile, the Arts, Humanities, and Social Science field roughly doubled their share of visa approvals. The Arts bucket moved from 10% of approvals in 2024 to 20% in 2025. As with engineering and technology, this is indicative of these fields’ study permit approval rate resilience. The total number of post-secondary student visa approvals fell sharply year-over-year, which meant applicants to fields with steadier approval rates received a larger proportion of total approvals. Because applicants to Arts, Humanities, and Social Science programs had an average approval rate of 48%,⁴ which was closer to 2023 levels than most other fields, their share of study permit approvals in 2025 reflected that durability.

Science program applicants benefitted from the steadiest visa approval rates, remaining stable year-over-year at 56%. The Sciences bucket grew from roughly 1% of student visa approvals in 2022 to 8% in 2025. As such, institutions with meaningful program depth in general sciences entered 2026 on firmer ground than most of the sector. General Sciences and Agriculture program applicants were approved at rates well above the post-secondary average in every year noted above.

The proportion of approvals to students in Health Sciences and Medicine programs held roughly flat year-over-year, lifting from 9% to 11%. Biomedical and Medicine sub-fields had similar approval rates to 2024, while the larger Health Sciences sub-field fell. Overall, the 2025 study permit approval rate for Health Sciences and Medicine was 31%.

Lastly, students entering Trades and Vocational programs received less than 3% of study permit approvals between 2022 and 2025. This field had the lowest study permit approval rate of any field in 2025, at 19%.

The 2025 data shows that last year, students applying to university programs and scientific fields had a clear advantage when it came to applying for a study permit. In contrast, applying to business credentials or shorter programs was less likely to be successful. While not prescriptive, this shift aligns with Canada’s physical economy needs, particularly in the sectors that sustained strong study permit approval rates. For instance, the health care and social assistance sector saw a 49% increase in job vacancies versus 2019. This highlights an opportunity for institutions to more closely align international student interest with demand for talent in such priority sectors.

Clear Academic Pathways Lead to Successful Student Recruitment Outcomes

The 2025 study permit data also reinforces that applicants with a clear academic path are more likely to receive study permit approvals. Applicants with a chosen program which continued their prior study or career history had higher success rates. For example, a master’s after a bachelor’s is a clear path. As we noted in a recent webinar, the applicants with the highest approval rates are those whose Statement of Purpose makes the link between their study history, their work history, and their chosen program explicit.

This serves as a strategic blueprint for institutions looking to optimize their enrolment outcomes. By focusing on applicants who are aligned with program demand and long-term labour market needs, institutions can proactively refine their portfolio weighting to prioritize those credentials鈥攕uch as university degrees and applied sciences鈥攖hat have historically stronger approval rates.

This trend requires institutions to apply the same outcomes-focused scrutiny upstream: identifying and guiding applicants toward programs where their documented trajectory is strongest. 老九品茶 facilitates this strategic alignment, leveraging proprietary data to surface essential profile-to-program fit signals earlier in the funnel. Curious about how our team can support your institution’s international recruitment strategies? Reach out to our Commercial Partnerships team today.

About the ApplyInsights Team

FOOTNOTES:

1. The terms student visa and study permit are generally used interchangeably for Canadian international students. Rather than student visas, Canada provides accepted international students with study permits, which allow those students to enrol in classes at Canadian institutions. When a student is accepted for a study permit, they are also usually provided with a visitor visa, which allows that student to enter Canada for their studies. In this article, we鈥檒l use the terms interchangeably.

2. All data is sourced from (IRCC) unless otherwise noted.

3. Figures reflect IRCC operational data extracted March 23, 2026, and are subject to minor revision.

4. For the study permit approval rate for Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences, we have combined the study permit approvals for the Arts and the Law, Politics, Social, and Teaching sectors.

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As Canada’s demographic ratio shifts, international students will continue to provide a valuable solution to labor gaps that domestic talent alone cannot fill. This is both true during their studies, through work-integrated learning (WIL) experiences like internships, practicums, and co-ops, and after they graduate.听

Over the last few decades, building WIL into post-secondary coursework has become more popular. Among its other benefits, students gain hands-on experience in their field, and connect with Canadian organizations who can grow thanks to their skills. The advantages of completing a co-op or internship extend beyond graduation: in both college- and university-level programs, students who completed formal work experience are more likely to find work related to their major as their first job after graduating, and, on average, earn a higher income than students whose programs didn’t include WIL.¹

Total Job Vacancies Drop Year-Over-Year in Early 2026

In January 2026, there were just over 492,000 job vacancies across Canada. This marked a drop of 7% year-over-year, and was 10% lower than in January 2019:

Although current job vacancy rates represent a cooling from the highs of recent years, they also reflect a return to a pre-pandemic baseline. This shift underscores the renewed necessity for institutions to guide students toward highly targeted disciplines and strengthen industry connections to prepare students for careers in their field after graduation.

Encouraging Policy Signals Emerge Around Addressing Youth Unemployment

Careful program guidance and career-ready skillbuilding are especially important tasks as young workers continue to have greater challenges around finding work. The unemployment rate among youth between 15 and 24 is historically higher than the collective rate, averaging around 14%.² While the overall unemployment rate was 6.7% in March 2026, the youth unemployment rate was just under the historical average at 13.8%.³ The youth unemployment rate remained relatively stable YOY, but was one percentage point lower than the recent high in September 2025, and well below May 2020’s historic high of 29.4%.听

To prevent youth unemployment from rising, it’s encouraging to hear about recent measures to support Canada’s newest workers. In April 2026, the Canadian government shared that the would expand, adding 55,000 new WIL opportunities for post-secondary students in their field.⁴ The government also announced that the program was expanding, and the Youth Employment and Skills Strategy would also offer thousands of work experience opportunities nationwide.听

While some of these initiatives aren’t open to international students, expanding these programs means more co-ops and entry-level jobs exist, which in turn improve international students’ chances of securing other WIL opportunities or part-time work.

Job Vacancies Rise Across Several Sectors Versus Pre-Pandemic Levels

Next, let’s look at how job vacancies across specific sectors of the Canadian workforce have evolved in early 2026:

While total job vacancies across several sectors have contracted since 2019, there are two exceptions. Both health care and social assistance (up 49%) and educational services (+34%) had more job vacancies in January 2026. This growth is a hopeful signal for new graduates, particularly in the health care and social assistance sector, which looked to fill 93,000 job vacancies across Canada earlier this year.

Year-over-year, early 2026 marked moderately increased needs for skilled workers in educational services (+5%), information and cultural services (+3%), financial services (+14%), and professional, scientific, and technical fields (+6%) compared with vacancies in January 2025. This translates into potentially more job opportunities for new grads from these fields.

Lastly, although job vacancies in 2026 were below 2025 and 2019 levels in the skilled trades, the need for new tradespeople remains strong. Over 100,000 trades jobs were vacant across Canada in January 2026, spread across the utilities, construction, manufacturing, and transportation and warehousing 蝉别肠迟辞谤蝉.听

Skilled trades can be more challenging fields for international students to pursue. This is in part due to related policy guidelines, and the combined financial constraints of higher international tuition levels and the apprenticeship period, where many apprentices are reluctant to take a pay cut to attend the (unpaid) training required to progress. Meanwhile, some early-stage apprentices struggle to find employers to sponsor them during their work placements.听⁵

Ensuring more students enter and complete their trades training requires sustained collaboration between governments, industry, and academic institutions. Complimentary strategies could include industry-academic partnerships which teach more current tradespeople how to mentor apprentices, and building apprenticeship training requirements into new building projects. Some sector leaders also suggest recalibrating the ratio of journeypersons to apprentices: increasing the number of apprentices a journeyperson can supervise gives more youth the hands-on experience they need.听

Canada鈥檚 Workforce Needs in 2030 and Beyond

As Canada’s workforce ages, international students will remain a key element of the nation’s ongoing economic and cultural prosperity:

A thriving economy relies on new perspectives to drive innovation and build infrastructure. After graduation, international students bring diverse outlooks and current skillsets to their employers, whether they return to their country of citizenship or pursue a career in Canada or a third country. Among those who choose to stay in Canada, many new grads benefit from understanding how Canadian workplaces operate, having worked part-time while studying.听

An older workforce will also shift how Canadians live and work together. In 2010, 14% of Canada’s population was 65 or older. . By 2040, it’s projected at least 24% of Canada’s population will be over 65. When nearly one in four Canadians is retirement-aged, it will fundamentally alter service provision, industry capacity, and even personal capacity, as working Canadians balance their jobs with caring for aging parents. International education enables Canadian institutions to train a broader group of the next generation of skilled workers, and immigration in a broader sense is a vital avenue to ensuring that the Canadian public and private sectors continue to function.

Sector-Specific Projections Illustrate Workplace Gaps

Canada’s aging workforce is top-of-mind for construction industry leaders. In Ontario alone, over 90,000 workers are projected to retire by 2034.⁶ Looking westward, retirements in Alberta are projected to exceed 43,000 over the same timeframe.⁷ However, retirement numbers don’t tell the whole story: as demand for construction projects grows, companies must replace retiring workers and hire for new roles. Across Alberta, projections by BuildForce Canada suggest that as many as 59,000 new construction workers may be needed by 2034. In Ontario, hiring requirements may exceed 154,000 vacancies. While supply chain challenges and evolving trade conditions may shift these numbers, the need for construction workers to build and maintain Canadians’ homes, businesses, and infrastructure remains constant.

Across the health care and social assistance sector, the average annual growth in the projected workforce supply is expected to range from 1.1% for pharmacists up to 4.1% for nurse practitioners through 2034. That growth is slower than required, perhaps most starkly illustrated by Canada’s ongoing need for family practitioners: a 2025 Health Canada study found that across Canada, 49% more family doctors were needed than exist in the current supply.⁸ Nursing roles also face labour shortages through the 2030s. Ontario alone is projected to need 33,000 more nurses and 50,000 new personal support workers by 2032.⁹ And, as Canada’s largest group of regulated health professionals, nurses’ absence affects the capacity of diverse medical teams. More nurse practitioner programs have been recently added to Canadian institutions, and more are planned, to help address this shortage.

Strong partnerships between academic institutions and healthcare organizations can bridge these talent gaps, whether through WIL, mentorship, or career counselling. Enhanced data management practices are also key. For example, to help the sector understand how incoming graduates stack up to sector vacancies, a recent study highlighted that having academic institutions track program data beyond first-year enrolments, total student numbers, and total graduate numbers was very helpful during workforce planning.¹⁰

Diplomas and Postgraduate Certificates Attract Future Students Seeking Programs with WIL

老九品茶’s platform data illustrates that international students are interested in programs with work-integrated learning opportunities (WIL). Between 2022 and 2024, the number of applicants to Canadian post-secondary programs with WIL elements grew steadily. And, while total numbers declined in 2025 as the overall sector contracted in response to shifting government policy and rising affordability concerns, our team is watching closely to see where this number goes in 2026.

Between 2022 and 2025, our internal data showed that international students applying to programs with WIL were most likely to choose diplomas or postgraduate certificates:

While it’s important to emphasize these findings are exclusively for students who used the 老九品茶 platform, and aren’t representative of the total cohort of applicants to programs with WIL, they provide a signpost around where student interest and availability of WIL programs overlap.听

As early adopters of WIL, college programs like diplomas are historically more likely to include WIL. That said, bachelor’s programs are increasingly incorporating work placement elements as well.¹¹ Meanwhile, postgraduate certificates are popular among students who want to refine their knowledge in a specific branch of their field. As such, work placements are also popular course elements at this study level.

Advanced diplomas and bachelor’s degrees were also popular among 老九品茶 platform users. Each accounted for between 6% and 11% of applicants between 2022 and 2025.

Looking Forward

International students will remain a key driver for campuses, workplaces, and communities across the country. They bring fresh perspectives and cutting-edge skills to their classrooms, and later, to their workplaces. To help domestic and international students build the career-ready skills they need, businesses, governments, and academic institutions all play a vital role in ensuring the ongoing success and viability of WIL programs. Importantly, work experience programs have their greatest impact where cross-sectoral cooperation is strong.听

Industry, academic, and public sector organizations’ responsibilities may include earmarking funding for WIL, building capacity for co-op students into the business’ yearly budget, providing mentorship, or strengthening an alumni network. Collectively, actions like these help today’s students develop the skills they need to become tomorrow’s early childhood educators, construction managers, registered psychiatric nurses, aerospace engineers鈥攁nd, excitingly, more jobs we can’t imagine yet.

Canada鈥檚 current policies link . As such, institutions that can show how their programs teach valuable skills, provide hands-on experience, and align with evolving regulations will stand out. The 老九品茶 platform can equip Canadian academic institutions with the proprietary search and intent data needed to match their international student cohort with Canada鈥檚 labour needs. To further refine your student recruitment strategy, we invite you to contact our Commercial Partnerships Team.

About the ApplyInsights Team

FOOTNOTES:

1. C.D. Howe Institute, . May 31, 2023. Accessed April 16, 2026.

2. Government of Canada, . June 23, 2021. Accessed April 16, 2026.

3. Government of Canada, . Accessed April 15, 2026.

4. Government of Canada, . News release. April 13, 2026.

5. CBC, . Dec. 21, 2025. Accessed Apr. 16, 2026.

6. BuildForce Canada, . April 1, 2025.

7. BuildForce Canada, . Published April 2025. Accessed April 16, 2026.

8. Health Canada, . January 2025.

9. CBC, . May 13, 2024.

10. Health Canada, . January 2025.

11. CEWIL Canada and Academica Group, . January 2024.

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The government of Canada approved just over 75,000 new study permits for post-secondary studies in 2025.¹ This was 64% below the total number of post-secondary student visa² approvals from the year before, and the lowest total over the past decade.

Softened demand, lower approval rates, and the growth of study permit extensions all contributed to the record-low number of new study permits approved in 2025. Below, we dive into the latest international student data in Canada, and the impact of these trends on the long-term health of Canada鈥檚 education sector at large.

International Student Caps Caused Greater Decline Than COVID-19 Shutdown

As we predicted last winter, Canada鈥檚 international student caps had a larger impact on student demand in 2025 than the COVID-19 pandemic did in 2020:

The 75,000 new Canadian study permits approved for post-secondary studies in 2025 represented an 18% drop from 2020 levels, a year defined by the COVID-19 pandemic shutdown. The 64% year-over-year decline in 2025 was also larger than the 57% drop in 2020.

Last year, IRCC processed 211,000 new post-secondary applications from prospective international students. Compared to 2024, demand was 55% lower year-over-year.

Only 36% of new Canadian post-secondary student visa applications were approved in 2025.

Onshore Extensions Claim Nearly Three of Every Four Approvals

When study permit extensions were included alongside new student visas in the 2025 caps, our team flagged that this addition would likely result in lower new student volumes. That鈥檚 because study permit extensions typically see approval rates well above 90%. Consequently, as more onshore students successfully extended their time in Canada, fewer spaces would remain available under the cap to welcome new applicants.

And, per full-year data, our hypothesis was correct: in 2025, onshore students composed 73% of Canadian post-secondary approvals:

At the post-secondary level, over 200,000 study permit extensions were approved in 2025, up 9% over the previous year. These onshore students accounted for nearly three of every four post-secondary approvals last year, directly inverse to the pre-cap proportions.

Because students securing study permit extensions are naturally closer to graduation, their eventual departure creates an inevitable gap on Canadian campuses. Institutions rely on a consistent flow of new applicants to replace these graduating cohorts and maintain a stable educational environment.

Without that balanced flow of incoming students, total international student populations across Canada face a projected contraction in the coming years. Beyond compounding the financial realities which many academic institutions already navigate, this lower-volume environment will pose a broader economic risk as it will coincide with more of Canada鈥檚 aging domestic workforce entering retirement.

Leveraging Data-Driven Insights as a Path Forward

Navigating this looming demographic cliff requires Canadian institutions to adapt their international student recruitment strategies. While the overall influx of new students has decreased, clear opportunities remain for institutions that use technology to identify and attract strong applicants. Prioritizing data-driven decision-making allows student recruitment teams to optimize their resources.

For instance, 52% of first-time applicants for a new Canadian post-secondary student visa were approved in 2025. By increasing outreach to and rigorous application support for first-time prospective students, institutions could make the most of their provincial attestation letter capacity and build stable incoming cohorts.

Working with 老九品茶 can help your institution achieve these results. Join our global network today, or connect with your regional representative to learn about elevating your international student recruitment strategies.

About the ApplyInsights Team

FOOTNOTES:

1. All data is sourced from unless otherwise noted.

2. The terms student visa and study permit are generally used interchangeably for Canadian international students. Rather than student visas, Canada provides accepted international students with study permits, which allow those students to enrol in classes at Canadian institutions. When a student is accepted for a study permit, they are also usually provided with a visitor visa, which allows that student to enter Canada for their studies. In this article, we鈥檒l use the terms interchangeably.

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The UK issued nearly 410,000 student visas to main applicants in 2025, up by 3% over 2024.¹ However, as we flagged back in January, applications from prospective international students began to soften in Q4 2025, meaning the macro view of the year masks that demand is trending downward.

This softened demand is likely a response to new Basic Compliance Assessment (BCA) thresholds, as outlined in the . 老九品茶鈥檚 Fall 2025 Recruitment Partner Pulse Survey found that perceptions of a destination鈥檚 welcomeness was a more important priority for prospective students than ever before.² And as our 2026 Trends Report outlined, international students receiving mixed messages (whether explicitly or implicitly) about how welcome they are has coincided with volatile demand across the 鈥淏ig Four鈥� study destinations.

In a landscape of tighter BCA thresholds (including a 95% visa success rate) and muted demand, forward-looking insights allow academic institutions to better allocate their resources and support prospective students through every stage of their journey. Below, in the second of our three-part series on international student search trends on the 老九品茶 platform, discover how international students鈥� interest adapted in 2025 toward study courses in the UK with direct ties to in-demand sectors.

Visa Issuance Growth in 2025 Masks Developing Downward Trend

The UK Home Office processed 434,000 student visas from main applicants in 2025. Those applicants had an issuance rate of 94%, meaning about 410,000 main applicants were issued a student visa last year:

While main applicant student visa applications and issuances were up 3% in full-year 2025 compared to the previous year, Q4-specific data tells a different story. Only 43,000 study visa applications from main applicants were processed in Q4 2025, a year-over-year decline of 21% in that quarter.

That decline accelerated during the first two months of 2026. In January and February this year, the UK Home Office processed 24,000 main applications from prospective students, down 32% over the same months in 2025.

Grant Rates Fall in Q4 2025

The UK issued nearly 37,000 student visas to main applicants in Q4 2025. This was down 26% over issuance totals in Q4 2024. Critically, the visa success rate in Q4 2025 was only 85%. This was six percentage points below Q4 2024 levels, and far below the 95% success rate required for institutions under the new BCA thresholds.

In Q4 2025, grant rates fell year-over-year for 9 of the UK鈥檚 15 largest student populations:

Q4 historically represents a small fraction of the UK鈥檚 total annual issuances, as most student visa applicants target the primary autumn intake in Q3. In recent years, off-peak quarters have typically seen higher refusal rates than Q3, when .

Still, the 85% grant rate in Q4 2025 is a post-pandemic low. It is also considerably below Q4 2023鈥檚 previous record-low of 89%.

Of the UK鈥檚 15 largest student populations in Q4 2025, only students from China, the US, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, and Vietnam saw issuance success rates above the new 95% BCA threshold.

Vietnamese students had a visa issuance rate of 96% in Q4 2025, 13 percentage points higher than Q4 2024.

Search Trends by Prospective Students on 老九品茶 Platform Shows Rising Interest in Health Studies

Many international education journeys begin with the search bar. The 老九品茶 platform has helped over 1.3 million students to connect with international study opportunities since launching in 2015, and this proprietary search data helps our team to find leading indicators of changing student preferences. In turn, these findings empower academic institutions’ ongoing competitiveness, even through periods of policy uncertainty.

Here鈥檚 how student searches for UK courses have evolved across different fields between 2022 and 2025:

Health-related fields continued to see notable growth in search volumes on our platform last year.³ Nearly 15% of international students searching for a UK study course considered fields related to health in 2025, which was up two percentage points versus 2024. Additionally, the UK needs thousands of health care workers. One 2023 report proposed that England will face a sector s. And that was before visas for overseas workers in personal care fields plummeted, .

In line with the growth across this sector, we expect health sciences will become the second-most searched for field of study by 老九品茶 students in 2026. In total, STEM fields accounted for over 46% of all searches on 老九品茶鈥檚 platform for UK courses in 2025, and health-related inquiries made up a significant proportion of these searches.

Which International Student Populations Are Most Interested in UK STEM Programs?

As institutions consider how to allocate their resources under the new BCA thresholds, 老九品茶鈥檚 proprietary search data can support this task by offering an early look at which student populations are gravitating toward specific courses. This data can help institutions support student success, build student body diversity, and remain compliant with BCA requirements.

In the graphic below, we’ve illustrated field of study preference changes among some of the UK鈥檚 largest student populations between 2022 and 2025:

Health fields represent one of the clearest avenues toward high-demand careers around the globe, so it鈥檚 unsurprising that interest in these courses grew among most of the UK鈥檚 major student populations. The student populations with the largest proportion of health-related searches in 2025 were Ghana (22%), Nigeria (21%), and Nepal (15%). Students from Ghana and Saudi Arabia had the largest proportional increase in 2025 compared to 2022, as their health-related searches grew by 10 and 6 percentage points respectively.

Meanwhile, institutions looking to bolster their engineering and technology classrooms could focus on South Asia and the Middle East. In 2025, Sri Lanka (26%), Saudi Arabia (25%), and Bangladesh (21%) held the highest share of search interest in this field. Bangladeshi students also showed the largest proportional gain in engineering and technology interest compared to 2022, as their searches grew by 6 percentage points over this span. The next largest gain over this period came from students from Nigeria, whose searches increased by 2 percentage points.

And for the sciences, Saudi Arabia (24%), Bangladesh (17%), and Pakistan (16%) led the way in 2025. Compared to 2022 levels, interest grew the most among students from Saudi Arabia (+3 percentage points), Sri Lanka (+3), and Bangladesh (+2).

How UK Institutions Can Leverage Data for Strategic Student Recruitment in 2026

Adapting to the UK’s new BCA thresholds requires a targeted approach to international student recruitment. By tracking which applicant populations are gravitating toward specific disciplines, universities can strategically allocate their resources. The updated BCA thresholds make it essential to guide prospective students toward courses within high demand fields like health and engineering. Institutions that align their outreach with these labour market realities equip applicants with a distinct advantage from the start of their educational journey.

Delivering that advantage in a lower-volume environment depends on continuous visibility into changing global preferences. The 老九品茶 platform provides UK academic institutions with the underlying search data required to identify these shifts as they happen.

Directing focus toward these in-demand academic pathways allows universities to safeguard their BCA compliance while helping more international students successfully begin their studies in the UK. Connect with our Commercial Partnerships Team to evaluate your current course demand and refine your outreach strategy. And look out for the final installment of our search trends series coming soon.

About the ApplyInsights Team

FOOTNOTES:

1. All visa data courtesy of the .

2. In the Fall 2025 survey, nearly 50% of respondents indicated a destination’s welcomeness was a priority for prospective students when choosing a study destination, compared to just 25% in the Spring 2025 survey.

3. On our platform, the 鈥渉ealth鈥� category includes health sciences, medicine, nursing, paramedic, and kinesiology fields of study.

The post These Fields of Study in the UK Are Attracting International Students, Though Visa Data Suggests Softened Demand for 2026 appeared first on 老九品茶.

For some international graduates, their study destination becomes their new home. Studying abroad can be a powerful experience, and students build strong friendships and vital skills over their time on campus. After graduating, some pursue permanent residency (PR) to deepen those ties, while also bringing their valuable knowledge to the Canadian workforce. Below, we’ll compare the PR approval rates for past study permit holders¹ and applicants who have never held a Canadian study permit. We’ll also look at how PR approvals for past international students have evolved across Canada between 2018 and 2025.

Note: To apply for PR, potential applicants must receive an invitation or nomination from the government (ITA). To apply via Express Entry, these individuals must meet or exceed a set score and then receive an invitation. Other PR streams have different criteria, but all will issue invitations or nominations to eligible applicants in their pool. The data in this article refers only to applicants who received an invitation or nomination to apply for PR.

Canadian PR Approval Rates for International Graduates Consistently Higher than Non-Graduates

The difference between the PR approval rate for past study permit holders and non-study permit holders was at its widest in recent history (except during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020):²

In 2025, 94% of permanent residency applicants who had previously held a study permit or study permit extension were approved. This was nine percentage points higher than the PR acceptance rate of non-study permit or extension holders.

The PR approval rate also dipped less year-over-year (YOY) for former students in 2025. It dropped three percentage points compared to 2024, while falling six percentage points for applicants who had never held a study permit or permit extension. As the figure above shows, PR approval rates were also generally more stable for applicants who had previously held a study permit.

India Remained Top Incoming Population for PR Approval Among Past Study Permit or Extension Holders in 2025

Canada-wide, the total number of PR approvals for past study permit holders dropped 17% in 2025 versus 2024. This change was influenced in part by shifts among the largest incoming demographics. Out of the 10 international graduate populations who received the highest number of PR approvals, half received fewer approvals in 2025 compared to the previous year.

Applicants from India who had previously held a study permit or study permit extension received the largest number of Canadian PR approvals out of any nationality of past study permit holders in 2025:

While past study permit holders from India have received the most PR approvals out of any incoming population since 2018, the total number of PR applications which this demographic submitted dipped below 50,000 last year. This change marked a return to application levels last seen in 2022 for past study permit holders from India.

Out of that cohort, nearly 41,000 PR applications were approved, which was 26% less than in 2024. A lower PR approval rate for this subset of Indian applicants, dipping from 98% in 2024 to 94% in 2025, contributed to the lower approval count. However, the larger shift came from the smaller number of applications.

That said, a lower PR approval rate wasn’t unique to India. Among past study permit or extension holders, 8 out of the 10 largest populations had lower approval rates than in 2024.听

PR Approvals Rise for Past Study Permit Holders Among Many Francophone Populations

In addition to Colombia (which is not a Francophone country), France and Morocco were the outliers in 2025, with PR approval rates for past study permit holders which remained stable. Notably, however, France and Morocco’s overall number of approvals climbed significantly, up 40% and 80% YOY respectively. Other Francophone populations like Algeria saw their total approvals for past study permit holders improve too, rising 79% over 2024 levels.听

While upward trends weren’t unanimous among Francophone countries, as total approvals decreased by 16% YOY for past study permit holders from Tunisia, approvals for past international students from both Cameroon (+80% YOY) and C么te d’Ivoire (+79%) climbed.

Comparing PR Approval Rates Across Canada for International Graduates and Non-Graduates听

Below, we’ll look at each province’s proportion of PR approvals for past study permit holders between 2018 and 2025.

Note: Generally, PR applicants must receive an invitation or nomination to apply, whether through or a regional program like the or the . Thus, references to 鈥渇ormer study permit holders鈥� below do not refer to all past international students. It only includes those who have submitted their profile for consideration, and have then received invitations to apply for PR.听

Across Canada, the percentage of PR approvals earned by past study permit holders rose from the mid-teens in the late 2010s, and peaked in 2021 at above 40% as COVID-19 limited other PR applicants’ ability to come to Canada. Subsequently, this proportion dipped as mobility resumed, hovering in the high 20s and low 30s through the early 2020s. Last year, applicants who previously held a Canadian study permit received 26% of all PR approvals. However, this population is distributed unevenly:

British Columbia

Last year, previous study permit or extension holders received 33% of all PR approvals in BC, a proportion which was up by four percentage points year-over-year, even though the total number of PR approvals this demographic received dipped by 18% over the same timeframe. Despite the downturn in overall approvals, over 15,000 former students were approved for PR in 2025. This change meant that last year, BC had the third-most PR approvals for former students, and ceded its former rank of second-most to Quebec.

Prairie Provinces

Over the past few years, three different patterns have emerged across the prairie provinces: a stable cohort of past study permit-holder PR approvals in Alberta, growth of the same cohort in Saskatchewan, and decline in Manitoba. While many factors influence PR approvals, , compared to Saskatchewan’s one, which may help Manitoba attract more diverse PR applicants:

However, it’s important to look at the total number of approvals this demographic received as well. Year-over-year, total PR approvals to past study permit holders decreased across all three of these provinces in 2025. While the proportion of total PR approvals to this cohort increased YOY in Saskatchewan, past international students’ total number of PR approvals decreased by over 2,000.

Ontario

While the proportion of PR approvals for past study permit holders grew in 2025 by three percentage points, as overall PR numbers dropped, this represented a smaller total number of new Canadians. Over 10,000 fewer past study permit or extension holders who listed Ontario as their province of destination were approved for PR in 2025 than 2024, representing a decline of 19%.听

Despite this recent dip, however, past study permit holders’ proportion of total PR approvals in Ontario has hovered in the mid-20s since 2023鈥攁 proportion which has nearly doubled since the late 2010s.

Quebec

Last year, past study permit holders intending to settle in Quebec received the highest proportion of PR approvals (26%) within the province than at any point over the last eight years. Changes to Quebecois PR pathways in 2024 and 2025 likely influenced this shift. In 2024, the Quebec government (PEQ), a popular PR pathway. Eligible applicants could then instead pursue PR through the Skilled Worker Selection Program or an immigration pilot.听

In November 2025, the PEQ closed permanently. All pilot programs also wrapped up in January 2026, with only the AI pilot program accepting new applicants until December 31.³ As recent graduates are among the most likely to have AI expertise, they likely composed a higher proportion of this pilot’s applicants.

Atlantic Canada听

While the four Atlantic Canadian provinces are neighbours, the composition of their PR approvals varies considerably:

Between 2018 and 2025, Prince Edward Island (PEI) had the largest proportion of past study permit holders among its pool of PR approvals than any other province. PEI is Canada’s smallest province, which is reflected in its total PR count: when past study permit holders’ proportion of PR approvals peaked in 2021, that translated into their receiving just over 1,500 approvals.

In New Brunswick, the total number of past study permit holders approved for PR climbed to nearly 3,200 in 2025, exceeding Nova Scotia’s total of just under 3,000. This was the first time in at least the last eight years in which this was true. Meanwhile, Newfoundland’s proportion of international graduates ticked upward in 2025, climbing four percentage points YOY.

Preparing Graduates for a Bright Global Future

A key part of the work international education professionals do with students is preparing them for their next steps after graduation. Whether it’s moving into an advanced degree or the job market, students thrive when they understand their options and feel supported by their academic institutions and community organizations.听

Across Canada, international graduates continue to be approved for permanent residency at a significantly higher rate than applicants who did not hold a Canadian study permit.听

While it’s important to remember that the approval rate advantage of former study permit holders applies only to applicants who received an ITA, it’s unsurprising that they’re approved at higher rates than applicants who weren’t former students. International students benefit from access to the latest knowledge in their field and hands-on training through their studies, and build cultural competencies while on campus that help them to better understand and integrate into Canadian society. Ultimately, these advantages help to prepare past study permit holders for success when pursuing the next chapter of their lives in Canada.

About the ApplyInsights Team

FOOTNOTES:

1. The terms听student visa听and听study permit听are generally used interchangeably for Canadian international students. Rather than student visas, Canada provides accepted international students with study permits, which allow those students to enrol in classes at Canadian institutions. When a student is accepted for a study permit, they are also usually provided with a visitor visa, which allows that student to enter Canada for their studies. In this article, we鈥檒l use the terms interchangeably.

2. All data is sourced from (IRCC) unless noted otherwise.

3. CIC News, “.” Updated Nov. 7, 2025.

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Canadian academic institutions and prospective students alike have navigated mounting concerns about Canada as a study destination, as the country鈥檚 international student caps have caused a greater application slowdown than the COVID-19 pandemic. However, the latest data from Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) has some good news for the sector. In 2025, 52% of first-time applicants were approved for a new Canadian student visa¹ at the postsecondary level.²

This means that institutions who prioritize well-prepared first-time applicants will more likely maximize their provincial attestation letter (PAL) success rates. Meanwhile, these findings reinforce to students and their advisors the importance of submitting a complete, high-quality study permit application on their first attempt. Read on to discover how divergent approval trends between new and repeat applicants could shape Canada鈥檚 international education sector in 2026 and beyond.

The New Canadian Student Visa Success Rates of First-Time and Repeat Applicants in 2025

For both prospective students and postsecondary institutions, a complete first application has historically been the strongest predictor for study permit success. Getting that first attempt right is essential, as first-time visa applicants remained the only cohort to have an approval rate of over 50% in both 2024 and 2025:

In 2025, over 54,000 first-time applicants were approved for a new Canadian postsecondary student visa. This cohort had a 52% approval rate, which was 20 percentage points higher than applicants on their second attempt.

This sizable gap between first and second attempts is mostly in line with historical trends. What stands out is the tighter approval landscape between applicants making subsequent attempts when compared to the early 2020s. In 2025, second-time applicants were approved at only a 32% rate, with third-time and fourth-or-more-time applicants approved at a 28% and 22% rate, respectively.

The outcomes from 2025 sharply contrast with those from 2023. During that year, the total number of approvals for third-time applicants reached 19,000 (up 100% year-over-year) and 10,000 for the fourth-or-more-attempts cohort (up 331%), with approval rates spiking to 65% and 67%, respectively.

Moving past that outlier year and into an environment where overall permit allocations are now capped, this data offers a clear path forward. Institutions can better maximize their conversion rates by prioritizing strong first-time applicants. Likewise, prospective students can give themselves the best chance of success by ensuring their applications are complete and demonstrate a clear academic progression.

Which Student Populations Led First-Time Approvals in 2025?

While demonstrating a logical academic progression remains the primary driver of individual students’ success, a macro-level view reveals strong approval trends among Canada’s largest incoming student populations. In 2025, 8 of Canada’s 10 largest student populations by first-time approvals had a student visa approval rate above 70%:

Last year, first-time postsecondary applicants from China and France drove the highest overall volumes, with 7,600 and 6,700 approvals respectively. Both student populations exceeded an 85% approval rate. Likewise, 97% of first-time applicants from the US were approved for a new postsecondary study permit, with their 4,100 approvals representing a growth of 32% over 2024.

But the story is incomplete without highlighting India. Nearly 6,200 first-time applicants from India were approved for a Canadian postsecondary visa last year. This was a decline of 91% compared to 2024. And the 45% approval rate for this cohort was half of what it was the previous year. This new landscape underscores the importance of targeted applicant support. By equipping prospective students to build robust initial applications, institutions can help incoming learners navigate evolving regulatory requirements and successfully begin their studies in Canada.

What Were the Approval Rates for First-Time Applicants to Canadian Colleges and Universities in 2025?

Late last year, we dove into how new Canadian student visa approval rates for university-level bachelor鈥檚 degrees rose through the summer. First-time study permit applicants drove those gains (you can use the select-down menu to filter by study level):

In 2025, IRCC approved nearly 21,000 first-time applicants for a university-level bachelor’s degree. This cohort had a 67% approval rate, which was 10 percentage points higher than the previous year. And applicants on their second and third application attempts also experienced a slight jump in approval rates at this level, up 11 and 7 percentage points year-over-year, respectively.

A strong first application is important at the postgraduate level as well. 2025’s 57% visa approval rate for first-time applicants at the master鈥檚 level was 23 percentage points higher than it was for second-time applicants. And, while the gap narrows at the doctorate level, the 86% visa approval rate for first-time applicants was nonetheless an 11 percentage point advantage over second-time applicants.

College programs were the only Canadian study level where first-time visa applicants did not have an approval rate above 50%. Moreover, the 37% approval rate for first-time applicants in 2025 was down 25 percentage points compared to 2024. Still, that approval rate was 14 percentage points above second-time applicants.

Maximizing First-Time Application Success in 2026

The 2025 data reveals a key takeaway across all study levels and student populations: A well-prepared initial application is the most reliable path to a Canadian study permit. In a competitive landscape defined by permit caps, the margin for error on subsequent study permit attempts has narrowed.

That’s why working with 老九品茶 can help you maximize the success of these crucial first attempts. Our advanced AI and platform technology equip institutions and student advisors with effective tools to vet candidates long before submission. Also, by identifying missing requirements early in the process, we empower prospective students to build robust applications that demonstrate a clear academic trajectory, ultimately helping them successfully begin their studies in Canada.

Ready to expand your reach among global student populations? Join our global network today, or connect with your regional representative to learn about taking international student recruitment to the next level.

About the ApplyInsights Team

FOOTNOTES:

1. The terms student visa and study permit are generally used interchangeably for Canadian international students. Rather than student visas, Canada provides accepted international students with study permits, which allow those students to enrol in classes at Canadian institutions. When a student is accepted for a study permit, they are also usually provided with a visitor visa, which allows that student to enter Canada for their studies. In this article, we鈥檒l use the terms interchangeably.

2. All data is sourced from unless otherwise noted.

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Since its launch, the 老九品茶 platform has helped over 1.3 million students over the course of their study abroad journey. For many prospective students, the search bar on our platform is the first step of this journey. It鈥檚 where students can match the right program with the right destination for advancing their educational and career goals. Through this proprietary search data, we can find leading indicators of changing student preferences, in turn empowering us to help students achieve success both within and outside the classroom.¹

In the first of a three-part series on international student search trends, we focus on Canada and the fields of study students are exploring for 2026 and beyond. Last year showed that Canada鈥檚 international student cap had a larger impact on student demand than the COVID-19 shutdown. As a result, many international students鈥� interest continued to shift toward Canadian study programs with direct ties to in-demand sectors. Discover how students adapted their program preferences in 2025 and how institutions could adjust for 2026.

International Students Increasingly Interested in Canadian Programs For High-Demand Careers

Our 2026 Trends Report dove into how today鈥檚 students face a more volatile global economy and competitive hiring market. With a weak economic outlook awaiting new graduates, prospective students are prioritizing programs that clearly align with a destination鈥檚 long-term workforce needs. Our internal data shows ongoing, notable growth in search volumes on our platform for health-related fields,² as well as significant interest in both engineering and technology and the sciences.

Here鈥檚 how student searches for Canadian programs evolved across different fields between 2022 and 2025:

Health programs continue to see the largest gains in student interest on the 老九品茶 platform. Nearly 19% of international students searching for a Canadian study program considered fields related to health in 2025. This was up by two percentage points versus 2024, and seven percentage points higher than in 2022. Additionally, Canada has a critical need for more students to enter health programs: in 2024, an estimated 5.7 million Canadian adults did not have a regular health care provider.³

The health workforce is not growing at the rate needed to meet the demand for care, especially as Canada鈥檚 growing population ages and considering the pre-existing unmet demand.
鈥� Canadian Institute for Health Information, Dec. 2025.

In total, STEM fields accounted for 52.7% of all searches on 老九品茶’s platform for Canadian programs in 2025. We expect health will become the second-most searched for field of study by 老九品茶 students in 2026.

This has led to students deprioritizing business programs. While still the field of study receiving the highest number of searches, business programs accounted for 26% of Canadian search volume in 2025, which was seven percentage points below 2022. Some of this interest has moved into social-related fields, with the proportion of searches for law, politics, social, community service, and teaching up four percentage points in 2025 compared to 2022.

Did you know: Over the first eight months of 2025, study permit approval rates for Canadian bachelor’s degree programs were 16 percentage points higher than in full-year 2024? Learn about the resiliency of approval rates at this study level, and which provinces saw the highest approval rate jumps with 老九品茶 Insights.

Which International Student Populations Are Most Interested in Canadian STEM Programs?

Administrators at Canadian academic institutions are being asked to do more with finite seats, staff time, and student-support capacity. To help institutions allocate their resources where demand is forming and better connect students with programs that will set them up for success, 老九品茶鈥檚 proprietary search data offers an early glimpse at which student populations are gravitating toward specific programs.

The graphic below lets you see how field of study preferences changed among some of Canada鈥檚 largest student populations from 2022 to 2025:

With health fields representing one of the clearest avenues toward high-demand careers, it鈥檚 unsurprising that interest in these programs grew among all 12 of the major student populations highlighted above. The student populations with the largest proportion of health-related searches in 2025 were the Philippines (29.9%), Ghana (22.7%), and Nigeria (22.1%). Additionally, students from China and India had the largest proportional increase in 2025 compared to 2022: health related searches grew by 9.1 and 8.3 percentage points respectively over this period.

For institutions looking to bolster their engineering and technology classrooms, LATAM students show the largest proportional interest in this field. In 2025, Mexico (27.1%), Brazil (26.8%), and Colombia (25.4%) had the highest share of search interest in engineering and technology. Mexican students also had the largest proportional gain in engineering and technology program interest compared to 2022, as searches for this field grew by 8.3 percentage points. The next largest proportional gains between 2022 and 2025 came from Filipino (+2.5 percentage points) and Nigerian (+2.1) students.

When it came to the highest proportional searches for sciences, Pakistan (20.5% of total searches), Nepal (17.8%), and Bangladesh (17.4%) led the way in 2025. And compared to 2022 levels, interest grew the most among students from Brazil (+6.5 percentage points), Mexico (+6.2), and Sri Lanka (+4.6).

Leveraging Data for Strategic Student Recruitment in 2026

Understanding which student populations are driving interest in specific fields of study enables institutions to optimize their international outreach strategy. Canada鈥檚 2026 immigration policies link . As such, institutions that align their program marketing with these evolving regulations can offer a clear advantage to incoming applicants.

But providing this advantage requires deep awareness of student inflows and intentional global reach. The 老九品茶 platform can equip Canadian academic institutions with the proprietary search data needed to match diverse student populations with policy-aligned programs.

Focusing on these specific pathways will help to ensure your institution can build resilient, high-quality classrooms. Reach out to our Commercial Partnerships Team to refine your recruitment strategy for the upcoming cycle. And stay tuned for parts two and three in this series.

About the ApplyInsights Team

FOOTNOTES:

1. In the past, 老九品茶 platform search data was generated based on button clicks on a page, while the new search data is generated by any changes made to the page鈥檚 filters (destination, field of study, etc.) As a result, the new search count, if tallied using the previous search data approach, would be significantly inflated compared to the original search count. To make the search counts more comparable, we changed our methodology in August 2024 to use unique entries per user within each hour.

2. On our platform, “health” includes health sciences, medicine, nursing, paramedic, and kinesiology fields of study.

3. Canadian Institute for Health Information, . December 11, 2025.

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