For Indian students swayed by the glamour of Canada, it’s been a cruel reality check. A growing number are punching their return tickets to India. Limited employment opportunities, rigid visa policies and rents that are too harsh on the wallets have made Canada unfeasible as a destination for promising international careers.
Many students from Gujarat deluded into thinking that Canada is everything have been snapped awake.
The scenario is also reaffirmation of the fact that the warm handshake of diplomacy between India and Canada is misleading.
For context, Canada changed its student entry regulations after a diplomatic standoff in 2023–24.
We may recall that national-level caps on study permits were introduced. Then, financial requirements for new applicants were raised, and eligibility for post-graduation work permits (PGWP) was narrowed.
These changes led to massive visa rejections. The route to permanent residency (PR) became increasingly onerous.
Even for those already in the country, job prospects remained bleak. It has emerged that only about 70% of Indian international graduates were able to find employment within two years, compared to 80% of their domestic counterparts, according to Statistics Canada.
Many remain stuck in low-paying service jobs unrelated to their qualifications.
The result has been a steep drop in the number of Indian students choosing Canada.
According to reports, visa numbers from India have already fallen by 30%. General sentiment suggests that if current conditions persist, this figure could drop to 50% next year.
This broader trend is reflected in stories of return.
A national daily has highlighted the plight of many Indian students who went to Canada recently intending to build global careers are now faced with a reality that is way tougher than they thought. Some of them had a relatively rosy start to their journeys.
The report claimed that they left cities like Ahmedabad and Vadodara to get diplomas in fields such as international business, health regulation, or digital marketing. But pretty soon their experiences turned into lessons of endurance and survival.
Students wake up as early as 5 am to distribute their résumés in different shops before college. They were also very active in applying for jobs. In some cases, they sent more than 30 applications a day, but they hardly ever got a call for an interview.
With only a handful of job offers, many decided to take up roles in kitchens, retail counters, or retirement homes. They also often had to juggle between multiple jobs and long hours just to pay for their daily expenses.
Moreover, the few who landed an internship, for example working as a pharmacy assistant with a pay of $19 per hour, faced abrupt termination of their positions due to company restructuring.
As their savings were depleting quickly, some of them decided to start their own businesses in areas such as social media management and become freelancers. However, the money they make is hardly enough to support their long-term plans or meet the requirements of obtaining an extended work permit or permanent residency.
There are several instances where students talk about academic success but not being able to find consistent part-time jobs for months.
As the fight to meet the bare necessities of life continues, there are people who have decided to live with relatives in small towns and are simultaneously working various jobs to be able to make a living. In that group of people, there is a considerable number of those who have resorted to the practice of extreme cost-cutting and, in particular, to the consumption of only one meal per day.
The mentioned stories are a manifestation of the disillusionment sentiment that is becoming predominant among international students. The sequence of events (education, part-time work, career development) which was considered obvious is becoming increasingly delusional.
Also Read: Why are Canada Study Permits On A Decline? And What It Means https://www.vibesofindia.com/canada-student-permit-decline-astronomically/
