根据加拿大国际教育局(Canadian Bureau for International Education,简称CBIE)发表的最新数据显示,国际学生在加拿大正发挥强大的经济影响力,尤其在房地产活动。另一方面,报告指出,占近三成的国际学生来自中国(见附表)。 2017年可提供的最新数据显示,加拿大有494,525个国际学生,较2010年增加119%,比2016年则上升了两成。 留学生年均花费1.2万元住房 据估计,外国学生每年在加国花费80亿元,包括学费、住宿费和其他生活开支。 国际学生所产生的经济效益,也相等于创造超过81,000个工职,并且为政府库房带来了超过4.45亿元收入。同时,调查显示,95%的国际学生会向同伴推荐加拿大作为学习目的地。 同时,卑诗省每年平均吸引11.5万名海外学生,是加拿大最受欢迎的国际留学生目的地之一。海外学生平均每年在卑诗省花费18亿元,其中每个学生平均每年要支付1.2万元的住房费。前来卑诗省的外国留学生,在过去10年更激增了3倍。 2017年《美国新闻与世界报告》(U.S. News and World Report),更把加拿大列为全球教育排名第一的国家,紧随其后是英国、德国、澳洲及美国。 CBIE指出,国际学生选择加拿大的三个主要原因,分别是设有优质的中学教育系统、拥有包容与非歧视性的社会,以及是一个安全的国家。 在2017年,尽管占大多数的海外学生原居地是中国(占总数的28%)及印度(占25%),但国际生实际来自至少14个地区,其中约有15,000来自美国。(星岛)
Ottawa urged to ease pathway to immigration for international students(2019.10.24)
The federal government should make it easier for international students to stay in Canada — essentially cutting the red tape and rolling out the red carpet. That’s one of the key take-aways of a new report released Thursday to help Canada manage the booming international education system, capitalize on international students as potential skilled immigrants and stay competitive globally as a destination of choice for post-secondary education. “Many international students who want to remain in Canada after graduation still face significant difficulties converting their status from temporary foreign students to permanent residents,” says the report by Century Initiative, a progressive think tank that focuses on growing Canada’s population responsibly to 100 million by 2100. The 48-page study said hundreds of thousands of students come to study in Canada every year, but only a third can successfully remain here to make a contribution and apply their skills to making the country a better place. “This is a lost opportunity,” said the report, titled Scaling International Education. “The federal government still erects some important barriers to retention of international students. Poor communication of the rules governing study permits and the pathways for transitioning to permanent residency … including incorrect or confusing guidance, create significant anxiety among international students.” The report — the result of a roundtable discussion among experts this summer — came after a months-long joint investigation by the Toronto Star and the St. Catharines Standard found the explosive growth in the number of international students in Canada, particularly in Ontario colleges, has left students feeling overwhelmed and teachers frustrated. There are now more than 572,000 international students in Canada — the largest cohort ever — and a 73 per cent hike since 2014. That unprecedented growth has proven extremely lucrative, with international students pumping $21.6 billion into campuses, communities and the economy nationwide last year. But it has also brought significant challenges. The Century Initiative study examines how international education can be used to help increase the population and build local economies, particularly for smaller communities across Canada, and over the long term help bridge the growing urban and rural economic and demographic divide.
“Canada is fortunate to be home to dozens of high-quality public universities and colleges in mid-sized and smaller population centres, which could serve as catalysts for increased retention of international students and as portals for their contribution to local economies,” according to the study. “But it is unclear that these institutions are being leveraged to this end as effectively as they could be. Improving this situation is important as many of these communities could benefit significantly from increased immigration and settlement of young, skilled newcomers.” Participants of the roundtable identified some key problems and gaps in the management of international education: insufficient co-ordination and consultation among governments, academic institutions and employers; confusing and contradictory information from a myriad of sources regarding immigration pathways open to international students; and the lack of data collected from the real-world experiences of those impacted by government policies. For example, the report says, a survey conducted in 2017 found only 36 per cent of international graduates were aware of all the pathways to permanent residency that were available to them. “This poor information environment results in some international students becoming discouraged,” it says. “Overly stringent rules, such as those requiring continuity of studies, result in some students losing eligibility for post-graduation work permits for reasons such as giving birth or suspending their studies due to illness.” The report acknowledges there have been positive developments over the past 30 years, including the “shift in perceptions of international students from potential ‘over-stayers’ to ‘designer immigrants’ … Nonetheless, this shift remains incomplete.” The report recommends Ottawa and the provinces create a national roundtable for regular consultation to review policies affecting international students; establish a central immigration information portal for this particular group of newcomers; and improve the way data is collected about their transition and settlement in Canada.(Toronto Star, Nicholas Keung, Isabel Teotonio and Grant Lafleche)
持簽證來加留學生 近10%疑從沒上課(2019.11.18)
《星報》獨家報道指出,在獲得加拿大學生簽證的國際學生中,有大約10%的人可能沒有遵守規定到學校註冊上課,不過一些在法規上鑽空子的人,亦因此付出沉重代價。 聯邦移民、難民及公民部(Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada,簡稱IRCC)2018年的一份內部報告,首次披露了有關濫用學生簽證進入加拿大的數據。《星報》獲得的這份政府報告顯示,2018年春季,在本國全部655所接受國際學生的院校中,有90%提交了國際學生註冊人數。在總共316,531名學生簽證持有者中,8.9%屬「潛在違規」,即28,049人未遵守相關規定。但這些院校沒有報告16%、即51,051名國際學生的註冊狀況(見附表)。