In the October 2022 edition of ApplyBoard’s Pulse Survey, a shocking 83% of recruitment professionals surveyed indicated they had seen an increase in international student applications over the previous three months. Out of that group, a full 53% reported seeing a significant spike. The international student market is booming, with destination markets seeing an influx of applications. In 2021, the Canadian government processed a record 550,000 new study permit applications, surpassing 2019’s 425,000. And 2022 is on track to exceed that by processing more than 450,000 through August alone. Despite Canada’s immigration backlog, in 2022, average study permit processing times hovered between 11 and 13 weeks after falling as low as 7 weeks last year.
