Immigration policy changes heighten vulnerabilities for migrant students
Recent changes to immigration policies have sparked concerns about increased vulnerabilities among migrant students.
Migrants are defined as people who are not permanent residents or citizens of the country in which they live.
“In Canada, migrants are classified into different categories based on the reason for their migration. These categories include migrant students [who] are those who hold study permits; temporary migrant workers or those who hold work permits. Asylum seekers or refugees, and the undocumented or people who are without any immigration status,” Samuel Tetelepta, an anti-human trafficking migrant case worker at FCJ Refugee Centre, which is a defender of migrant rights, explained.
Migrants anywhere in the world face a unique set of challenges and vulnerabilities.
In Canada, migrants do not enjoy certain rights and services that are reserved for permanent residents or citizens.
Tetelepta emphasized on the vulnerabilities faced by migrant students in Canada as being related to conditions on their study permits.
“The maximum 20-hour work week is a big contributor to the vulnerability that they are in… Many employers require workers to commit more than 24 hours per week, so migrant students who take a third shift, effectively, work illegally for four hours out of 24 hours,” he said. “So, the 20-hour work limit forces migrant students to choose between being able to afford rent or working irregularly, illegally outside of labor law protections, which in turn increases their vulnerability to be exploited by their employers.”
Tetelepta added that the high tuition fees for migrant students, in addition to the increased living and housing costs, contributes to the need for these students to work outside of labor law protections.
“They are excluded from certain rights and protections that domestic students have such as, for example, they’re not eligible for financial support that is available to permanent residents or citizens or they experienced discrimination in the fees that they have to pay for their tuition, they have to pay three or four times more in tuition fees compared to domestic students,” he said.
The new changes to Canada’s international student program, increased the vulnerability of migrant students by imposing a new set of rules on them.
Cumhur Erdikili, anti-human trafficking program coordinator at FCJ Refugee Center said, “The federal government’s latest policies regarding migrant students are (supposedly) aimed at preventing migrant student’s vulnerability and exploitation…However, these policies unfairly punish migrant students themselves.”
The changes, as updated most recently on Feb. 5, include various new policies for incoming international students.
These changes mostly affect students negatively, as incoming international students at places like George Brown College are unable to bring a spouse on a dependent work visa and will also require an attestation letter from the province.
Further, students who study in programs under public-private partnerships can no longer apply for a Post-Graduation Work Permit (PGWP)
Erdikili expressed that these new policy changes and the reasons stated for these changes further contribute to these existing vulnerabilities faced by migrant students.
“Migrant students are being scapegoated to distract us from the real reason for the housing crisis, which is the financialization of housing markets,” he said.
Preceding the set of international student program reforms, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) raised the financial requirements for incoming international students from $10,000 a year to more than $20,000.
Erdikili says that this imposes an undue financial strain on students and their families, particularly those from lower-income backgrounds.
“It punishes students who come from lower-middle class or even middle-class families… Especially if you come from other exploited countries, just imagine, your parents work hard for years and years and years with a dream to send you to Canada, to get a good education so that you can build a better future and now, they suddenly realize that all this money that they’ve been saving is not enough,” Erdikili said.
While financial constraint is one of the concerns of students, Erdikili points out that lack of education in terms of an individual’s right is another serious concern that needs to be addressed.
“Lack of knowledge of the rights is also another issue,” he added. “It’s an issue for all workers or migrant workers in Canada…Education about the rights for worker’s rights is a pretty important issue for everyone who works in Ontario and in Canada, including the students.”
The FCJ Refugee Centre conducts various migrant outreach programs in educational institutes on topics of human trafficking, labor exploitation, and labor rights.
“The point of all this is firstly raising awareness for both potential victims, the general public, and also service providers so that prevention and protection can happen,” said Erdikili. “When people learn about the rights, the available services, they can access them when they need it, or they can let other people who need the services know about its services… It facilitates appropriate intervention.”
The center persists in advocating for the rights of migrant students and urges policy changes that tackle the root causes of exploitation and vulnerability.
