Study‑permit verification and agri‑food changes

Summary#

The federal government published two sets of ministerial instructions from the Department of Citizenship and Immigration. One changes rules for the Agri-food Immigration Class and how certain farm work counts toward applications. The other requires post‑secondary study permit applicants to have their acceptance confirmed by their Designated Learning Institution before the application is processed, using the Letter of Acceptance Verification Tool; that instruction came into force on January 30, 2024.

What it does#

• Agri-food immigration changes (amendments to the Ministerial Instructions Respecting the Agri-food Immigration Class, 2023):

  • Clarifies who is a member of the agri-food class when they apply for permanent residence.
  • Replaces a rule so that work done under some work permits counts if the underlying labour market assessment supported a permit for at least 12 months, even if the actual work permit was shorter. It also allows work under section 207.1 of the Regulations to count.
  • Adds a rule that, for people applying from inside Canada, certain residency and work requirements are treated as met if the applicant is in Canada and meets specific listed conditions.
  • Applies these changes to agri-food applications that are still pending when the instructions take effect. The instructions take effect on the day they are published in the Canada Gazette, Part I (publication date noted in the Gazette).

• Study-permit processing instructions (the Ministerial Instructions with respect to the processing of study permit applications):

  • Require that a study permit or study-permit renewal application name a Designated Learning Institution (DLI) that will confirm whether the applicant was accepted into the program before processing begins.
  • Say officers must return applications if the DLI does not indicate acceptance within 10 calendar days of the application being received.
  • Require electronic applications to use the Letter of Acceptance Verification Tool for that DLI response.
  • Allow the Minister to grant a single extension of up to 30 days to that response window for DLIs affected by major outages, disasters, public health emergencies, or labour disputes.
  • Require refund of the study-permit fee if an application is returned unprocessed under these rules.
  • Repeal the earlier study-permit instructions that were published on December 2, 2023.
  • Came into force on January 30, 2024.

Who's affected#

• People applying for permanent residence under the Agri-food Immigration Class, especially workers with farm or agri-food experience who held temporary work permits.
• Foreign nationals who are already in Canada and intend to apply under the agri-food class.
• International students applying for post-secondary study permits or renewal of those permits.
• Designated Learning Institutions, which must respond about acceptances and use the Letter of Acceptance Verification Tool for electronic applications.
• Immigration officers who process study-permit applications.
• The Gazette also shows the minister who signed the instructions: Marc Miller (signature date listed as January 26, 2024).

If the source is unclear about who exactly is affected in a specific situation, the instructions themselves should be checked or a lawyer/immigration adviser consulted.

Why it matters#

• For agri-food applicants: the change clarifies what kinds of temporary farm work count toward permanent residence. That can affect eligibility for people whose work permits were shorter than 12 months but were based on a longer labour market assessment.
• For international students and DLIs: the rule tries to make sure that a student has actually been accepted before a visa application is processed. That aims to reduce fraud and speed reliable decisions. But it also creates a strict response deadline for DLIs. If a DLI is slow to respond, the student’s application can be returned and the fee refunded, which could mean reapplying and delays in travel or study start dates.