Last year, we predicted that a promising start to a pandemic rebound would position BC to withstand sector shifts in 2022. Our prediction rang true for Canada’s most mature destination market, with student inflows from India pushing British Columbia’s international education sector to new heights.
According to new full-year data for 2022 from Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC), students from India drove record-breaking growth in the number of student visa approvals in British Columbia.1 The data reveals a notable shift in both top student populations and study levels in BC—not to mention volume, with over 12,500 more students approved to study in 2022 compared to 2021.2
Which source countries are leading the shift in BC’s international education landscape? What are students studying in BC? How did BC fare compared to other Canadian provinces? We dive into the exciting rise in approval rates for new student populations, and the impact these shifts have had on British Columbian institutions.
Key Insights at a Glance
- British Columbia had 19% more study permit approvals in 2022 than in 2021, representing over 12,500 more approvals in just one year.
- Indian students represented 60% of the overall growth in study permit approvals in BC, with over 11,500 more approvals to Indian students in 2022 than 2021.
- The number of Filipino international students approved to study in BC in 2022 grew at a staggering rate of 55% year-over-year.
- 60% of study permit approvals in British Columbia were at the college level in 2022.
This is the fourth article in our series delving into the Canadian international education market by province. In our previous articles, we detailed study permit trends in Atlantic Canada, the Canadian Prairies, and Quebec.
International Student Growth in BC Skyrocketed in 2022
In 2022, British Columbia accounted for nearly 20% of all Canadian student visa approvals. Last year, over 12,500 more international students were approved to study in British Columbia, making it the second most popular destination province in Canada.
Let’s take a closer look at how the coastal province has fared over the past six years:
Before the pandemic, study permit approvals for British Columbia began to plateau at around 50,000 from 2018 to 2019. The number of international students studying in BC began to grow in 2021, with an increase of 31% more study permit approvals compared to 2019.
Historically, study permit approval rates in British Columbia have been higher than the national average, and 2022 was no exception. With over 123,000 applications in 2022, 63% of students were approved to study in British Columbia last year. This led to over 78,500 new study permit approvals last year in British Columbia, representing a year-over-year growth of 19% in 2022.
Indian International Students Driving Growth in BC
Indian students have been integral to the growth in international students across Canada for the past few years, with 195,000 more Indian students approved to study in Canada in 2022. This trend is reflected in British Columbia’s boom in study permit approvals, with Indian students setting the mark for British Columbia’s international education sector in 2022.
Last year, we covered the massive growth in Indian students in Canada, looking at why Indian students are choosing Canada.
The chart below shows the trend-setting power of Indian international students in British Columbia in 2022:
Despite a six percentage point drop in approval rates for Indian students looking to study in British Columbia, Indian students represented 60% of the growth in study permit approvals in BC, with over 11,500 more approvals in 2022 than in 2021.
Indian international students saw over 11,500 more study permit approvals in 2022, with a total of more than 32,000 study permit approvals in British Columbia. In 2022, Indian students saw a 56% increase in study permit approvals in just one year, which was 16 percentage points higher than the national average growth for Indian students across Canada.
Iranian students also saw impressive growth in BC, with more Iranian students studying in BC than ever before. As the fastest growing student population in British Columbia, study permit approvals to Iranian students increased by more than 50%, with a 58% increase in approvals in just one year. This was 24% higher than the national average growth of Iranian students in Canada in 2022, compared to the national growth of 34%.
The continued development of Asian student populations in Canada’s second most popular destination province will be critical to the ongoing growth of Canada’s international education sector in the coming years.
The number of Filipino international students approved to study in British Columbia in 2022 grew at a staggering rate of 55%. Though still 26% behind than the national average, the growth in Filipino students in BC as the third top international student population in BC.
How Did BC Compare to Other Canadian Provinces?
More than 420,000 international students were approved to study in Canada in 2022. Let’s take a closer look at how BC compared to Canada’s top provinces for study permit approvals:
As the second-largest destination province for international students in Canada, BC accounted for 19% of all study permit approvals in Canada in 2022. The 19% year-over-year growth was overshadowed by the growth in other provinces like Ontario, Alberta, and Nova Scotia, where approval rate growth was ahead of the national average of 27%. It’s worth noting that although these provinces overshadowed BC’s year-over-year growth, BC saw the highest growth rate in 2019-2022 compared to all other provinces.
56,000 more international students were approved to study in Ontario in 2022, with 63% of that growth driven by Indian students. Last year, study permit approvals for Indian students grew by 41% in Ontario and 56% in BC. Indian students accounted for more than 60% of the growth in international student inflows to BC in 2022.
Post-Secondary Education in BC Attracting More International Students to BC
With an influx of 78,000 students in 2022, British Columbia’s international education sector had another record year. So, which fields of study were students approved to study at in BC?
The K-12, college, and university study levels all showed significant growth in 2022 as the province continues to attract more and more students. K-12 approvals were up 10%, with 1,600 more study permit approvals in 2022 compared to 2021. Overall, K-12 students sat at a total of over 17,250 students in 2022, despite a strong national increase in K-12 approvals.
Post-secondary education at the college and university levels grew significantly, with a 43% increase in college approvals and 16% in university approvals in 2022. Both college and university approvals were ahead of the national average growth in 2022. College approvals were two percentage points higher than the national average, and university approvals grew by eight percentage points more than the national average in 2022. Overall, 60% of study permit approvals in British Columbia were at the college level in 2022.
College studies was the only study level in BC to increase in market share of new approvals in 2022. As a historically university-driven market, BC approvals have shifted, with more international students approved to study at the college level in 2022 than in 2021. We see this shift happening slowly, with nearly 1 in 3 of all study permit approvals in BC at the college level in 2022. This was five percentage points higher in 2022 compared to 2021.
Looking Forward
The trend-setting power of Indian international students over the past few years can be used to predict shifts in student mobility trends for years to come. Post-secondary institutions in BC are looking to diversify their student populations by attracting more students from growing source countries to come to study in BC. As interest from Indian international students in British Columbia rises, we expect to see more shifts in students’ interest, particularly in growing metropolitan areas across BC.
With growing study permit approvals and for shifting student populations, institutions in British Columbia can attract more students by:
- Setting students up for success in the job market post-graduation by supporting them with applying to jobs and honing their job-readiness skills.
- Exploring connections with local industries in BC to find work-integrated learning and post-graduation career opportunities for international students.
- Encouraging students to leverage Canada’s Student Direct Stream (SDS) to benefit from an impressive approval rate advantage over non-SDS applicants.
Stay tuned to ApplyInsights in the coming weeks for our next article in our provincial trends series, where we’ll take a look at study permit trends in Canada’s most popular destination province, Ontario.
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FOOTNOTES:
1. The terms student visa and study permit are generally used interchangeably for Canadian international students. Rather than student visas, Canada provides accepted international students with study permits, which allow those students to enroll in classes at Canadian institutions. When a student is accepted for a study permit, they are also usually provided with a visitor visa, which allows that student to enter Canada for their studies. For the purposes of this article, we’ll use the terms interchangeably.
2. All data courtesy of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC).
