Filipino temporary residents warned of more challenges as Canada plans to trim their number

Filipino temporary residents warned of more challenges as Canada plans to trim their number

Maria Andrelita S. Austria, Philippine Ambassador to Canada, centre, speaks with Filipino-Canadian nurses during a break at the international students convention at North York, Ont. on May 11.
Photo by Veronica C. Silva

May 25, 2024

By Veronica C. Silva

LJI Reporter

The Philippine Reporter

Filipino temporary residents to Canada are being advised by the Philippine government to brace themselves as more changes to the Canada’s immigration system loom.

Speaking at an international students’ convention on May 11 in North York, Ont., Ambassador Maria Andrelita S. Austria said the pathway to Canada will be “mas mahirap (more challenging)” as Canada plans to trim the number of temporary residents from the current 6.2% of the country’s population to 5%.

Austria was referring to the previous day’s announcement by Immigration Minister Marc Miller after meeting with provincial and territorial immigration ministers. At a press conference after the meeting on May 10, Miller said Canada will move forward with the plan to decrease the number of temporary residents in the population.

Canada also plans to include temporary residents in its regular immigration level plans, according to a press statement released after the press conference.

Currently, only targets for permanent residents, refugees, and those coming in on humanitarian grounds are included in the immigration plan. The 2024 – 2026 plan, released in November 2023, will “stabilize” Canada’s immigration flow to 500,000 per year starting in 2026 as the country tries to balance economic growth with pressures on housing, health care and infrastructure.

Temporary residents include foreign workers, asylum seekers, those coming under Canada’s humanitarian assistance, and the growing number of international students. According to Austria, the number of Filipino international students reached 30,000 in 2023 compared to 1,500 in 2015. It is common knowledge in the diaspora that Filipinos study in Canada to consider the pathway to permanent residency (PR). International students in Canada have the opportunity to apply for PR after completing their studies. They are also allowed to work part-time while studying.

“Reality check po: hindi lahat magiging PR (not everybody will become a permanent resident),” said Austria. “There are changes in immigration law. … Mas mahirap pa (It will be more difficult) for temporary residents, including international students to come to Canada,” she added.

Aside from decreasing the number of international students who will be granted study permits – as announced last January — Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada will also limit spouses of students who can get open work permits. In the January announcement, only spouses of international students at the graduate studies level, that is, those in master’s or doctoral programs, will be issued work permits.

In December 2023, Canada increased the required proof of financial support that international students need to get a study permit. From $10,000, each single applicant student is now required to show proof of financial support worth more than $20,000. Canada said this is to keep pace with the rising cost of living.

Credentials recognition

Despite these challenges, Austria said the Philippine government has been advocating for policy changes, such as the recognition of foreign credentials, especially the health care professionals. It is an advocacy that Austria said the Philippine government has been working on since 2016.

“We [the Philippine government] are very concerned that our credentials are not recognized,” she added. “In fact, sinasabi namin (we say): if you will not recognize our nurses, we will not send them to you,” said Austria of how they are talking to the Canadian government at all levels: federal, and provincial or territorial. “We will send them to countries where their credentials are recognized – [to] US and Germany.”

This message to the Canadian government was mentioned in the previous day’s press conference by Miller.

Speaking to reporters in the press conference on May 10, Miller said: “I heard … the other day — and many of my colleagues did — from the foreign minister from the Philippines that they get to pick and choose — to some extent — the countries they send some of their indispensable healthcare workers to, and those countries that have lower barriers and actually reward people for the qualifications that they have are ones that they will favour.

Miller was responding to a reporter’s question about whether there were some competing demands from Canada’s provinces and territories for immigrants. He said provinces and territories, which have jurisdiction on accrediting credentials, agree that they need to “trim the red tape [on accreditation] while maintaining the high standards that Canada has on the labour force.”

While Miller did not mention at the press conference on May 10 the name of the “foreign minister from the Philippines,” Philippine Foreign Affairs Secretary Enrique A. Manalo was in Ottawa on May 8 where he met with top Canadian top officials, including Miller, Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly, and more.

In a statement by the Philippine Embassy in Ottawa, Manalo was said to have discussed with Miller “the Philippine government’s hope for Filipino professionals to be able to practice their professions in Canada and for stronger protection of temporary foreign workers and international students in the country.”

Miller also mentioned in the press conference that work on Canada’s international student program and issuance of post-graduate work permits is “not done.” He said there is a need to align the program to Canada’s labour market needs to make sure that Canada’s not churning out fake degrees and fake MBAs, and strand international students in low-paying jobs after paying thousands of dollars in student fees.

International students in Canada pay more than what domestic Canadian citizens or permanent residents pay. A quick search on Google would reveal that some universities charge international students in hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Miller said the meeting with immigration ministers also recognized the importance of sharing data, such as data on the transition of temporary residents to permanent residents and the provincial nominee programs, and the capacity challenges provinces and territories are facing.

Austria told the audience of international students that while the Philippine government is on hand to help international students despite the challenges, the Philippine government does not have any say on Canada’s immigration policies.