CIMM – Question No. Q-78 – October 21, 2025
Inquiry of Ministry
By: Alexis Brunelle-Duceppe (Lac-Saint-Jean)
Date: June 2 , 2025
Question
With regard to the approval rate for French-speaking international students: how many study permit applications, other than extension applications, has Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada processed since January 1, 2023, broken down by (i) country of residence, (ii) number of people, (iii) year?
Reply
Insofar as Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) is concerned:
Note: The term “French-Speaking” includes applications where the applicant has declared that their official language is French or bilingual.
- In 2023, IRCC processed 144,355 study permit applications (excluding extension applications) from French-speaking international students. Of these, 56,650 (39%) were approved.
- In 2024, IRCC processed 145,290 study permit applications (excluding extension applications) from French-speaking international students. Of these, 39,640 (27%) were approved.
- From January 1, 2025 to April 30, 2025, IRCC processed 26,905 study permit applications (excluding extension applications) from French-speaking international students. Of these, 4,790 (18%) were approved.
Please refer to Annex A for a further breakdown by country of residence. Of note:
- In 2023, French-speaking or bilingual applicants declaring Algeria as their country of residence submitted the largest proportion of study permit applications processed (24,255), followed by the Republic of Guinea (15,765), the Federal Republic of Cameroon (13,750), and Senegal (13,735) with respective approval rates of 35%, 22%, 34%, and 26%.
- In 2024, French-speaking or bilingual applicants declaring the Republic of Guinea as their country of residence submitted the largest proportion of study permit applications processed (26,955), followed by Algeria (21,450), and Senegal (17,450) with respective approval rates of 13%, 15% and 24%.
- In 2025, from January 1 to April 30, French-speaking or bilingual applications declaring their country of residence as the Republic of Guinea as their country of residence submitted the largest proportion of study permit applications processed (6,355), followed by Senegal (4,240) and Federal Republic of Cameroon (2,170), with respective approval rates of 1%, 9%, and 23%.