Canada’s post-secondary education sector is recovering and is doing well. By the end of May 2021, the student visa approval rate increased by 25%. Nearly 120,000 new students got visa. The number of 2021’s new study permits is approaching 2019 numbers. And this is all due to growing older-aged student applicants.
According to last year’s study permit approval rate data, it can be implied that older applicants have lower approval rates. But this year, there is a shift in approval rates for older and younger students. In this blog, we will see the past five years’ record. Also, we will dive into study permit volumes by age of the applicant.
Top insights to glance
-
For applicants under 20, approval rates are 30-40% higher compared to over 30 applicants from January 2016 to May 2021
-
For applicants between 25 to 30, approval rates rose around 15% from 2016 to 2021
-
Students aged 25+ got study permits at a 30% increased rate from 2016 to 2021
Study Permit Approval rate for Post Secondary by applicant age
Over the last 5 years, consistently there has been a higher approval rate for younger students. Every year from 2016 to 2020, younger students aged under 20 got their visa approved twice as much as compared to students over 30.
The older the student gets, the less likely he is to get the visa approved. Even at the peak of the pandemic in 2020, student’s age had an impact on study visa approval.
students aged between 20 to 25 experienced a big shift in approval rate. It is the only age group to experience a decline of 10% in their approval rate, falling from 58% to 47% in 2020.
2020 is the only time when the approval rate dropped below the average of the 20-25 age bracket.
Study Permit Approval rate for University by applicant age
In 2020, the approval rate rose by 1% for students under 20 and rose another 9% in 2021 for the under 20 age bracket. For students over 25, the approval rate fell by 5% in 2020 and increased by 10% in 2021. For students over 30, the approval rate is the lowest among all age groups for study permit for university.
This shows that age has a major impact on Canadian student visa approval. As you go higher than 20 years age, your chance of getting a visa significantly decreases.
Suggestions for older students
Since the number of older international students is increasing to study in Canada, it is essential to know why approval rates are lower for older student applicants.
Visa officers often inspect older students more carefully. They are looking for proofs that applicants are going with study-based PR methods since they are not suitable to enter Canada through other means. Suggestion is that students choose their programs carefully and show a clear purpose for applying abroad to ensure visa officers of their genuine interest in Canadian education.
The selection of study path should be based on genuine career progression. For example, a visa officer is more likely to approve visa for an applicant with a degee in computer science looking for a course in Master of Artificial Intelligence compared to a similar student applying for a pre-computer sciences certificate program.
Way Forward
While there are multiple factors to consider by a student to control study permit approval outcome apart from age which can’t be changed. Students who consider study abroad should bear in mind that they are more likely to be approved at a younger age than older age where their application will be closely inspected at older age.
