Canadian province announces two-year ban on Nigerians, other international students

British Columbia, a Canadian province, has banned tertiary institutions from admitting Nigerians and international students for the next two years.

Federal Immigration Minister Marc Miller disclosed this recently in a statement.

According to Miller, the measure aims to decrease new student visa issuance by 35 per cent for the current year as the province addresses “exploitative practices” within the system, as per the announcement.

The Premier of British Columbia, David Eby, stressed the importance of addressing issues within the international education system, recognizing its pivotal role in the province’s social and economic framework.

“There are a wide array of private institutions, big and small, in our province, but regardless of the institution’s size, our expectations of the level of quality are the same.

“There are institutions that are not meeting our expectations right now,” he said.

It was gathered that in the first half of 2023, nearly 18,000 study permits were granted to Nigerians in Canada, surpassing all other countries except India.