00:16:08 · Shawn Silverstone
[00:16:08] S1: the k to 12 institutions, the visa refusal rates are really dramatically reshaping the international education landscape, and it's impacting not only the post secondary institutions, but also the K-twelve schools that really rely on long term student enrollment. So while the K to 12 students, you know, often have stronger ties to their home countries, since their families typically intend for them to return after grad... The increasing unpredictability in student visa approvals has really led to a notable slowdown in new enrollments. And, you know, specifically for our pipeline, families are delaying applications or choosing alternative destinations where visa approvals are are more predictable, maybe such as The UK or even United States. And increasing uncertainty discourages long term planning and leading to fewer multiyear commitments from international families. And recruitment agents are also struggling to confidently promote Canada when, visa outcomes are inconsistent. And institutions are really being forced to adjust their marketing and enrollment strategies and focusing on markets with historically higher visa success rates. So lower renewal rates for students already in Canada and families are growing concerned about potential future for immigration hurdles.
00:17:19 · Martijn van de Veen
[00:17:19] S3: Yeah. And I totally can imagine that. Craig, what's your look on this when you hear the input from Australia and Canada? I know you've written a few articles on the topic of visa rejection rates. What are some of those causes that you identify? And do you see it across multiple prominent destination?
00:17:36 · Craig Riggs
[00:17:36] S4: Yeah, we really do. I mean, Australia and Canada are two significant examples at the moment because in both countries, we've seen over the last year a series of new rules or policy changes that have been brought forward by respective national governments that have just all essentially led to a more restrictive environment for student movement and visa processing in particular. We don't yet have full year data in hand for both countries, but the data points that we do have make it very clear that there has been a significant increase in refusal rates for student visas in particular, in Canada and in The US. For example, the numbers that we do have tell us that just more than half, 52% of study permit applications to Canada were refused in 2024. That's up from just over 38% the year prior. 38% to 52%, that's a significant change and a similar pattern playing out in Australia. I think as both Michal and Shawn are pointing to, that when you see that kind of significant change in the number of student visa applications that are being refused, it sets up a lot of confusion and uncertainty in the marketplace. And the thing we can put alongside that is, aside from rejection rates, just processing times for students. It feels like that governments in Canada, Australia, we see it in The US as well, are not investing sufficiently in visa processing systems. It's leading to significant delays in processing times in many destinations. And that is another aspect of uncertainty and disruption in the marketplace. It just impedes student decision making, makes it more difficult for students to plan their studies in some of these major destinations with confidence. So that is, on the one hand, we're seeing objective indication that visas are getting more difficult to get and taking longer to get. And as both Shawn and Michal are explaining, that has had a really profound effect on student decision.
00:19:44 · Martijn van de Veen, Shawn Silverstone
[00:19:44] S3: It does have a profound impact and that's, those are very impactful numbers indeed. I guess you could say that from roughly more than a third of visa application rejecting Canada to more than half, that has a big impact on the sector and of course on the schools that recruit these students, on the agencies that are involved, and the students themselves. But, Shawn, how do you respond to this evolution as an institution? [00:20:06] S1: You know, for us, we're really trying to work more closely with our agents, and we're really going out there and seeing how we can support them and let them know, you know, that basically the... It's important for them to keep up with the growing trends and look at what IRCC is doing, and this will help to basically educate the families as well so they're feeling more confident in their application. So it's really about a relationship between, you know, us, the agent, and the family. And when you're dealing with minors in the k to 12 sector, there really is... The agent is the key component to it and that they have to be able to work with the families in their home country. So for us as a school district, it's important that we make sure we're working with agents that align with our values and they are keeping up to date with the latest trends involved in immigration and visas. [00:21:04] S3: Can you give some concrete examples there, Shawn? So by working more closely with the agencies, working more closely with the families in their home countries, How does that help you circumnavigate these challenges in the visa processing?
00:21:18 · Shawn Silverstone
[00:21:18] S1: The agents are then able to kind of like prescreen the applicants, ensure they really meet all the custodianship and program requirements, and they're advising families on how to present a compelling study plan that clearly demonstrates the student's intent to study and return home. And they're helping them with the documentation accuracy, really ensuring that all necessary paperwork, the code readership agreements, the school acceptance letters is properly completed, and they're tracking, you know, visa refusal trends and adapting strategies to meet, you know, changing IRCC requirements and providing timely updates on changes in visa policies as well to ensure families really remain well informed. And for us, this closer collaboration really looks in practice like we're going and we're doing regular training sessions with these agents to keep them updated on evolving visa requirements and developing standardized documentation checklists that ensure families submit strong applications. And we're sharing our data on visa trends to refine application strategies. And we're really encouraging early submission of applicants to avoid delays and last minute issues. And so by leveraging, you know, our agent expertise, you know, the schools, we can really increase their visa approval rates and help build a greater trust with these international families.
00:22:34 · Martijn van de Veen
[00:22:34] S3: Right. So you're looking at the, you know, the necessary paperwork you mentioned. You're looking at the the school accept... Acceptance letters there, of course, very important. So it's probably more work to improve these letters, to improve the the the paperwork or to be part of that. What is it? A 38% in the case of Canada. I guess it's very similar to to Australia, Michal.