A profile of foreign students who transition to permanent resident status in Atlantic Canada
Characteristics of foreign students transitioning to permanent residents in Atlantic Canada
New permanent residents in Atlantic Canada whose prior status in Canada was foreign student are more likely to be male (see Table 7). Over the years, the proportion of male foreign students transitioning to permanent resident in Atlantic Canada remained within a range of 54 to 63% with an average of about 58%. However, some provinces with relatively small numbers of transitions saw proportions outside this range.
Gender | 1999 | 2000 | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Male | 47 | 35 | 18 | 26 | 21 | 17 | 26 | 27 | 34 | 45 | 41 |
Female | 25 | 26 | 15 | 17 | 18 | 20 | 18 | 20 | 30 | 37 | 18 |
Newfoundland and Labrador | 72 | 61 | 33 | 43 | 39 | 37 | 44 | 47 | 64 | 82 | 59 |
Male | 1 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 19 | 21 | 24 | 33 | 69 | 55 | |
Female | 1 | 4 | 6 | 2 | 15 | 18 | 31 | 36 | 44 | 42 | |
Prince Edward Island | 2 | 8 | 9 | 5 | 34 | 39 | 55 | 69 | 113 | 97 | |
Male | 57 | 44 | 42 | 69 | 52 | 70 | 89 | 111 | 94 | 100 | 79 |
Female | 30 | 38 | 44 | 30 | 25 | 32 | 50 | 82 | 64 | 78 | 76 |
Nova Scotia | 87 | 82 | 86 | 99 | 77 | 102 | 139 | 193 | 158 | 178 | 155 |
Male | 44 | 27 | 33 | 24 | 39 | 31 | 70 | 125 | 98 | 130 | 94 |
Female | 19 | 21 | 19 | 19 | 22 | 25 | 57 | 82 | 55 | 82 | 63 |
New Brunswick | 63 | 48 | 52 | 43 | 61 | 56 | 127 | 207 | 153 | 212 | 157 |
Atlantic foreign student transitions | 224 | 199 | 171 | 194 | 182 | 229 | 349 | 502 | 444 | 585 | 468 |
Atlantic provinces proportion | |||||||||||
Female | 33% | 45% | 46% | 37% | 37% | 40% | 41% | 43% | 42% | 41% | 43% |
Male | 67% | 55% | 54% | 63% | 63% | 60% | 59% | 57% | 58% | 59% | 57% |
Source: Citizenship & Immigration Canada, RDM, Facts and Figures 2009
Data about age is collected when there is a change in status. For this analysis, the data has been grouped into three categories: those younger than post-secondary education age (typically under 18), those of “prime” age to be in post-secondary education (19 -31) and those generally considered older than typical post-secondary students (32 and over).
Given the common perception of foreign students as those enrolled in post-secondary education, it is surprising that 48% of the foreign students transitioning to permanent resident status in Atlantic Canada in 2009 are between the ages of 19 and 31(see Table 8). This compares to about 60% in this age group in the rest of Canada (see Table A-2).
In 2009, about 38% of foreign students transitioning to permanent resident status in Atlantic Canada were under 18. This suggests that they are high school and elementary students and not post-secondary students. This is about 10 percentage points higher than the 27% for the rest of Canada in 2009 (see Table A-2). It is interesting to note that starting in 2005, the number (and proportion) of foreign students transitioning in the youngest age group in Atlantic Canada rose rapidly and has remained high since then.
About 14% of new permanent residents in Atlantic Canada who had a previous yearly status of foreign student were over the age of 32 when they transitioned in 2009, about the same as in the rest of Canada.
Age Group | 1999 | 2000 | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
18 and Under | 69 | 68 | 62 | 79 | 60 | 62 | 143 | 217 | 185 | 239 | 180 |
19-31 | 105 | 98 | 81 | 91 | 102 | 120 | 163 | 227 | 192 | 280 | 224 |
32 and Over | 50 | 33 | 28 | 24 | 20 | 47 | 43 | 58 | 67 | 66 | 64 |
Atlantic | 224 | 199 | 171 | 194 | 182 | 229 | 349 | 502 | 444 | 585 | 468 |
Atlantic Proportion | |||||||||||
18 and Under | 31% | 34% | 36% | 41% | 33% | 27% | 41% | 43% | 42% | 41% | 38% |
19-31 | 47% | 49% | 47% | 47% | 56% | 52% | 47% | 45% | 43% | 48% | 48% |
32 and Over | 22% | 17% | 16% | 12% | 11% | 21% | 12% | 12% | 15% | 11% | 14% |
Source: Citizenship & Immigration Canada, RDM, Facts and Figures 2009
In 2009, the top countries of origin for new permanent residents of Canada whose previous yearly status was foreign student were China, South Korea, India, France, the United Kingdom and the United StatesFootnote 12. In Atlantic Canada foreign student transitions from China are well represented in every province, but beyond that there are differences depending on the province (see Table 9). In general, at this level of detail the numbers are very small and hence variability is high. However, for Atlantic Canada as a whole South Korea, China, the United Kingdom, and the United States were the top sources of transitioning foreign students in 2009. This has also been true for most of the period (see Table A-4).
Country of Residence | 1999 | 2000 | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
China | 20 | 14 | 6 | 8 | 7 | 9 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 18 | 10 |
Bangladesh | 2 | 5 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 6 | 6 | 14 | 8 | |
India | 11 | 4 | 2 | 5 | 4 | 7 | 2 | 8 | 6 | 6 | |
All Others | 39 | 38 | 24 | 30 | 26 | 20 | 37 | 32 | 42 | 44 | 35 |
Newfoundland and Labrador | 72 | 61 | 33 | 43 | 39 | 37 | 44 | 47 | 64 | 82 | 59 |
China | 4 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 28 | 40 | |||||
South Korea | 1 | 15 | 25 | 37 | 37 | 42 | 26 | ||||
Taiwan | 2 | 4 | 5 | 11 | 22 | 13 | |||||
All Others | 2 | 8 | 0 | 8 | 5 | 13 | 8 | 9 | 15 | 21 | 18 |
PEI | 2 | 8 | 9 | 5 | 34 | 39 | 55 | 69 | 113 | 97 | |
China | 24 | 18 | 13 | 22 | 13 | 19 | 26 | 33 | 18 | 21 | 29 |
United Kingdom | 3 | 3 | 8 | 1 | 5 | 3 | 9 | 15 | 15 | 18 | |
United States | 11 | 8 | 10 | 6 | 9 | 9 | 10 | 16 | 10 | 16 | 18 |
Germany | 2 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 9 | 15 | |
South Korea | 1 | 6 | 3 | 6 | 7 | 7 | 21 | 28 | 13 | 12 | 8 |
All Others | 46 | 47 | 53 | 54 | 45 | 61 | 75 | 107 | 97 | 105 | 67 |
Nova Scotia | 87 | 82 | 86 | 99 | 77 | 102 | 139 | 193 | 158 | 178 | 155 |
South Korea | 2 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 51 | 119 | 70 | 112 | 69 | ||
China | 17 | 12 | 6 | 4 | 11 | 10 | 18 | 28 | 17 | 38 | 20 |
France | 2 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | |||||
All Others | 44 | 35 | 46 | 37 | 47 | 42 | 55 | 60 | 66 | 58 | 63 |
New Brunswick | 63 | 48 | 52 | 43 | 61 | 56 | 127 | 207 | 153 | 212 | 157 |
Atlantic | 224 | 199 | 171 | 194 | 182 | 229 | 349 | 502 | 444 | 585 | 468 |
Source: Citizenship & Immigration Canada, RDM, Facts and Figures 2009
*Only those with more than 5 landings in 2009 are included.
In general, the level of education at the time of transition from foreign student to permanent resident status has been declining over the past ten years in Atlantic Canada. Table 10 shows this trend. At the beginning of the ten year period roughly 64% of foreign students transitioning to permanent resident status had post-secondary education (defined as university or other post secondary), by 2009 this had fallen to about 44%, with the biggest drop occurring in 2005. It is interesting to note that the preceding table shows this same year as the year of a sizeable increase in the number of foreign student transitions aged 18 years or younger.
Transition level of study | 1999 | 2000 | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Secondary or less | 27 | 26 | 18 | 24 | 11 | 12 | 22 | 10 | 21 | 14 | 12 |
Trade | 1 | 1 | 1 | ||||||||
University | 41 | 29 | 15 | 16 | 23 | 23 | 18 | 31 | 33 | 61 | 41 |
Other post-secondary | 3 | 4 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 8 | 5 | 4 | |
Level of study not stated | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | ||
Newfoundland and Labrador | 72 | 61 | 33 | 43 | 39 | 37 | 44 | 47 | 64 | 82 | 59 |
Secondary or less | 1 | 6 | 4 | 2 | 20 | 31 | 43 | 53 | 85 | 69 | |
Trade | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 1 | ||||||
University | 2 | 4 | 2 | 7 | 5 | 8 | 6 | 10 | 5 | ||
Other post-secondary | 1 | 1 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 6 | 11 | 12 | |||
Level of study not stated | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 5 | 10 | ||||
Prince Edward Island | 2 | 8 | 9 | 5 | 34 | 39 | 55 | 69 | 113 | 97 | |
Secondary or less | 26 | 22 | 35 | 32 | 22 | 34 | 47 | 75 | 68 | 57 | 64 |
Trade | 1 | 1 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 4 | 1 | ||||
University | 53 | 50 | 41 | 53 | 40 | 53 | 72 | 87 | 73 | 89 | 66 |
Other post-secondary | 6 | 8 | 6 | 12 | 14 | 11 | 12 | 19 | 10 | 25 | 15 |
Level of study not stated | 2 | 1 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 9 | 5 | 3 | 9 |
Nova Scotia | 87 | 82 | 86 | 99 | 77 | 102 | 139 | 193 | 158 | 178 | 155 |
Secondary or less | 21 | 18 | 17 | 27 | 30 | 11 | 69 | 128 | 76 | 127 | 85 |
Trade | 2 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 1 | |||||
University | 33 | 24 | 26 | 10 | 12 | 36 | 34 | 46 | 61 | 51 | 52 |
Other post-secondary | 7 | 4 | 7 | 5 | 16 | 6 | 10 | 24 | 8 | 18 | 12 |
Level of study not stated | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 10 | 6 | 7 | 14 | 7 |
New Brunswick | 63 | 48 | 52 | 43 | 61 | 56 | 127 | 207 | 153 | 212 | 157 |
Atlantic | 224 | 199 | 171 | 194 | 182 | 229 | 349 | 502 | 444 | 585 | 468 |
Atlantic secondary or less % | 33% | 36% | 41% | 45% | 36% | 34% | 48% | 51% | 49% | 48% | 49% |
Atlantic % PSE | 64% | 61% | 56% | 53% | 62% | 62% | 45% | 44% | 46% | 46% | 44% |
RoC | 5,165 | 5,238 | 5,860 | 5,442 | 5,468 | 7,036 | 7,613 | 9,518 | 9,871 | 10,179 | 8,778 |
RoC secondary or less % | 44% | 43% | 44% | 42% | 35% | 31% | 30% | 27% | 27% | 31% | 35% |
RoC PSE % | 50% | 51% | 49% | 50% | 54% | 58% | 57% | 61% | 61% | 57% | 53% |
Source: Citizenship & Immigration Canada, RDM, Facts and Figures 2009
In contrast, the level of education across Canada for foreign students transitioning to permanent resident status has increased slightly over the period, with 50% having post secondary education in 1999 to 53% in 2009, with much higher rates (for example 61% in 2006 and 2007) in some years (see Table A-5 and also the last line of Table 10). Thus, in 2009, the proportion of foreign students that transition with post-secondary education in Atlantic Canada was almost 10 percentage points less than in the rest of Canada. This wide divergence started in 2005 and has continued.
It is interesting to note the considerable variation by province with regard to the level of education of transitioning foreign students in Atlantic Canada: in 2009, students with post secondary education (PSE) make up more than 75% of transition to permanent resident status in Newfoundland and Labrador, 52% in Nova Scotia, 40% in New Brunswick, but only 17% in PEI. In New Brunswick and PEI foreign students with high school or less comprise a large proportion, if not the bulk of transitions. The change in the importance of this group is most marked in New Brunswick and Nova Scotia in 2005 and PEI in 2008.
One might expect foreign students who are transitioning to permanent resident status to be young people who having completed their post-secondary education in Canada, wish to take advantage of labour market opportunities available to them as a result of their studies in Canada and the network they developed while studying. Therefore, one might expect their family status to be “principal applicant”. However, a large proportion of those making the transition from foreign student status to permanent resident status in Atlantic Canada are not “principal applicants” (PAs) but are the accompanying spouse or dependant of a PAFootnote 13. Across the rest of Canada the proportion of foreign students transitioning to permanent resident status who were either spouses or dependants was between 37% and 48% over the period 1999 to 2009, with an average of 42%; in 2009 the proportion was 46% (see Table A-6).
In contrast to the rest of Canada, in Atlantic Canada over the same period, the proportion of foreign students who were spouses or dependents and transitioned to permanent resident status rose continuously from 38% to 69% in 2009 (see Table 11). This trend towards a higher proportion of foreign students making the transition to permanent resident status in Atlantic Canada being spouses or dependents rose markedly after 2004. The proportions are particularly high in PEI and New Brunswick. In the latter, the number of spouses and dependants almost quadrupled from 2004 to 2005 (from 19 to 80). In Nova Scotia it doubled in the period between 2004 and 2006. Since then the number of spouses and dependents has remained high. Among the Atlantic provinces it was highest in PEI (97%) and lowest in Newfoundland (37%) in 2009.
This suggests that the decision to remain in Canada is not directly labour market related for many foreign students. Instead, many are “tied movers”. They are part of a family-based migration decision rather than independent migrantsFootnote 14. This is particularly true for foreign students transitioning in PEI and New Brunswick. The earlier analysis on age and level of education showed that a large proportion of foreign students transitioning to permanent resident status is young and their education not yet complete; thus, their labour market readiness may still be relatively undeveloped.
Family Status | 1999 | 2000 | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Principal Applicants | 41 | 31 | 11 | 18 | 21 | 18 | 18 | 25 | 34 | 49 | 37 |
Spouse or Dependants | 31 | 30 | 22 | 25 | 18 | 19 | 26 | 22 | 30 | 33 | 22 |
Newfoundland and Labrador | 72 | 61 | 33 | 43 | 39 | 37 | 44 | 47 | 64 | 82 | 59 |
Principal Applicants | 2 | 2 | 5 | 3 | 8 | 4 | 6 | 10 | 10 | 3 | |
Spouse or Dependants | 6 | 4 | 2 | 26 | 35 | 49 | 59 | 103 | 94 | ||
Prince Edward Island | 2 | 8 | 9 | 5 | 34 | 39 | 55 | 69 | 113 | 97 | |
Principal Applicants | 55 | 49 | 48 | 55 | 48 | 63 | 74 | 90 | 73 | 98 | 62 |
Spouse or Dependants | 32 | 33 | 38 | 44 | 29 | 39 | 65 | 103 | 85 | 80 | 93 |
Nova Scotia | 87 | 82 | 86 | 99 | 77 | 102 | 139 | 193 | 158 | 178 | 155 |
Principal Applicants | 41 | 29 | 35 | 14 | 23 | 37 | 47 | 58 | 64 | 63 | 44 |
Spouse or Dependants | 22 | 19 | 17 | 29 | 38 | 19 | 80 | 149 | 89 | 149 | 113 |
New Brunswick | 63 | 48 | 52 | 43 | 61 | 56 | 127 | 207 | 153 | 212 | 157 |
Atlantic Foreign Student Transitions | 224 | 199 | 171 | 194 | 182 | 229 | 349 | 502 | 444 | 585 | 468 |
% Spouse or Dependents | 38% | 44% | 45% | 53% | 48% | 45% | 59% | 64% | 59% | 62% | 69% |
Source: Citizenship & Immigration Canada, RDM, Facts and Figures 2009
If we look at family status and level of education together we gain more insight into these dependents. Table 12 indicates that almost all of the 49% of foreign students who have levels of education at transition that are high school or less in Atlantic Canada (see Table 10), are dependents (224 out of 230 foreign students transitioning with high school or less or 97%). In the rest of Canada the proportion with high school or less was about 35% in 2009 (see Table A-5).
Transition Level of Study | 1999 | 2000 | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Secondary or less | 3 | 3 | 7 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 5 | 6 | 8 | 4 | 5 |
Trade | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 2 |
University | 118 | 97 | 73 | 73 | 66 | 102 | 109 | 137 | 146 | 172 | 113 |
Other post-secondary | 12 | 8 | 8 | 13 | 24 | 15 | 13 | 23 | 14 | 28 | 17 |
Level not stated | 6 | 3 | 6 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 13 | 12 | 11 | 15 | 9 |
Principal | 139 | 111 | 94 | 92 | 95 | 126 | 143 | 179 | 181 | 220 | 146 |
Secondary or less | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 1 |
Trade | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
University | 9 | 7 | 9 | 7 | 9 | 14 | 13 | 24 | 22 | 32 | 35 |
Other post-secondary | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 6 | 1 |
Level not stated | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 5 |
Spouse & Common Law | 10 | 8 | 11 | 7 | 10 | 17 | 13 | 31 | 27 | 46 | 42 |
Secondary or less | 71 | 69 | 63 | 86 | 64 | 74 | 164 | 249 | 209 | 276 | 224 |
Trade | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 6 | 4 | 3 | 6 | 2 |
University | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 7 | 11 | 5 | 7 | 16 |
Other post-secondary | 4 | 7 | 3 | 6 | 11 | 6 | 14 | 23 | 17 | 25 | 25 |
Level not stated | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 5 | 2 | 5 | 13 |
Dependents | 75 | 80 | 66 | 95 | 77 | 86 | 193 | 292 | 236 | 319 | 280 |
Atlantic | 224 | 199 | 171 | 194 | 182 | 229 | 349 | 502 | 444 | 585 | 468 |
Source: Citizenship & Immigration Canada, RDM, Facts and Figures 2009
Table 12 also shows exactly when the change in the volume of foreign student transitions who were dependants with less than high school education occurred. Between 2004 and 2005 the number more than doubled from 74 to 164 and continued to grow in the years that followed.
Further analysis of the 224 dependent foreign students who transitioned to permanent resident status in Atlantic Canada in 2009 and who studied at the level of high school or less reveals that 190 (84%) are dependants of Provincial Nominees and 21 (9%) are dependants of skilled workers. Of those spouses and children with post-secondary education 65% were related to Provincial Nominees. (See Table 14 for information on the importance of the various immigration classes by family class).
In contrast, of the 130 foreign students in Atlantic Canada who transitioned to permanent resident status in 2009 and who were principal applicants with a post secondary education, 70 transitioned as skilled workers, 15 as provincial nominees and 41 as spouses and partners (who came separately from their sponsors and therefore were principal applicants).
Table 12 also indicates that although foreign students who transition with a family status of spouses and common law make up a relatively small proportion of these foreign students, they tend to be relatively well educated: more than 80% have a university degree.
It is often difficult to determine the skill level and occupation of new entrants to the labour market. By definition, new entrants have little experience and their skills are untested. This makes coding to a particular occupation difficult. So it is no surprise that limited information is available about the skill level of foreign students transitioning to permanent resident statusFootnote 15. In addition, as we have seen, many foreign students are children.
Of the 468 foreign students who transitioned to permanent resident status in Atlantic Canada in 2009, more than 75% (362 in total) reported occupational skills that could not be coded to a standard National Occupational Classification groupFootnote 16. These included 289 reporting that their skill level was “student”, 45 reporting that they were “new workers” and 16 reporting being homemakers.
Transition Occupational Skill | 1999 | 2000 | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
0 - Managerial | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 7 | 13 | 16 | 15 | 16 |
A - Professionals | 108 | 79 | 61 | 64 | 44 | 66 | 63 | 95 | 90 | 117 | 75 |
B - Skilled and Technical | 10 | 7 | 7 | 4 | 8 | 13 | 12 | 13 | 25 | 23 | 13 |
C - Intermediate and Clerical | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 1 | ||
Uncoded Skills* | 104 | 109 | 97 | 123 | 128 | 147 | 265 | 378 | 308 | 426 | 362 |
Skill level not stated | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | |||||||
Atlantic Canada | 224 | 199 | 171 | 194 | 182 | 229 | 349 | 502 | 444 | 585 | 468 |
* This is a category that groups new workers, students, and homemakers together because it is not possible to assign a particular occupational code to them when no occupation is declared.
Source: Citizenship & Immigration Canada, RDM, Facts and Figures 2009
Among those who did intend to work and reported a specific skill level, the single largest occupational skill group was Professionals, National Occupational Classification (NOC) Group A, of which there were 75 in 2009, spread over 68 different occupations (see Table 13). The only occupation of any size was “post-secondary teaching and research assistants” of which there were 28 in Atlantic Canada in 2009. The numbers in any particular group dropped with the next largest occupations being four foreign students transitioning in civil engineering, and computer programmers and interactive media development respectivelyFootnote 17. There were also three in biologists and related scientists, and college and other vocational instructors. Over the period, other occupations with significant numbers have included electrical and electronics engineers, chemists, although in 2009 the numbers of foreign students transitioning to permanent resident status in these occupations were small or zero.
The family status and immigration category under which foreign students transition to permanent resident status indicates both the importance of economic drivers and ties other than labour market or economic for foreign students in Atlantic Canada. For example, if we look only at principal applicants, we see that about 60% of foreign student transitions (or 89) who were principal applicants landed in Atlantic Canada in 2009 in an economic-related category such as skilled workers or provincial nominees (see Table 14). Of these, skilled workers were the most important. Almost all of the rest of the principal applicants (almost 40%), landed in family class.
Immigration Class | 1999 | 2000 | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Family class | 31 | 27 | 25 | 22 | 35 | 45 | 55 | 51 | 47 | 64 | 50 |
Entrepreneurs | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Self-employed | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Skilled workers | 108 | 83 | 64 | 65 | 44 | 69 | 72 | 111 | 109 | 123 | 73 |
Provincial nominees | 0 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 4 | 7 | 11 | 12 | 16 | 21 | 16 |
Economic immigrants | 108 | 84 | 69 | 65 | 48 | 76 | 83 | 123 | 125 | 144 | 89 |
Refugees | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Other Immigrants | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 12 | 5 | 4 | 5 | 9 | 12 | 7 |
Principal applicants | 139 | 111 | 94 | 92 | 95 | 126 | 143 | 179 | 181 | 220 | 146 |
Family class | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
Skilled workers | 10 | 8 | 10 | 7 | 7 | 16 | 12 | 19 | 22 | 25 | 19 |
Canadian Experience Class | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
Provincial nominees | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 12 | 4 | 21 | 20 |
Economic immigrants | 10 | 8 | 11 | 7 | 10 | 17 | 13 | 31 | 26 | 46 | 41 |
Spouse and Common Law | 10 | 8 | 11 | 7 | 10 | 17 | 13 | 31 | 27 | 46 | 42 |
Family class | 8 | 15 | 17 | 11 | 22 | 7 | 7 | 9 | 4 | 8 | 14 |
Entrepreneurs | 4 | 11 | 1 | 4 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Self-employed | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
Investors | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 14 | 6 | 7 | 2 | 6 |
Skilled workers | 61 | 51 | 43 | 58 | 27 | 27 | 39 | 34 | 50 | 45 | 26 |
Provincial nominees | 0 | 1 | 3 | 9 | 19 | 41 | 128 | 237 | 164 | 263 | 233 |
Live-in caregivers | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Economic immigrants | 67 | 63 | 49 | 76 | 54 | 76 | 182 | 283 | 221 | 311 | 265 |
Other Immigrants | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 0 | 10 | 0 | 0 |
Dependents | 75 | 80 | 66 | 95 | 77 | 86 | 193 | 292 | 236 | 319 | 280 |
Atlantic Foreign Student Transitions | 224 | 199 | 171 | 194 | 182 | 229 | 349 | 502 | 444 | 585 | 468 |
Source: Citizenship & Immigration Canada, RDM, Facts and Figures 2009
While many foreign students who transition to permanent resident status will contribute to the Atlantic labour market, less than a fifth were specifically selected based on their labour market attributes (only the principal applicant skilled workers and provincial nominees). In earlier years, for example in 1999, the proportion selected for their labour market attributes was much higher and accounted for just under half of the foreign student transitions.Footnote 18 Over the years, this proportion has fallen steadily. These admissions based on labour market attributes (skills) are proportionally less than in the rest of Canada where they represented 34% of foreign student landings in 2009, but where only a couple of years previously it had been as high as 43%.
There were more than twice as many foreign students transitioning who are dependents and spouses than principal applicants. The dependents and spouses had a very high propensity to land in the provincial nominee category in 2009. In fact, there were 253 foreign students who were spouses and dependants landing in the PNP category, but we have no information about their labour market attributes. Table 14 shows the rapid growth in accompanying dependants who landed in the provincial nominee category especially over the years 2004-2006. By 2009, the ratio of Provincial Nominee dependants to principal applicants is 14:1.Footnote 19 This rapid change suggests a closer look at the landings in the Provincial Nominee Program in order to examine the pre-landing characteristics of principal applicants associated with these dependants.
As indicated above, the volume of Provincial Nominee Program and Federal Skilled Worker Program admissions have an influence on the number of foreign students who transition to permanent resident status in Atlantic Canada. The previous section demonstrated that foreign students who are principal applicants tend to land under the Skilled Worker category, while foreign students who are dependents were more likely to land under the Provincial Nominee (PNP) category.
Transition province | 1999 | 2000 | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
To Newfoundland and Labrador | 86 | 79 | 53 | 64 | 39 | 64 | 62 | 72 | 74 | 89 | 61 |
To Prince Edward Island | 9 | 18 | 15 | 5 | 10 | 15 | 13 | 11 | 13 | 24 | 12 |
To Nova Scotia | 261 | 246 | 309 | 251 | 215 | 280 | 302 | 346 | 329 | 356 | 271 |
To New Brunswick | 141 | 123 | 120 | 85 | 56 | 88 | 88 | 94 | 111 | 129 | 130 |
Principal Applicants | 497 | 466 | 497 | 405 | 320 | 447 | 465 | 523 | 527 | 598 | 474 |
To Newfoundland and Labrador | 105 | 106 | 62 | 83 | 51 | 102 | 76 | 83 | 99 | 94 | 79 |
To Prince Edward Island | 1 | 20 | 13 | 6 | 8 | 18 | 17 | 13 | 24 | 23 | 16 |
To Nova Scotia | 321 | 303 | 422 | 360 | 384 | 467 | 470 | 446 | 423 | 529 | 458 |
To New Brunswick | 173 | 139 | 139 | 126 | 67 | 88 | 111 | 99 | 112 | 169 | 161 |
Spouses & Dependants | 600 | 568 | 636 | 575 | 510 | 675 | 674 | 641 | 658 | 815 | 714 |
Skilled Workers | 1,097 | 1,034 | 1,133 | 980 | 830 | 1,122 | 1,139 | 1,164 | 1,185 | 1,413 | 1,188 |
To Newfoundland and Labrador | 13 | 9 | 15 | 55 | 27 | 30 | 25 | 56 | 82 | ||
To Prince Edward Island | 2 | 14 | 44 | 65 | 138 | 260 | 383 | 489 | |||
To Nova Scotia | 2 | 20 | 105 | 253 | 287 | 319 | 302 | ||||
To New Brunswick | 10 | 31 | 45 | 63 | 65 | 149 | 329 | 322 | 349 | 396 | |
Principal Applicants | 10 | 46 | 56 | 92 | 184 | 346 | 750 | 894 | 1,107 | 1,269 | |
To Newfoundland and Labrador | 22 | 27 | 22 | 116 | 58 | 47 | 42 | 47 | 98 | ||
To Prince Edward Island | 8 | 30 | 97 | 139 | 285 | 555 | 864 | 1,043 | |||
To Nova Scotia | 9 | 44 | 221 | 610 | 613 | 547 | 531 | ||||
To New Brunswick | 12 | 39 | 60 | 83 | 96 | 289 | 638 | 599 | 686 | 771 | |
Spouses & Dependants | 12 | 70 | 95 | 135 | 353 | 707 | 1,580 | 1,809 | 2,144 | 2,443 | |
Provincial Nominees | 22 | 116 | 151 | 227 | 537 | 1,053 | 2,330 | 2,703 | 3,251 | 3,712 | |
Atlantic Economic Immigrant Landings | 1,587 | 1,598 | 1,562 | 1,325 | 1,221 | 1,870 | 2,333 | 3,660 | 4,054 | 4,771 | 5,078 |
Source: Citizenship & Immigration Canada, RDM, Facts and Figures 2009
Note: This table presents transitions from all temporary classes, not only foreign student transitions.Footnote 20
Table 15 shows the historical importance of the Federal Skilled Worker Program in Atlantic Canada as well as the rapid growth of the Provincial Nominee Program (PNP) starting in 2004. Nova Scotia has been the main recipient of skilled workers and their families over the years but after the introduction of the Provincial Nominee Program, the province with the largest number of landings under the provincial nominee program was New Brunswick with Prince Edward Island following closely. Nova Scotia also saw large increases in the numbers of landings under PNP.
It is clear that the nature of permanent immigration categories, especially the Provincial Nominee Program, has influenced the characteristics of foreign students who transition to permanent resident status in Atlantic Canada. The characteristics of these students changed to reflect the changes in the admission categories of permanent residents: as we saw earlier, there is an increasing proportion of foreign students transitioning in Atlantic Canada are who are high school age and are dependents of PNP principal applicants.
Other research on Atlantic Provincial Nominee Program participants has shown that they tend to have higher mobility than those nominated by other provinces. In fact, during the period 2000 to 2006 one out of two Atlantic provinces’ nominees who filed taxes were found in other provincesFootnote 21 with 88% of these movers found in Ontario and British Columbia. Therefore, the likelihood of any particular Atlantic province retaining foreign students who are dependants of provincial nominees over the longer term must be a consideration in determining the extent of the impact on population and labour market impact.
In addition to foreign students who decide to become permanent residents after completing their studies in Canada, we should also consider those who take a less direct route to permanent resident status, for example those who transition to other temporary resident statuses and who may subsequently become a permanent resident. An example would be foreign students who transition to foreign worker status. Table 16 provides information about the numbers of students who transition to other temporary resident statuses in Atlantic Canada. Unfortunately, in most cases but the one noted below in the “Other Considerations” section of the paper, the data extract does not allow us to follow them after their change in status to another temporary resident.
Transition | 1999 | 2000 | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
From foreign students | 75 | 83 | 128 | 99 | 105 | 207 | 292 | 418 | 554 | 613 | 912 |
From humanitarian population | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 4 | ||||
From other | 121 | 163 | 167 | 148 | 154 | 215 | 211 | 242 | 231 | 237 | 244 |
To Foreign workers | 197 | 248 | 296 | 248 | 259 | 422 | 505 | 660 | 786 | 850 | 1,160 |
From Foreign workers | 11 | 17 | 32 | 23 | 26 | 31 | 30 | 51 | 54 | 48 | 51 |
From humanitarian population | 5 | 1 | 1 | 2 | |||||||
From other | 34 | 42 | 45 | 47 | 42 | 38 | 45 | 28 | 56 | 61 | 80 |
To Foreign students | 45 | 64 | 77 | 71 | 69 | 69 | 77 | 79 | 110 | 109 | 131 |
From foreign workers | 9 | 5 | 5 | 17 | 11 | 2 | 12 | 6 | 19 | 15 | 22 |
From foreign students | 17 | 16 | 19 | 51 | 43 | 30 | 36 | 36 | 31 | 24 | 24 |
From other | 7 | 6 | 15 | 33 | 34 | 19 | 23 | 21 | 27 | 16 | 16 |
To Humanitarian population | 33 | 27 | 39 | 101 | 88 | 51 | 71 | 63 | 77 | 55 | 62 |
From foreign workers | 64 | 71 | 51 | 67 | 508 | 88 | 86 | 75 | 77 | 56 | 77 |
From foreign students | 46 | 68 | 52 | 55 | 115 | 106 | 89 | 74 | 57 | 59 | 71 |
From humanitarian population | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 2 | |||||
To Other | 111 | 139 | 104 | 122 | 623 | 194 | 176 | 150 | 137 | 117 | 148 |
Atlantic | 386 | 478 | 516 | 542 | 1,039 | 736 | 829 | 952 | 1,110 | 1,131 | 1,501 |
Source: Citizenship & Immigration Canada, RDM, Facts and Figures 2009
Comparing this table with Table 3 we see that until 2007 there were always more foreign students transitioning directly to permanent resident status in Atlantic Canada than to foreign workers. After 2007, transitions from foreign students to foreign worker status became more important. In 2009, more than 900 foreign students transitioned to foreign worker statusFootnote 22 which is almost double the number of foreign students (468) who transitioned immediately to permanent resident status. With the new Canadian Experience Class program, the attractiveness of this option to foreign students could increase substantially in the coming years.
The number of foreign students transitioning to the humanitarian population and to “other” over the years has been relatively low and steady by comparison.
Until now, the analyses have focussed exclusively on foreign students who transitioned directly to permanent resident status. As noted above, this is because, with one exception, the data extract does not allow us to follow more than one change in status. However, amongst those new permanent residents who were previously foreign workers it is possible to identify people who worked in Canada under a category called “post-graduate employment”. This is made up of people who previously studied in Canada and went on to work in Canada and at the moment of being captured by the data are transitioning to permanent resident status from foreign worker status. Post graduate employment occurs in the years immediately following graduation from a Canadian post-secondary institution. As noted above, the Canadian Experience Class Program is increasing the attractiveness of this option to foreign studentsFootnote 23. Table 17 indicates that foreign worker transitions increased significantly in 2006, and this was also true of those with post-graduate employment. Post-graduate employment is slightly more important in Atlantic Canada than in the rest of the country. In 2008, limitations on post-graduate work were liftedFootnote 24 and the number of transitions is expected to increase in the future.
Transition to Permanent Resident | 1999 | 2000 | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Atlantic Canada | |||||||||||
Post-Graduate Employment | 14 | 10 | 16 | 11 | 13 | 20 | 31 | 101 | 144 | 157 | 161 |
Foreign Worker | 250 | 229 | 307 | 237 | 215 | 372 | 363 | 658 | 688 | 945 | 939 |
Proportion | 5.6% | 4.4% | 5.2% | 4.6% | 6.0% | 5.4% | 8.5% | 15.3% | 20.9% | 16.6% | 17.1% |
Rest of Canada | |||||||||||
Post-Graduate Employment | 352 | 339 | 411 | 315 | 329 | 438 | 531 | 1,012 | 1,313 | 1,914 | 3,522 |
Foreign Worker | 10,546 | 11,409 | 12,643 | 9,155 | 7,924 | 11,151 | 13,100 | 17,640 | 19,076 | 26,050 | 30,062 |
Proportion | 3% | 3% | 3% | 3% | 4% | 4% | 4% | 6% | 7% | 7% | 12% |
Source: Citizenship & Immigration Canada, RDM, Facts and Figures 2009
In Atlantic Canada, those transitioning from post-graduate employment are most likely to be male and 93% were Principal Applicants. About 60% came from China and another 6% from India. Almost 70 were in professional occupations of which financial auditors and accountants and computer programmers and interactive media developers were the two single largest occupations (10 each). Another 37 were in skilled and technical occupations, and 21 were in managerial occupations and intermediate and clerical occupations respectively.
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