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

Gender

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.

Table 7: Atlantic Canada — Foreign students transitioning to permanent residents, by gender 1999-2009
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

Age

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.

Table 8: Atlantic Canada — Foreign students transitioning to permanent resident status by age group, 1999-2009
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

Country of origin

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).

Table 9: Atlantic Canada — Foreign Students transitioning to permanent resident status by top source countries*, 1999-2009
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.

Level of education

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.

Table 10: Atlantic Canada – Foreign students transitioning to permanent resident status by level of study at transition and province, 1999-2009
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.

Family status

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.

Table 11: Atlantic Canada — Foreign students transitioning to permanent residents by family status, 1999 to 2009
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).

Table 12: Atlantic Canada — Foreign students transitioning to permanent resident status by level of study and family status, 1999 to 2009
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.

Occupational skill

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.

Table 13: Atlantic Canada — foreign students transitioning to permanent resident status by occupational skill level, 1999-2009
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.

Immigration category of foreign student transitions by family status and immigrant class

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.

Table 14: Atlantic Canada — Foreign students transitioning to permanent resident status by family status and immigration class, 1999-2009
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.

Provincial Nominee Program and Skilled Worker Program

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.

Table 15: Atlantic Canada — Landings for Provincial Nominee and Skilled Worker categories, 1999-2009
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.

Transition to other temporary resident statuses

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.

Table 16: Atlantic Canada — Transitions among temporary resident statuses in Atlantic Canada, 1999-2009
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.

Other considerations

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.

Table 17: Atlantic Canada — Transitions to permanent resident status from foreign workers who held post-graduate employment permits, Atlantic Canada and the rest of Canada, 1999-2009
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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