Starting on Monday, the province will issue attestation letters to international students.
They are verification letters sent from the province to institutions, who will give them to the student so they can apply to study in B.C.
The goal is for these letters to prove that the student has been accounted for by the federal government. It’s part of the province’s plan to eliminate exploitation of international students, with minister of education and future skills Lisa Beare saying they are working to support them.
“While we’ve all agreed that the status quo wasn’t working for anyone, not for students, and not for our communities, the federal cap doesn’t take British Columbia’s unique environment into account,” said Beare.
Students will need to submit both the letter and their study permit application, with 53 percent of the letters going to public institutions. Private institutions will get the remaining 47 percent.
For public post-secondaries, the letters will help them keep their international student programs, while private ones are expected to get 27 percent fewer applications.
This new system comes into effect March 4.
