Zongwang Wang left a lucrative career as an investment adviser in New York to pursue a master’s degree in computer science at Northeastern University Vancouver.
However, after the B.C. government quietly announced changes Tuesday to the provincial nominee program — which allows a pathway to permanent residency in Canada — the 28-year-old from Qingdao, China, fears his future here is in jeopardy.
Starting in January, international graduate students in B.C. will require a one-year, full-time job offer to be eligible to apply for permanent residency in Canada. Previously, only international undergraduate students needed to show proof of a job offer to apply. The changes don’t impact doctoral students, who don’t require a job offer.
Wang said he turned down offers from other universities in the U.S. to pursue his second master’s degree in B.C. with the hope of making a life here.
“I feel very disappointed,” he said. “There’s a lot of confusion.”
Wang and fellow international students plan to protest the changes on Saturday at 11 a.m. at the downtown Vancouver Art Gallery.
Wang has also added his name to the 1,788 signatures on a petition protesting the change, calling it a “seismic shift that could adversely affect both present and prospective international post-graduates in British Columbia.”
In an information bulletin published Tuesday, the Municipal Affairs Ministry, which oversees the provincial nominee program, said the changes create “clearer pathways for international workers coming to B.C., making it harder for predatory recruiters and other bad actors to take advantage of people.”
Some recruiters “misrepresent [the program] as an easy pathway to permanent residency,” the ministry said.
Mark Strong, a recruiter with 30 years of experience who runs VanJobs Technical Recruiters, said he’s not surprised to see the changes that he believes are part of the provincial and federal governments’ attempts to crack down on so-called diploma mill colleges that charge international students exorbitant fees while offering a poor education.
“[These institutions] weren’t selling education, they were selling permanent residency via the loophole to immigrate to Canada,” he said. “My understanding is these changes were made because of these places. They were offering a way to buy your way in.”
Asked about the policy shift during an unrelated news conference in Vancouver, Premier David Eby said there’s huge interest in B.C.’s provincial nominee program that is meant to bring in skilled workers in in-demand sectors such as health care, child care and the construction industry.
However, there was a concern that the program was being used by “unscrupulous immigration brokers” who touted it as a fast-track to permanent residency in Canada, Eby said. The new guidelines, he said, make it clear what standards international students have to meet to access one of these “limited spots.”
According to data provided by the ministry, there are over 62,000 post-graduation work-permit-holders in B.C., most of whom are seeking a path to permanent residency. There are about 3,000 provincial nomination spots available in 2024 — or enough to serve under five per cent of post-grad work-permit-holders.
Wang arrived in Vancouver in December and is set to start his two-year computer science program in September. He turned down an offer from the University of Pennsylvania because he felt the provincial nominee program offered a stable path to permanent residency while upgrading his qualifications.
Now he and other international students feel like the rules were changed without warning.
“All the uncertainty has [students] wondering whether they should proceed or if they should give up and choose another path,” he said.
Many small- and mid-size companies are reluctant to hire international students until they’ve secured their permanent residency, Wang said, which puts students in a catch-22 situation.
“I really enjoy living here and wish to continue to do so and contribute to this great community,” he said.
When Grace Qi heard about the new requirements on Tuesday, she was so shocked that she couldn’t return to her classes at Northeastern University Vancouver where, like Wang, she’s completing a master’s degree in computer science.
“I feel like all my efforts were in vain,” said the 27-year-old from Shanghai, who was working in that city as a game developer before moving to Vancouver last year. “I feel cheated and hurt, and that this information was hidden from me.”
Qi intends to be at the protest Saturday and is holding out hope that the government could make some changes that will allow her to stay in B.C.
The federal government in January announced new caps on international student visas, which means B.C. will be able to accept 83,000 undergraduate study permit applications for this year, down from 97,000 last year.
The province also intends to crack down on private colleges and universities through more inspections, requirements for more transparent tuition fees and proof that new programs meet labour market demands.
