On October 24, Canada announced the Immigration Levels Plan for 2025-2027 and for the first time, set targets for temporary residents, which includes international students. Every year, Canada declares its Immigration Levels Plan for the year ahead to outline the number of permanent residents it aims to admit into the country to support economic growth, reunite families, and fulfill humanitarian commitments. Well, the Immigration Levels Plan also released immigration targets for 2026 – 2027, although these are notional, with IRCC finalizing the upcoming year’s targets by November 1 each year. This blog covers all you need to know about Canada’s Immigration Levels Plan 2025-2027. So, without further ado, let us begin!

Canada Plans To Welcome More New International Students Than Work Permit Holders 

This year’s Plan sets a stable target of 305,900 international student arrivals annually for 2025, 2026, and 2027. 

These figures are for new arrivals only and do not include anticipated study permit renewals from students already in Canada. 

In contrast, the number of temporary resident worker arrivals – which includes those from the International Mobility Program and Temporary Foreign Worker Program – slowly declines over the course of three years, i.e., 367,750 in 2025, 210,700 in  2026, and 237,700 in 2027. 

This implies that, from 2026 and 2027, a larger proportion of temporary resident arrivals in Canada will be international students. 

Canada Plans To Welcome More New PRs From Within Canada

Another thing to know about Canada’s Immigration Levels Plan 2025-2027 is that the nation will welcome new PRs from within Canada. 

The Immigration Levels Plan 2025 – 2027 emphasizes facilitating the transition for those already in the country – either as students or workers – to permanent residents under the ‘In-Canada Focus’ category. 

In 2025, IRCC anticipates that more than 40% of all permanent residency admissions will be to students or workers already in the country. 

According to the Plan, the Federal High Skilled segment has been split into Federal Economic Priorities and In-Canada Focus, with the latter allocated more admissions over the next three years.

For instance, in 2025, the target for Federal Economic Priorities is 41,700, whereas the target for In-Canada Focus is 82,980, nearly double. 

This implies that IRCC might look for more ways to transition temporary residents into permanent residents in the country. 

This could happen through more Canadian Experience Class Express Entry draws or new policies that favor those already in the country. 

Provincial Nominee Programs To Be Scaled Back 

The Plan also declared some drastic cuts to Provincial Nominee Program admissions targets in the upcoming years. 

In 2025, the government’s allocation for PNP admissions is only 55,000 – a huge cut from last year’s target of 110,000 for 2024 and 120,000 for 2025. 

Students planning to pursue provincial nominations as a pathway to permanent residency might find PNP streams more competitive. 

Greater Focus On French Language Skills 

In line with IRCC’s previous stance on francophone immigration, the Levels Plan focuses on including higher proportions of French-speaking permanent resident targets outside Quebec. 

In 2025, over 8.5% of the overall planned permanent resident admissions will be French-speaking. This will increase to 9.5% in 2026 and 10% in 2027. 

This is also an increase compared to previous targets mentioned in the 2024-2026 Plan, which looked at 7% for 2025 and 8% for 2026.    

Students with little or no fluency in French may wish to learn French to improve their chances of getting an ITA for permanent residency. 

Greater Importance For In-Demand Professions 

The last thing to know about Canada’s Immigration Levels Plan 2025-2027 is the significance in-demand professions hold. 

In 2023, Canada launched category-based selection draws to issue ITAs to skilled workers in high-demand sectors, such as healthcare, STEM, trades, and transport. This aimed to address Canada’s labor shortages. 

These categories change with time, depending on the labor market as well as demographic needs. 

In 2025, priority categories include healthcare professions and trade professions. 

The government has not mentioned plans to retire any of the other priority categories, such as STEM, transport, agriculture, or agri-food. 

In order to be eligible for a category-based selection draw, applicants should have accumulated at least six months of full-time, continuous work experience within the last three years in an in-demand profession. 

Students who expect to graduate with Post-Graduate Work Permits and wish to pursue Canadian PR may consider focusing on jobs that align with the category-based draws.  

If you seek information on how to begin your Canada immigration application process, you can talk to our NavaImmigration experts at 1800-918-8490, or you can drop us an email at [email protected].