Canadian province Manitoba ends student route to permanent residency, Indians to be hit

Manitoba has become the first Canadian province to scrap the Career Employment Pathway (CEP), a popular student-to-permanent residency programme. It has replaced it with a system that prioritises work experience and labour market integration. Indians planning to take the student route to permanent residency will be impacted.

The Canadian province of Manitoba has shut down a key immigration pathway for international graduates, signalling a broader shift towards prioritising work experience over educational credentials in its permanent residency selection process. Manitoba has become the first Canadian province to do so, and the move is likely to impact Indians planning to take the student visa route to a permanent residency in the North American country.

According to immigration news outlet CIC News, the Manitoba Provincial Nominee Programme (MPNP) has retired the Career Employment Pathway (CEP) under its International Education Stream with immediate effect. The change was announced last week on June 11 and affects international graduates who had hoped to use the stream as a route to permanent residency in Canada.

Canada's sixth-largest province by area, Manitoba has become an increasingly attractive destination for international students, including those from India. Its capital, Winnipeg, offers a lower cost of living than cities such as Toronto and Ottawa, while institutions like the University of Manitoba and RRC Polytech attract nearly 20,000 students from over 80 countries.

Indian students account for a significant share of Manitoba's international student population.

In 2021, Manitoba recorded 5,240 Indian study permit holders. Indians also benefited heavily from Manitoba's immigration programmes, with 5,485 new permanent residents arriving from India that year, accounting for 33.1% of all admissions. The scrapping of the CEP programme will thus affect these Indian students who have to pursue alternative programmes for permanent residency that prioritise work experience over educational qualifications.

CANADA PROVINCE ALIGNS IMMIGRATION TO LABOUR MARKET NEEDS

The CEP was designed to help graduates of Manitoba post-secondary institutions transition quickly to permanent residency after securing a qualifying job offer. The stream was particularly popular among graduates of undergraduate and bachelor's degree programmes, as well as other eligible post-secondary diploma and certificate programmes, offering one of the province's most direct routes from graduation to permanent residency. Under the stream, applicants were required to hold a full-time, one-year contract in an occupation listed on Manitoba's In-Demand Occupations List and, in most cases, the job had to be related to their field of study.

With the pathway now closed, prospective applicants will instead have to pursue other immigration routes. Manitoba says eligible graduates with at least six months of work experience in the province can be considered under the Skilled Worker in Manitoba programme, which will become the primary route for many international students seeking provincial nomination.

In its announcement, the provincial government said the changes are intended to create "clear, consistent criteria for all Manitoba graduates" while better aligning immigration selection with labour-market needs. The province added that graduates of educational institutes in Manitoba who are currently employed in the province will continue to receive priority consideration through targeted Expression of Interest (EOI) draws.

The move reflects a growing trend across Canada, where provinces are increasingly linking immigration opportunities to demonstrated labour market participation rather than educational attainment alone. The change also comes amid wider reforms to Canada's international student and temporary resident programmes, as governments seek to better align immigration intake with economic requirements.

FOREIGN STUDENTS MUST NOW SHOW WORK EXPERIENCE, SETTLEMENT ABILITY

Under the now-defunct CEP, applicants were required to have completed a full-time Manitoba study programme of at least one year within the previous three years and demonstrate language proficiency of at least Canadian Language Benchmark (CLB) 7. Candidates also had to submit a Career Employment Plan outlining their long-term career prospects in the province and, in some cases, prove they possessed sufficient settlement funds.

The Skilled Worker in Manitoba programme, in contrast, places far greater emphasis on employment history. Applicants must first complete at least six months of continuous full-time work with the same Manitoba employer before receiving a qualifying full-time, long-term job offer. Unlike the CEP, there is no dedicated education requirement. Instead, language requirements are tied to the demands of the occupation and the applicant's ability to establish themselves economically in Manitoba.

The new pathway also requires candidates to submit a settlement plan, a condition that did not exist under the CEP. At the same time, the Career Employment Plan requirement has been removed. Furthermore, work experience obtained through self-employment or while studying full-time will not count towards eligibility under the Skilled Worker stream.

INTERNATIONAL STUDENTS REMAIN A PRIORITY, SAYS MANITOBA

While the closure of the CEP narrows one of the province's most direct student-to-permanent-residency routes, Manitoba insists international graduates remain a priority. The province has urged candidates with active CEP profiles to review their eligibility under the Skilled Worker in Manitoba stream, update their Expression of Interest profiles and ensure all Manitoba connections, including local education credentials, are properly declared.

Notably, Manitoba's Graduate Internship Pathway remains unchanged. The stream continues to provide a pathway to provincial nomination for eligible master's and doctoral graduates who complete a Mitacs internship. Mitacs is a Canadian non-profit organisation that connects post-secondary students and researchers with industry, government and academic partners through funded research internships and innovation projects.

For international students, including those from India, planning to build a future in Canada, the message from Manitoba is increasingly clear: a local degree alone might no longer be enough. Demonstrated work experience and deeper integration into the provincial labour market are becoming the decisive factors in the race for permanent residency.

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