British Columbia has announced it will stop approvals of new colleges seeking to enrol international students until February 2026.

The government of the Canadian province said it will set minimum language requirements at private training institutions and also set higher standards for labour market needs and degree quality.

The move comes as the Canadian government says it plans to curb a surge in immigration of international students, which has been partly blamed for a shortage of rental units and a 7.7% rise in rents nationwide in December versus a year earlier.

Last week, the Canadian federal government announced an immediate, two-year cap on new international student permits, which cut the country’s intake by 35% this year to about 360,000. It will also stop giving work permits to some students after graduation.

Canada has emerged as a popular destination for international students since it is relatively easy for them to obtain work permits after they finish courses.

As of December 2023, there were about 1 million international study permit holders in Canada, an amount about three times larger than that of a decade ago, according to government data.