21/04/2026
Five things shaped the international student journey this week. Three of them are amazing news.
Canada just made one of the most useful changes in years. The separate co-op work permit is gone. A study permit now covers internships, practicums, and co-op terms, removing about 120,000 applications a year from the system.
The map of where students can go is widening. Spain opened a fast-track pathway with 30-hour work rights. Japan is lifting enrolment caps. Scotland reaffirmed open access.
And in the US, a bipartisan House bill, Keep Innovators in America (H.R. 8013), would protect F-1 status through OPT and through a pending green card application. Worth tracking.
The harder news. DHS’s proposed rule to end F-1 Duration of Status is still pending. If finalized, admission would cap at four years and the post-graduation grace period would drop from 60 days to 30. And roughly 150,000 fewer international students are expected at US universities this fall.
The pattern matters more than any one story. Some doors are opening. Some are tightening. Students who plan across more than one country, and start the visa work the week they get admitted, move with real leverage right now.
We built Radius for exactly this moment, when a delayed payment, a missed deadline, or a single-country bet can derail a whole semester.
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