Being "top‐ranked" without "causing troubles": Comparing federal and provincial immigration pathways for Chinese international students in Canada.

Canada's immigration selection regime uses a combination of human capital measures and direct employer involvement to select economic immigrants, emphasizing pre‐arranged employment as critical to secure permanent resident status. This trend affects international students in unique ways. We interviewed 17 Chinese women international students residing in Canada about their decision to study and desire to stay in Canada. Participants faced difficulties in accumulating adequate employment records for immigration applications and employer‐driven immigration pathways put them at considerable risk of deskilling and exploitation. When comparing available immigration pathways, we found that participants had more success with provincial programmes than federal ones because of the availability of flexible pathways, greater options and lower requirements for eligibility. We conclude with three policy recommendations to highlight the importance of periodic revisions to selection criteria to balance human capital measures and employer reliance to retain talented foreign workers in Canada. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]