The average age of Chinese students studying in Canada is dropping sharply as more and more middle school and elementary school students, instead of university students, are enrolling in local schools.
According to the latest monthly report published by Canadian immigration lawyer Richard Kurland, kindergarten-to-Grade 12 students made up 37 percent of all study permits and visas issued by Canadian embassy in China last year, a rise from 18 percent just six years ago.
In the province of British Columbia alone, 4,306 Chinese students were enrolled in K-12 in 2014, comparing to only 1,094 in 2009.
Kurland said the statistics suggested the Chinese families wish to get their children Canadian residency by sending them to Canada at an earlier age.
Experts say sending students to Canada at a younger age speeds integration into Canadian society and improves their chances for residency in a number of ways.
Kurland speculates that the Canadian government may be looking at changes to give residency preference to students who graduated from Canadian elementary and secondary schools.
The enormous market also means many B.C. schools actively court Chinese K-12 students, which concerns some in the industry.
Wednesday's Vancouver Sun quoted Paul Romani, founder of Vancouver's Pear Tree Elementary, as saying that his school accepts very few international students, and charges all students similar fees. But many other institutions charge significantly higher fees for international students, giving administrators an incentive to go after more Chinese students.
"There are some private schools in B.C. that are increasingly exploiting the higher fees charged for international students, as well as the unbelievably generous 'donations' ... which few B.C. families could ever compete with," Romani said.
