Immigration Minister Mark Miller announced a maximum two-year limit for accepting international students.

The minister hopes that this limit will give the federal and provincial governments enough time to curb a system that he says exploits high tuition fees for international students while providing, in some cases, poor education.

The cap means an overall 35% reduction in new study visas this year, although some provinces, including Ontario, will see a reduction of 50% or more.

Miller explained that the government will also prevent students in schools following a private general model from obtaining work permits for postgraduate studies starting September 1.

Within a few weeks, open work permits will only be available to spouses of students enrolled in master's and doctoral programs, as well as professional programs such as medicine and law.

Miller confirmed that the federal government will work with the provinces, which have not yet moved to fix the problem as quickly as he would like.