Canada’s crackdown on student visas hits Indian applicants hard

OTTAWA: Canada’s recent restrictions on international student permits have significantly affected applicants from India, according to government data, with what was once a preferred destination now losing its appeal for Indian students, CTV News reported, citing Reuters.

According to the report, Canada reduced the number of international study permits for the second consecutive year in early 2025 as part of efforts to curb temporary migration and tackle student visa fraud. About 74 per cent of study permit applications from India were rejected in August 2025, compared to around 32 per cent in the same month last year, the Immigration Department told Reuters.

Nearly 40 per cent of all study permit applications were refused overall, while 24 per cent of those from China were turned down. The total number of Indian applicants fell sharply from 20,900 in August 2023 to 4,515 in August 2025.

Despite India being Canada’s largest source of international students for over a decade, it now has the highest study permit refusal rate among countries with more than 1,000 approved applicants, according to CTV News, citing Reuters data.

The spike in visa refusals comes amid continuing diplomatic tension between Canada and India following former Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s 2023 allegations that India was involved in the killing of a Canadian citizen in Surrey, British Columbia, claims New Delhi has repeatedly denied.

In 2023, Canadian authorities uncovered nearly 1,550 fraudulent study permit applications linked to fake letters of acceptance, most of which originated from India. Last year, its enhanced verification system flagged more than 14,000 potentially fraudulent documents across all applications, according to Reuters. In response, Canada’s immigration department tightened verification processes and raised the financial threshold for applicants.

The Indian Embassy in Ottawa said it was aware of the increased rejection rate but acknowledged that issuing study permits “is Canada’s prerogative”. The embassy added, “However, we would like to emphasise that some of the best quality students available in the world are from India, and Canadian institutions have in the past greatly benefited from the talent and academic excellence of these students”.

Canada’s Foreign Affairs Minister Anita Anand told Reuters during her October visit to India that while the government is “concerned about the integrity of its immigration system,” it also wants to “continue having Indian students in Canada.”

Education consultants say scrutiny has intensified, with authorities demanding greater proof of financial and academic credibility.

Michael Pietrocarlo of Border Pass, which assists with Canadian visa applications, said applicants now have to demonstrate eligibility “beyond what’s required on paper.” “It’s not enough just to say, ‘Here are some bank statements.’ They may have to go the extra mile and say, ‘Here’s where the money came from’,” Pietrocarlo said.

The University of Waterloo, home to Canada’s largest engineering school, has seen a two-thirds decline in Indian student enrolments over the past three to four years. Its associate vice-president of strategic enrolment management, Ian VanderBurgh, attributed the drop to the government’s cap on foreign student visas, saying, “We pride ourselves on being an international university.”

Other universities, including the University of Regina and the University of Saskatchewan, have reported similar declines.

Jaspreet Singh, founder of the International Sikh Students Association, who came to Canada in 2015 to study mechanical engineering, recalled earlier times when the government encouraged newcomers to “Study, work, stay.”

He said that sentiment has since faded, adding that some rejected applicants “are happy they didn’t come” as it has become harder to secure permanent residency or employment in Canada.

Amid tighter student visa rules, Ottawa is now seeking new powers to cancel groups of temporary visas over fraud concerns linked to India and Bangladesh, according to internal documents obtained by CBC News.

A presentation prepared for the Immigration Minister’s office showed that Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC), the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA), and unnamed US partners formed a working group to detect and cancel fraudulent visa applications. The presentation described India and Bangladesh as “country-specific challenges,” CBC News reported.

The proposed authority is part of Bill C-12, which is drawn from the broader border legislation package, Bill C-2, that Ottawa hopes to pass soon. However, the measure has alarmed over 300 civil society groups, including the Migrant Rights Network, which warned that mass visa cancellations could enable a “mass deportation machine.”

Internal documents also showed that enhanced verification of temporary resident visa (TRV) applications from India has slowed processing times from an average of 30 days in July 2023 to 54 days a year later. Approvals dropped from over 63,000 in January 2024 to about 48,000 in June as more resources were diverted to fraud checks.

By July 2024, nearly 1,900 Indian applicants had been flagged for further questioning and issued procedural fairness letters outlining their rights and legal options. In a statement to CBC News, IRCC said the proposed powers were not aimed at any “specific group of people or situation,” stressing that “decisions would not be taken unilaterally.”

A separate memorandum to then-immigration minister Marc Miller in October 2024 said the new authority would “reduce security risks and limit potential misuse” of temporary resident documents, while judicial reviews would depend on “whether procedural fairness was followed.”

The immigration department added that measures to improve verification have already led to a 97 per cent decline in illegal US border crossings by foreign nationals since June 2024 and a 71 per cent drop in asylum claims from TRV holders. However, it did not clarify why India and Bangladesh were named in internal briefings or why the “country-specific” clause was omitted from public remarks.

Officials said any use of mass cancellation powers would require approval by the Governor in Council and be publicly disclosed in the Canada Gazette. These developments come as Ottawa seeks to repair relations with New Delhi after a period of diplomatic strain.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Canada during the June 2025 G7 summit at Prime Minister Mark Carney’s invitation signalled a thaw in relations, with both leaders expressing a desire to rebuild ties. In August, the two countries appointed new high commissioners to each other’s capitals.

The IRCC has deferred questions about the potential impact of the proposed visa powers on bilateral relations to Global Affairs, which has yet to respond, CBC News added. (ANI)