6 months ago
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Canada’s clampdown connected planetary students has deed applicants from India peculiarly hard, authorities information shows, arsenic what was erstwhile a preferred destination loses its allure for Indian students.
Canada lowered the fig of planetary pupil permits it issues for the 2nd twelvemonth successful a enactment successful aboriginal 2025 arsenic portion of a broader effort to trim the fig of impermanent migrants and code fraud related to pupil visas.
About 74% of Indian applications for permits to survey astatine Canadian post-secondary institutions successful August — the astir caller period disposable — were rejected, compared to astir 32% successful August 2023, according to migration section information provided to Reuters.
By contrast, astir 40% of survey licence applications wide successful each of those months were refused. About 24% of Chinese survey permits successful August 2025 were rejected.
The fig of Indian applicants has dropped, arsenic well, from 20,900 successful August 2023 — erstwhile Indians formed conscionable implicit 1 4th of each applicants — to 4,515 successful August 2025.
India has been Canada's apical root of planetary students implicit the past decade. In August, it besides had the highest study-permit refusal complaint of immoderate state with much than 1,000 approved applicants.
The spike successful refusals of would-be students comes arsenic Canada and India question to mend ties aft much than a twelvemonth of tension.
Former Prime Minister Justin Trudeau accused the Indian authorities of engagement successful the 2023 execution of a Canadian successful Surrey, British Columbia. India has repeatedly denied the allegations.
An effort to chopped down fraud
In 2023, Canadian authorities uncovered astir 1,550 survey licence applications linked to fraudulent letters of acceptance, astir of which originated from India, Canada's migration section told Reuters in an email.
Last twelvemonth its beefed-up verification strategy detected much than 14,000 perchance fraudulent letters of acceptance from each applicants, it said.
Canada has implemented enhanced verification for planetary students and has accrued its fiscal requirements for applicants, the migration section spokesperson said.
The Indian embassy successful Ottawa said the rejection of survey licence applications from students successful India had travel to its attention, but that the issuance of survey permits is Canada's prerogative.
"However, we would similar to stress that immoderate of the champion prime students disposable successful the satellite are from India, and Canadian institutions person successful the past greatly benefited from the endowment and world excellence of these students," the embassy said successful a statement.
Canada’s Foreign Affairs Minister Anita Anand told Reuters during an October sojourn to India that Canada's authorities is acrophobic astir the integrity of its migration strategy but wants to proceed having Indian students successful Canada.
A driblet successful Indian enrolment
People who enactment with would-be planetary students accidental they are seeing a higher level of applicant scrutiny.
Michael Pietrocarlo of Border Pass, which helps radical use for Canadian visas, said his steadfast prepares applicants to amusement their eligibility beyond what's required connected paper.
He says, for example, erstwhile students indispensable show they person capable funds to enactment themselves, "it's not capable conscionable to say, 'Here are immoderate slope statements.' They whitethorn person to spell the other mile and say, 'Here's wherever the wealth came from.'"
The University of Waterloo, location to Canada’s largest engineering school, has seen a two-thirds diminution successful the fig of students from India entering its undergraduate and postgraduate programs implicit the past 3 to 4 years.
Ian VanderBurgh, its subordinate vice president of strategical enrolment management, said the driblet was mostly owed to a authorities headdress connected overseas pupil visas and had altered the creation of the pupil body.
“We pridefulness ourselves connected being an planetary university,” helium said. The University of Regina and the University of Saskatchewan person besides reported a diminution successful the fig of Indian students enrolled.
When Jaspreet Singh, who founded the International Sikh Students Association, came to Canada from India successful 2015 to survey mechanical engineering, helium remembers authorities posters exhorting newcomers to "Study, work, stay" successful the country. That cognition has soured, helium said.
Mr. Singh is not amazed astatine the higher rejection complaint for Indian survey licence applicants, saying helium knows fraud is simply a concern.
But arsenic it becomes harder to get imperishable residency oregon a occupation successful Canada, helium says immoderate of those precocious rejected look to not mind: "They are blessed they didn't come."
