The clampdown on international students by Canada has hit Indian applicants the hardest. Indian students once made up the largest group of foreign students pursuing higher education in the country. However, approximately 74 percent of Indian study permit applications in August this year were rejected by Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC), a sharp increase from the 32 percent refusal rate reported in the same month in 2023.
Meanwhile, both governments have signaled a desire to restore normal relations amid ongoing scrutiny and new immigration controls.
In August this year, out of 4,515 applications filed by Indian students, only 1,196 were approved. The number of Indian student applications submitted fell from 20,900 in August 2023 to 4,515 this year. The surge in rejections is closely tied to Canada’s broader immigration policy overhaul, which targets fraud and seeks to control international student numbers.
In 2023, authorities uncovered 1,550 fraudulent study permit applications, mostly from India, and more than 14,000 potentially fake documents were flagged due to enhanced verification.
Ottawa has proposed new powers to cancel groups of temporary visas over fraud concerns (Bill C-12). India and Bangladesh were described as “country-specific challenges” in internal documents. This is impacting Canadian universities: for example, the University of Waterloo has seen its enrollment of Indian students drop by two-thirds over about three years. Similar declines have been reported at the University of Regina and the University of Saskatchewan. Universities say visa caps and increased scrutiny have affected campus diversity.
This year, the international student cap was lowered to 437,000 permits, a 10 percent reduction from last year’s 485,000 and a 35 percent cut from prior peak levels. Visa allocations to Indian applicants were projected to fall by 31 percent. In the first half of this year alone, nearly 90,000 fewer permits were issued compared to last year, with Indian applications and approvals dropping sharply.
The overall rejection rate for all countries hovered around 40 percent. Among these, Chinese applicants faced a 24 percent refusal rate, while Indian applicants faced more intense scrutiny. International students contribute roughly $22 billion annually to Canada’s economy, but the shrinking Indian student segment is adversely impacting Canadian colleges’ budgets.
Processing delays have also increased, with Temporary Resident Visa processing times rising from 30 to 54 days, and approvals falling from 63,000 in January last year to 48,000 in June.
Canadian Foreign Affairs Minister Anita Anand stated that Canada still wants Indian students but must protect system integrity. The Indian Embassy in Ottawa acknowledged the high rejection rates but emphasized the quality of Indian students: “Some of the best students in the world are from India, and Canadian institutions have greatly benefited from their talent and academic excellence in the past.”
A Jalandhar-based travel agent, Brijesh Mishra, was accused of selling fake admission letters from Canadian colleges. When Canadian authorities verified the papers, many students faced deportation. Last year, Mishra pleaded guilty in a British Columbia court to fraud charges but fled back to India. He was arrested by the Punjab Police at Delhi’s IGI Airport in June this year upon returning from Canada.
As a result of these restrictions, many Indian students are now looking toward Australia and the United Kingdom, where Indian student visa approvals have increased by 20 percent and 15 percent, respectively, this year.