Canada's latest immigration regulations, which took effect on January 31, 2025, could impact thousands of Indian students, workers, and tourists. This was stated in a report by Hindustan Times. The new Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations grant border officials greater authority to cancel study and work permits under specific conditions.
This comes alongside the cancellation of the Student Direct Stream (SDS) visa programme in late 2024, which had previously expedited visa processing for students. Under SDS, applicants were required to demonstrate financial readiness upfront, such as paying tuition fees and securing Guaranteed Investment Certificates (GICs) for living expenses, according to CanadaVisa.com.
With these regulatory changes, border officials now have the power to revoke temporary resident documents, including electronic travel authorisations (eTAs) and temporary resident visas (TRVs), under certain circumstances.
This development is significant for Indian nationals, as Canada remains a top destination for higher education. As of now, there are approximately 4,27,000 Indian students in Canada, according to Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) data. Additionally, between January and July 2024, Canada issued 3,65,750 visitor visas to Indian nationals.
Conditions for visa cancellations
A temporary visa, study permit, or work permit can be cancelled under the following conditions:
- Providing false information, having a criminal record, or being deceased.
- An officer is not convinced that the individual will leave Canada upon their visa’s expiration.
- Documents are lost, stolen, destroyed, or issued owing to an administrative error.
- A temporary resident transitions to permanent residency.
- Students may also have their permits cancelled if their work or study visa applications are denied.
As a result, the newly amended regulations could lead to the cancellation of approximately 7,000 additional temporary resident visas, work permits, and study permits, according to an NDTV report.
Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) has stated that affected individuals will be notified via their IRCC account or email.
If a student, worker, or visitor is rejected at the port of entry, they will be sent back to their home country immediately.
If a permit is revoked while an individual is already studying, working, or residing in Canada, they will be issued a notice to leave the country by a specified date.
