Canada Rejects 74% Of Indian Student Visa Applications Amid Fraud Crackdown

In August, Canada rejected around 74 per cent of study permit applications from India, according to Reuters, citing immigration department data. By contrast, the refusal rate for Indian student visas was 32 per cent in August 2023. The country’s overall student visa rejection rate this year is about 40 per cent, while applications from Chinese students faced a lower 24 per cent refusal rate.

The surge in rejections follows tighter checks on fraudulent applications. In 2023, Canadian authorities uncovered over 1,550 fake study permit applications, mainly involving forged acceptance letters from Indian education agents.

The increase in refusals comes even as applications from India have fallen sharply. In August 2023, around 20,900 Indian students applied for study permits, compared with 4,515 this year.

The spike coincides with efforts to repair Canada–India relations after nearly two years of tension. Former Prime Minister Justin Trudeau had accused India of involvement in the 2023 murder of Canadian citizen and Khalistani separatist Hardeep Singh Nijjar in Surrey, British Columbia, which India denied.

Visa cancellation powers

Canada is seeking powers to cancel visas en masse for countries deemed high-risk for fraud, including India, CBC News reported. Internal documents show Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) and the Canada Border Services Agency are working with unnamed US partners to detect and cancel fraudulent visa applications.

These powers are part of Bill C-2, an immigration reform bill that would allow mass visa cancellations. Although Immigration Minister Lena Diab has said the powers would be used for events such as pandemics or wars, internal documents identify India and Bangladesh as “country-specific challenges.”

Asylum claims from Indian nationals have also surged, rising from 500 per month in May 2023 to almost 2,000 per month by July 2024. Plans to reject visas outright from India are part of a broader push to combat fraud, according to CBC.