India’s Spike in Canada Student Visa Fraud?

Indian students opting to pursue academics in Canada has reduced but the approval of their applications by the Canadian authorities has increased, even when a majority of them adopted fraudulent means to secure the study permits.

According to a report released by the Auditor General of Canada, countries with a high risk of fraudulent student visa applications have low approval rates, with India being the only exception.

The new study permits had fallen sharply to 8.1% by September from 51.6% in 2023. Yet approval rates under the Student Direct Stream, a fast-track programme for issuing the approval for students from various countries including India, increased from 61% in 2022 to 98% in 2024.

Surprisingly, the rise in the study permits under the fast-track programme was witnessed even when the authorities identified that the scheme was being exploited by non-genuine applicants. The only action taken following the alerts is withdrawal of the Student Direct Stream programme by the end of last year (2024).

The authorities also found that between 2022 and 2024, almost all approved applications in the Student Direct Stream were from India. The authorities flagged several irregularities in the application forms submitted for approval but the higher-ups had been slow to act on the integrity concerns, like higher rates of fraudulent documents, students failing to pursue academics actively and many others seeking asylum in Canada.

Between 2023 and 2024, over 1.5 lakh cases were found for potential non-compliance but due to paucity of funding, only 4,000 cases were investigated.

The report stated that about 800 study permits issued between 2018 and 2023 involved false or misleading documents, some of which even claimed to have attended non-existent institutions. Yet the Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship authorities in Canada approved 92% of the applications.

As a rectifying measure, the authorities said they would apply a renewed risk assessment to all applicants of Student Direct Stream seeking extension. At the same time, alerts will be created for persons of concern in case of future applications.