After a report by the country’s Auditor General raised concerns over integrity of the programme, Canada’s immigration department has started sending letters to international students enrolled at higher education institutions to verify their compliance with study permit norms.
These letters have been received by several students, including many from India, in recent weeks.
The issue of fraud was addressed in a report on International Student Program Reforms submitted to Parliament on March 23 by Canada’s Auditor General. In a statement issued then, Auditor General Karen Hogan said, “The department needs to act on the information it has to address integrity concerns in the program.”
A letter received by an Indian student from Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada or IRCC, and shared by Mississauga-based immigration consultant Kanwar Sierah, said that for compliance purposes, the student was required to provide a formal letter from their designated learning institution confirming current enrolment status along with current and previous transcripts from any designated learning institution(s) they had attended in Canada.
“Failing to provide the required documents within 21 days could result in the loss of your temporary resident status in Canada,” the letter pointed out.
Sierah, however, such action came late as the surge in fraud happened in previous years and most of the students from then had completed their courses. “They are finally acting, but it may be too late,” Sierah noted. The key issue, he stressed “was what was the role of these colleges? How many got work permits with fraudulent documents?”
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IRCC is now required to investigate all alleged cases of international student permit fraud or non-compliance and provide to report based on that work by the 15th of each month to the House of Commons’ Standing Committee on Citizenship and Immigration. On March 25, the Committee resolved that the Government “ensure that all those who enter Canada on a fraudulent basis are not issued further visas.”
In recent weeks, IRCC issued warnings about fraud, targeting both applicants as well as agents.
The AG’s report stated that between 2023 and 2024, the department identified over 153,000 students as potentially non‑compliant with study permit conditions but had funding to investigate just 2,000 cases each year.
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It pointed out that in three investigations, IRCC identified 800 study permits issued between 2018 and 2023 for which applicants had either “used fraudulent documentation or misrepresented information on their applications to gain entry into Canada.” Most of those individuals later applied for other immigration permits once in Canada. In that context it said that “in providing evidence of their previous educational experience, 710 applicants claimed to have attended educational institutions overseas that risk assessment units later found to be either non‑existent or institutions selling qualifications for immigration purposes.” IRCC did not take enforcement action, and currently, 110 of those individuals have applied for asylum.
It called on IRCC to “follow up on all applications flagged for potential fraud through its new verification system.”
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In its response, IRCC agree to provide the Canada Border Services Agency annually with a list of individuals with expired permits, who have not applied for or received an extension, or applied for or transitioned to permanent residence, or otherwise maintained valid immigration status.
