20K Indian Students Arrive in Canada, but didn’t turn up at colleges last year

20K Indian Students Arrive in Canada, but didn't turn up at colleges last year
Canada has become a top destination for Indian students, with over 400,000 currently studying there on study permits. However, a concerning trend emerged last year when approximately 20,000 Indian students who arrived in Canada did not enroll in their colleges. This figure isn’t small; it reflects a serious issue that could impact both the students and the institutions involved. In line with their study permits, colleges and universities must report twice a year to the immigration department on the enrollment and class attendance of international students. According to government data from two months last spring, nearly 50,000 international students who received study permits to come to Canada were recorded as ‘no-shows’ at the institutions where they were supposed to attend classes.
Among these, Indian nationals made up the largest group, with 19,582 individuals reported as not showing up, as highlighted in a report by The Globe and Mail that cites official figures.
Data shows that 91.1 percent of the 327,646 Indian students adhered to the requirements, while 19,582 students, or 5.4 percent, were found to be non-compliant. Furthermore, there were 12,553 Indian students whose data was not reported by the institutions, based on information gathered in March and April 2024 concerning Canadian study permits.
Law enforcement agencies are currently looking into possible connections between several Canadian colleges and two organizations in India that are believed to be involved in facilitating illegal border crossings into the United States. It is suspected that these students did not attend classes and instead unlawfully crossed into the U.S.
The Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) has reached out to India via its International Policing Liaison Officers to obtain more information about the ongoing investigations.
Henry Lotin, a former federal economist and immigration specialist, mentioned to The Globe and Mail that many of the Indian students who are not following the rules probably remained in Canada, working with the goal of eventually securing permanent residency.
According to a report by The Globe and Mail, these non-compliant students make up 6.9 percent of the overall international student population monitored by Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC).
Colleges and universities must report twice a year to the immigration department about the enrollment and class attendance of international students, ensuring they comply with their study permits.
The International Student Compliance Regime, which was established in 2014, aims to detect fraudulent students and help provincial authorities identify potentially problematic institutions.
The IRCC has observed a rise in the misuse of temporary resident visas, including those for students. With US President-elect Donald Trump proposing a 25 percent tariff on Canadian imports unless Canada takes measures to reduce illegal immigration to the US, addressing this issue has become a top priority for the Canadian government.