A recent report by the Auditor General of Canada has found that countries with a high risk of fraudulent student visa applications usually have low approval rates, with India being an “important exception”, The Indian Express reported on Monday.
The March 18 audit noted that India’s share of new study permits had fallen sharply to 8.1% by September from 51.6% in 2023.
However, approval rates under the Student Direct Stream, a fast-track programme for countries including India, rose to 98% in 2024 from 61% in 2022.
This was despite internal warnings that the scheme was being targeted by non-genuine applicants. The fast-track feature of the programme was withdrawn by the end of 2024.
The audit on the International Student Program reforms found that “almost all approved applications in the Student Direct Stream originated from India” between 2022 and 2024.
But, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada was slow to act on integrity concerns, including higher rates of fraudulent documents, students not actively pursuing studies and increased asylum claims.
The report also highlighted cases of fraud across applicants, noting that 800 study permits issued between 2018 and 2023 involved false or misleading documents, including claims of attending “non-existent” institutions.
Despite this, the Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada took limited action and 92% of these applicants were either approved or still awaiting decisions on further immigration applications, the report said.
It added that study permit extensions, which are usually reviewed less strictly, remained a risk due to the high number of existing Indian students.
The Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada said that it would apply a renewed risk assessment to extensions from former Student Direct Stream applicants and create alerts for persons of concern in future applications.
It also said that cancelling the fast-track programme was part of a broader plan to diversify Canada’s international student population and reduce over-reliance on a single country.
The report noted that while a tool to verify school acceptance letters had been implemented successfully, other integrity controls were weak.
About 1.5 lakh cases were flagged internally for potential non-compliance in 2023 and 2024, but only 4,000 were investigated due to funding limitations.
Of these, around 1,600 were closed as inconclusive after students failed to respond to immigration authorities.
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