Nearly 50,000 international students failed to show up at their designated colleges and universities in Canada during March and April 2024, according to government data from Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC), quoted by Globe and Mail on Friday . This group represents 6.9% of all international students tracked by the department during the period.
Among these, nearly 20,000 students were from India, accounting for 5.4% of Indian students recorded. India was the largest contributor to the overall non-compliance figures, according to the report.
Indian authorities are investigating alleged links between Canadian colleges admitting international students and illegal migration networks in India. Some students are suspected of crossing the Canada-US border illegally instead of attending classes. However, Henry Lotin, an immigration expert, believes most of the Indian no-shows remain in Canada, working and aiming to secure permanent residency. There has also been a sharp increase in international students seeking asylum in Canada. Lotin emphasized the need for stricter upfront payments and better tracking to reduce such abuses.
The compliance data also showed varied non-compliance rates across countries. The Philippines had 2.2% of students not attending, China had 6.4%, Iran had 11.6%, and Rwanda had the highest rate at 48.1%. Colleges and universities are required to report the enrolment status of international students twice a year. Institutions failing to comply with these requirements risk suspension from admitting international students for up to a year, as per new rules introduced by Immigration Minister Marc Miller in November.
An additional 23,514 students, representing 3.3% of those tracked, were unaccounted for due to incomplete reporting by institutions. This suggests that at least 10% of student visa holders are not accounted for. The Immigration expert Lotin said, “In broad terms this shows that at least 10 per cent of student visa holders are unaccounted for. For the first time, we have definitive data. There are still questions about where all student visa holders are.”
A discrepancy in student numbers reported by IRCC and Statistics Canada further complicates the issue. While Statistics Canada estimated over one million valid student visas in April 2024, the IRCC’s figures for active enrolments were significantly lower.
Experts like Lotin and immigration lawyer David Matas are calling for more transparency and tighter regulations. Matas also recommended limiting the use of foreign agents in visa applications to only regulated Canadian lawyers and consultants to prevent fraud. Tom Kmiec, Conservative immigration critic, criticized the federal government for its handling of the immigration system, citing a lack of oversight and poor management. As Canada faces growing concerns over abuse of study permits, officials from both Canada and India are working to address the issue, including investigations into smuggling networks and non-compliant institutions.
