Canada’s clampdown on international students has hit applicants from India particularly hard, government data shows, as what was once a preferred destination loses its allure for Indian students.
Canada lowered the number of international student permits it issues for the second year in a row in early 2025 as part of a broader effort to reduce the number of temporary migrants and address fraud related to student visas.
About 74% of Indian applications for permits to study at Canadian post-secondary institutions in August - the most recent month available – were rejected, compared to about 32% in August 2023, according to immigration department data provided to Reuters.
By contrast, about 40% of study permit applications overall in each of those months were refused. About 24% of Chinese study permits in August 2025 were rejected.
The number of Indian applicants has dropped, as well, from 20,900 in August 2023 - when Indians formed just over one quarter of all applicants - to 4,515 in August 2025.
India has been Canada’s top source of international students over the past decade. In August, it also had the highest study-permit refusal rate of any country with more than 1,000 approved applicants.
The spike in refusals of would-be students comes as Canada and India seek to mend ties after more than a year of tension. Former Prime Minister Justin Trudeau accused the Indian government of involvement in the 2023 murder of a Canadian in Surrey, British Columbia. India has repeatedly denied the allegations.
AN EFFORT TO CRACK DOWN ON FRAUD
In 2023, Canadian authorities uncovered nearly 1,550 study permit applications linked to fraudulent letters of acceptance, most of which originated from India, Canada’s immigration department told Reuters in an email.
Last year its beefed-up verification system detected more than 14,000 potentially fraudulent letters of acceptance from all applicants, it said.
Canada has implemented enhanced verification for international students and has increased its financial requirements for applicants, the immigration department spokesperson said.
The Indian embassy in Ottawa said the rejection of study permit applications from students in India had come to its attention, but that the issuance of study permits is Canada’s prerogative.
“However, we would like to emphasize that some of the best quality students available in the world are from India, and Canadian institutions have in the past greatly benefited from the talent and academic excellence of these students,” the embassy said in a statement.
Canada’s Foreign Affairs Minister Anita Anand told Reuters during an October visit to India that Canada’s government is concerned about the integrity of its immigration system but wants to continue having Indian students in Canada.
Source: Reuters
- Agencies
