Politics
Tens of Thousands of Foreign Students in Canada No Shows
New calls for Canada’s Immigration Minister Marc Miller to resign emerged after The Globe and Mail revealed that close to 50,000 international students were reported as “no-shows” at their colleges and universities.
According to data obtained by The Globe and Mail, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada recorded 8.9 million international students, with 6.9 per cent of them being non-compliant.
Indian nationals, with 19,582 students, comprised the largest group of these “no-shows.” The non-compliance rate was 6.9% of the total international student population.
The immigration department mandates that universities and colleges submit biannual reports regarding the enrollment and attendance of international students based on their study permits. The International Student Compliance Regime, implemented in 2014, was intended to assist provinces in identifying questionable schools and bogus students.
Indian Student’s Largest No Shows
IRCC received reports from colleges and universities regarding students from 144 countries in March and April 2024. The non-compliance rates of the top 10 countries of student origin with the highest number of “no-shows” that spring were widely varied.
They comprised 2.2% for the Philippines, which represented 688 no-show students; 6.4% for China, which had 4,279 no-shows; 11.6% for Iran, which had 1,848 no-shows; and 48.1% for Rwanda, which had 802 no-shows.
According to Henry Lotin, a former federal economist and immigration expert, one potential measure to mitigate systemic abuse is to mandate that international students pay fees in advance before they arrive in Canada.
Of the total number of no-shows, nearly 20,000 students from India, which accounts for 5.4% of the total number of Indian students tracked by IRCC, were reported as non-compliant with their student visas and not attending the schools where they were supposed to be studying.
Last month, Indian law enforcement officials announced that they are investigating the purported connections between two “entities” in India and dozens of colleges in Canada that accept international students.
RCMP Investigating
The colleges are alleged to be involved in the illegal transportation of individuals across the Canada-U.S. border. The students allegedly illegally crossed the border into the United States rather than studying in Canada.
According to a statement, the RCMP has “reached out to India through its International Policing Liaison Officers to seek additional information on investigations. ”
According to Mr Lotin, the founder of the consultancy firm Integrative Trade and Economics, most Indian students who failed to attend their schools had likely not crossed the border into the United States but were living and working in Canada to settle there. The number of international students seeking asylum in Canada significantly increased last year.
Mr Lotin stated that only a “very small subset” was travelling to the United States. The majority aspire to become permanent residents of Canada and work.
In November, Immigration Minister Marc Miller implemented more stringent regulations for international students to mitigate abuse. Failure to submit compliance reports may result in the suspension of international student admissions for up to one year for colleges and universities.
IRCC conducts additional investigations on students who appear to be non-compliant with the terms of their study permits, which are issued to students who have been accepted to a Canadian college or university.
“Canada has observed an increase in the exploitation of its temporary resident visas, which includes students.” Mr. Miller’s spokesperson, Renée LeBlanc Proctor, stated that the global migration context has undergone significant changes, resulting in the assessment of what was previously a low-risk temporary resident program as higher-risk. These changes include an increase in the number of conflicts and crises, as well as an increase in organized smuggling, abuse, and fraud.
“Canada is also cognizant of the reports of individuals who enter the United States irregularly from Canada, frequently with the assistance of smuggling networks or facilitation.”
According to the IRCC figures, 49,676 international students enrolled in Canadian colleges and universities allegedly neglected to comply with the terms of their visas and attend their classes. Furthermore, colleges and universities neglected to disclose the status of an additional 23,514 international students, which accounts for 3.3% of the IRCC records.
Mr. Lotin stated, “In general, this indicates that at least 10% of student visa holders are unaccounted for.” “For the first time, we have conclusive data.” There are ongoing inquiries regarding the location of all student visa holders.
Mr Lotin also identified an issue with tracking international student numbers, a discrepancy between Statistics Canada and the immigration department.
