Trudeau Shutters Fast-Track Student Visa Program

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has ordered an immediate end to the highly controversial fast-track study visa program after major blowback over unvetted criminals entering Canada through the student visa program. This major policy decision will impact many overseas students, especially those from India.

International students are not required to get police certificates from law enforcement in their home countries for a student visa before coming to Canada, something critics say needs to change.

According to IRCC data, the number of international students with active student visas in Canada will rise to 1,040,985 in 2023, a 195% increase from 352,305 in 2015, when the Liberal government first took office.

The processing time for students applying through the Student Direct Stream (SDS) was much shorter, and acceptance rates were higher. This will change if Canada ends the scheme on Friday.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said on X, “Canada would be granting 35% fewer international student permits this year.” And next year, that figure will drop by another 10%.”

“Immigration benefits our economy, but when bad actors abuse the system and take advantage of students, we crack down,” he wrote in the post as the Canadian government announced plans to decrease the number of temporary residents.

The move comes during an ongoing diplomatic spat between India and Canada.

According to the Indian High Commission, India is the top source country for foreign students, with an estimated 4,27,000 Indian students studying in Canada.

“Canada is committed to giving all international students equal and fair access to the application process for study permits,” Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) said in a statement on Friday.

According to the announcement, the program aims to “strengthen programme integrity, address student vulnerability, and give all students equal and fair access to the application process, as well as a positive academic experience. ”

Students cue to fast-track student visas at the Canadian Embassy in India.

According to the statement, the SDS was launched in 2018 to expedite the processing of eligible post-secondary students. It was later expanded to include legal residents of Antigua and Barbuda, Brazil, China, Colombia, Costa Rica, India, Morocco, Pakistan, Peru, the Philippines, Senegal, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Trinidad and Tobago, and Vietnam.

According to the announcement, a comparable Nigeria Student Express (NSE) for potential Nigerian university students has also stopped, along with the SDS. Both the SDS and the NSE projects ended on Friday.

The IRCC set a cut-off deadline of 2:00 p.m. ET on Friday (00:30 IST Saturday) and stated that all valid SDS and NSE applications submitted before that time will be processed under these streams.

However, the IRCC stated that prospective students can still apply via the standard study permit stream, which accepts Guaranteed Investment Certificates as proof of financial assistance.

Immigrationnewscanada.ca created the Student Direct Stream visa to streamline and expedite the study permit application procedure for students from specific nations.

It noted that the expedited method enabled eligible applicants from countries such as India, China, and the Philippines to enter Canada more quickly, usually within a few weeks, rather than waiting for the ordinary processing time, which may take several months.

According to another portal, moving2canada.com, “2024 has been a challenging year for prospective students wishing to study in Canada, with major decreases to the number of international students Canada will allow each year. Many argue that fast-tracking SDS and NSE applications is a way to accept as many students as possible.

Under SDS, Indian students’ applications were processed within 20 business days, but the portal now says it might take up to eight weeks.
Not only is Trudeau changing its immigration policy for international students, but also for low-skilled workers, many of whom come from India.

On October 24, Immigration Minister Marc Miller revealed the current immigration policy, stating that Canada will admit around 3,95,000 permanent residents in 2025, a decrease of nearly 20% from the 4,85,000 expected this year.

The plan also includes a target for temporary immigrants, such as international students and foreign workers. Their numbers are predicted to fall to around 4,46,000 in 2025 and 2026 from approximately 8,00,000 this year.

The new policy suggests that Canada will only accept 17,400 additional non-permanent residents by 2027.