Canada Student Visa: Indian applicants have been affected by the recent restrictions on international student permits in Canada. Once a preferred destination for Indian students due to its quality education, work opportunities, and post-study prospects, Canada is now losing some of its appeal.
India has been Canada’s largest source of international students for over a decade. Despite this, it now has the highest study permit refusal rate among countries with more than 1,000 approved applicants, according to ANI, CTV News reported, citing Reuters data.
The Indian Embassy in Ottawa has stated that while it was aware of the increased rejection rate, the issuing of study permits “is Canada’s prerogative.”
How Many Affected?
As per the government data, what was once a preferred destination is now losing its appeal for Indian students, CTV News reported, citing Reuters.
The report revealed that Canada reduced the number of international study permits for the second consecutive year in early 2025, as part of efforts to curb temporary migration and address student visa fraud.
Crunching the numbers, nearly 74 per cent of study permit applications from India were rejected in August 2025, compared to around 32 per cent in the same month last year, the Immigration Department told Reuters.
Nearly 40 per cent of all study permit applications were refused overall, while 24 per cent of those from China were rejected.
The total number of Indian applicants fell sharply from 20,900 in August 2023 to 4,515 in August 2025.
Also Read: US Restarts FLAG System For Work Visas: What It Means For Indian Applicants
Indian Students Facing Canada Visa Refusal
The surge in visa refusals comes amid continuing diplomatic tension between Canada and India following former Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s 2023 allegations that India was involved in the killing of a Canadian citizen in Surrey, British Columbia. New Delhi has repeatedly denied the allegations.
Canada’s Crackdown On Student Visa Fraud
In 2023, Canadian authorities uncovered nearly 1,550 fraudulent study permit applications linked to fake letters of acceptance, most of which originated from India.
Following this, last year, the country’s enhanced verification system flagged over 14,000 potentially fraudulent documents across all applications, as per Reuters. Subsequently, Canada’s immigration department tightened verification processes and raised the financial threshold for applicants.
(with ANI inputs)
Disclaimer : This story is auto aggregated by a computer programme and has not been created or edited by DOWNTHENEWS. Publisher: ZEE News
