Some 49,676 international students were reported as not enrolling at the Canadian institution for which they had secured a study permit between March and April 2024, according to a report by The Globe and Mail.
This accounts for 6.9% of 717,539 international students monitored at that time, the report said – citing IRCC figures. Meanwhile, 644,349 (89.8%) students were reported as being compliant, while the enrolment status of 23,514 students was not recorded.
According to the figures, Indian students were the most likely to fail to enrol at their chosen institution during the timeframe reported, with that number standing at 19,582. The second most-likely ‘no-show’ cohort was Chinese students (4,279), followed by Nigerian students (3,902) and Ghanaian students (2,712).
These numbers largely reflect the make-up of Canadian international student demographics.
In the first half of 2024, government data showed Indian students made up 49% of all international students in the country, although that number is half the number of Indian students in Canada in 2023.
The news comes hot on the heels of renewed questions over the effectiveness of Canada‘s study permit system following accusations from India’s Directorate of Enforcement (ED) that such visas were being exploited by a human trafficking ring.
It referred to just over 260 unnamed institutions that had accepted international students placed by two aggregators – also unnamed by the ED – claimed to be mixed up in the scheme.
The resulting media coverage at the end of 2024 drew renewed interest in the Dingucha case, which the agency blasted as a “well-planned conspiracy” to illegally send Indian nationals over the Canadian border into the US.
The case centres on the Patels – a Gujarati family of four who tragically lost their lives at the end of 2022 when they attempted to enter the US via the northern border in freeing temperatures. The family had reportedly entered Canada on a study permit.
The news has rocked Canada’s international education sector, with some stakeholders calling the “truly shocking” reports a “wake up call” for the sector.
Despite strengthening the sanctions process for institutions that fail to report international students’ compliance to the IRCC in November 2024, with penalties now mandatory, Canada still has the least strict reporting rules of the big four study nations.
While UK institutions have just 10 working days to report no-shows and their US and Australian counterparts given around a month, Canadian institutions are required to submit a compliance report within 60 days of receiving a request.
Writing for The PIE, MM Advisory Services founder Maria Mathai has called for Canadian institutions to “reassess how they operate in India” following questions over recruitment practices in the country.
