Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada has launched a new online portal which Canada’s Designated Learning Institutions are now required to use to verify letters of acceptance.
The new process is a digital solution for DLIs to ensure the letters of acceptance that students submit are genuine, and is part of IRCC’s wider crackdown on fraud.
“The goal is to protect vulnerable students and preserve the integrity of the International Student Program,” said IRCC in a statement.
Through the new process, the verification of students’ letters of acceptance must be completed within 10 calendar days of a DLI receiving notification.
If a letter of acceptance has not been verified, the application will be cancelled and returned to the applicant along with their processing fees.
“The goal is to protect vulnerable students”
“We support the government’s endeavour to authenticate all letters of acceptance,” Graham Barber, assistant director of international relations at Universities Canada told The PIE.
“We encourage the government to explore integrated software solutions that align with universities’ Student Information software, minimising redundancy in verification processes,” Barber continued.
“Collaborative consultations between IRCC and universities will help work toward an accurate and streamlined LOA verification process.”
The online portal was first announced in October 2023, when immigration minister Marc Miller shared initial details as part of the government’s reforms for the sector.
At the time, he confirmed a dedicated government task force was looking into 285 admissions letters, following a spate of incidents which saw over 100 Indian students faced potential deportation after their admission letters to Canadian colleges were found to be fake, unbeknown to many of the students.
Canadian institutions can expect more changes to come, as details of a “recognised institution framework” are due to be shared later this year, expected to include “lighter touch processing” for recognised institutions as well as more trust between the federal government and institutions.
