New immigration regulations in Canada may affect thousands of Indian workers, students, and tourists because officials now possess greater authority to cancel study and work visas under specific situations. The Student Direct Stream (SDS ) visa program was canceled in late 2024 and after this, the new Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations came into effect on January 31, 2025.
CanadaVisa.com says the program accelerated visa processing for students by requiring advanced financial evidence, such as tuition fees and guaranteed investment certificates (GICs) for living costs.
Due to these changes, border officials authorized to do so can now cancel temporary resident documents, including electronic travel authorizations (eTAs) and temporary resident visas (TRVs). This challenges many Indians, as Canada is still a top destination for Indian students pursuing higher education abroad.
Indian Students and Visitors in Canada
At the moment, 4,27,000 Indians are staying in Canada as students, as per the data of the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA). And between January July 2024, Canada provided 3,65,750 visitor visas to Indians.
Circumstances under which Visas can be cancelled
- Having criminal records, providing false information, or being deceased.
- If the documents are lost, destroyed, stolen, or issued because of an administrator error.
- If an officer believes that the person concerned won’t leave Canada when their authorized stay will be expiring
- A temporary resident becomes a permanent resident.
According to the report, the revised regulations could lead to the cancellation of approximately 7,000 additional temporary resident visas, work permits, and study permits. Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) has stated that affected individuals will be notified through their IRCC account or via email.
A worker, migrant, or student who is refused admission will be detained at the port of entry and returned to their nation of origin. The person will receive a notification telling them to leave the country by a given date if their permission is revoked while they are already living, working, or studying in Canada.
