Nearly 50,000 international students in Canada were reported missing at their colleges and universities between March and April 2024. This has drawn attention to possible non-compliance with study permits. The total number of students tracked by the Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) that failed to appear was 6.9%, according to the government. In this group of missing students, the largest segment was Indian nationals, with 19,582 missing from educational institutions.
This non-compliance has alarmed the Canadian government, especially with investigations into whether there are Canadian colleges that collaborate with organizations that assist in illegal crossing into the US. The RCMP has already started to make efforts to gather more information about these alleged activities, which may involve students trying to cross the US border instead of attending classes. However, most of these students must remain in Canada as many seek jobs and permanent residency rather than leave for the US.
To curb the growing concerns, Immigration Minister Marc Miller announced new strict regulations for international students. Among them are penalties that would be imposed on colleges that fail to submit their compliance reports. The government also added more checks for students suspected of breaching their visa terms.
Henry Lotin, a federal economist, believed that forcing students to pay before their arrival in the country would curtail the potential misuse of the program. The government also aims at transparency in its data collection system while dealing with increasing risks by exploitation and fraud under the program for temporary residence in Canada.
With time, the government is working towards keeping the international student program valid by dealing with some of the increasing abuse and fraud cases.
