Indian students enrolling in Canadian universities fall

Indians’ applications for study permits to enroll in Canadian universities decreased by more than 15% in 2023 compared to 2022, despite the fact that the number had been rising annually in recent years due to a combination of housing affordability and bilateral tensions.

Data from Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada indicates that the number of study permit applications for 2023 dropped from 363,484 in the previous year—a record—to 307,603 this year. The figures for 2021 were 203,6075, in contrast.

The decline was notable in the final quarter of 2023, falling from 119,923 in 2022 to 69,203, a 42% decrease.

The actual number of foreign students from India receiving the permission to study has increased, despite a decline in applications. They increased from 225,820 to a record 278,860 the year before. Of the overall number of study permits given in 2022 and 2023—548,720 and 684,385—Indian students made up over 41%.

According to estimates from India’s High Commission, there are now about 300,000 Indian international students studying in Canada.

Following Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s statement in the House of Commons on September 18, 2018, that there were “credible allegations” of a potential link between Indian agents and the killing of pro-Khalistan figure Hardeep Singh Nijjar in Surrey, British Columbia, three months earlier, applications began to decline in the second half of 2023. These concerns were primarily related to housing, as shelter costs in Canada rose sharply.

As a result of the Canadian government’s implementation of steps to halt the influx of overseas students, which surpassed a million last year, these statistics may be further impacted in 2024.