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Indians hit highest rejection rate for Canada study visa even as ties on the mend
About 74% of Indian applications for permits to study at Canadian post-secondary institutions were rejected
Indian applicants for Canadian study permits in Canada are more than 70% likely to get a rejection, data shows, as Ottawa's clampdown on potential fraud by international students gets stricter by the day. The overall rejection across nationalities is also high at 40%, but for Indians, who form the bulk of applicants, it's the worst, a Reuters reports said on Monday, November 3.
How bad is it? Here's what data says
- About 74% of Indian applications for permits to study at Canadian post-secondary institutions in August 2025, the most recent month available for data, were rejected.
- This was more than double in percentage, from 32% in August 2023, according to immigration department data.
- By contrast, about 40% of study permit applications overall in each of those months were refused.
- About 24% of Chinese study permits in August 2025 were rejected.
Seeking to control immigration in general over local concerns and a relative job shortage, Canada anyhow lowered the number of international student permits it issues, for the second year in a row, in early 2025.
Study permits are a popular way to get jobs later, and eventually settle in the West for a lot of Indians, Chinese and others. But Canada has been making a wide-ranging effort to reduce the number of temporary migrants and address fraud related to student visas.
Plans to ‘study, work, stay’ thwarted
Jaspreet Singh, who founded the International Sikh Students Association, came to Canada from India in 2015 to study mechanical engineering. He remembers government posters exhorting newcomers to "study, work, stay" in the country. That attitude has soured, he said.
Jaspreet says he is not surprised at the higher rejection rate as he knows fraud is a concern. But as it becomes harder to get permanent residency or a job in Canada, he says some of those recently rejected appear to not mind: “They are happy they didn't come.”
Drop in applications amid thaw in general
Seeing the trend of rejection, the number of Indian applicants has dropped too — from 20,900 in August 2023, to 4,515 in August 2025.
India has been Canada's top source of international students over the past decade.
The spike in refusals of would-be students comes as Canada and India seek to mend ties after more than a year of tension. Former Prime Minister Justin Trudeau had accused the Narendra Modi government of involvement in the 2023 murder of a Canadian Sikh in Surrey, British Columbia. India has repeatedly denied the allegations.
What India has said
The Indian embassy in Ottawa said the rejection of study permit applications from students in India had come to its attention, but that the issuance of study permits is Canada's prerogative.
"However, we would like to emphasize that some of the best quality students available in the world are from India, and Canadian institutions have in the past greatly benefited from the talent and academic excellence of these students," the embassy said in a statement.
Reasons for rejection go deep
But there seems to be a different factor at play here.
In 2023, Canadian authorities uncovered nearly 1,550 study permit applications linked to fraudulent letters of acceptance, most of which originated from India, Canada's immigration department told Reuters in an email. In 2024, a beefed-up verification system detected more than 14,000 potentially fraudulent letters of acceptance from all applicants, it said.
Canada has implemented enhanced verification for international students and has increased its financial requirements for applicants, the immigration department spokesperson said.
Canada’s Foreign Affairs Minister Anita Anand said during an October visit to India that the government in Ottawa is concerned about the integrity of its immigration systems but wants to continue having Indian students in Canada.
How it translates on the ground
Michael Pietrocarlo of Border Pass, which helps people apply for Canadian visas, said his firm prepares applicants to show their eligibility beyond what's required on paper. For example, when students must demonstrate they have sufficient funds to support themselves, "it's not enough just to say, 'Here are some bank statements.' They may have to go the extra mile and say, 'Here's where the money came from.'"
The University of Waterloo, home to Canada’s largest engineering school, has seen a two-thirds decline in the number of students from India entering its undergraduate and graduate programmes over the past four years.
Ian VanderBurgh, its associate vice president of strategic enrolment management, said the drop was largely due to a government cap on foreign student visas.
The University of Regina and the University of Saskatchewan have also reported a similar decline.
