Why are over 1 million Indians at risk of losing legal status in Canada?

As work permits expire, holders lose legal status unless they secure another visa or transition to permanent residency.

Canada is expected to see a sharp rise in undocumented immigrants, with nearly half coming from India, as millions of work permits expire. Data obtained by immigration consultant Kanwar Seirah from Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) shows that around 1,053,000 work permits expired by the end of 2025, with another 927,000 set to expire in 2026.

1 million Indians in Canada to lose legal status by mid-2026. (Reuters)

These statistics were obtained by Mississauga-based immigration consultant Kanwar Seirah, who shared them with the Hindustan Times.

As work permits expire, holders lose legal status unless they secure another visa or transition to permanent residency. These options have become more restricted as the Canadian government continues to tighten immigration rules, particularly for temporary workers and international students, while also introducing new measures to manage asylum claims.

Seirah warned that Canada has never faced such high numbers of people going out of status. In the first quarter of 2026 alone, nearly 315,000 expiries are expected, creating a “bottleneck” in the immigration system. By comparison, the last quarter of 2025 saw over 291,000 expiries.

He estimates that by mid-2026, at least two million people in Canada could be living without legal status, with Indians accounting for roughly half of this number. Seirah described the figure for Indians as a “very conservative estimate,” noting that tens of thousands of study permits will also expire and many asylum applications may be rejected.

Potential social impact and rising challenges

The growth of the undocumented population has already caused social issues in parts of the Greater Toronto Area, including Brampton and Caledon. Tent encampments have appeared in wooded areas, housing people who are undocumented.

Brampton-based journalist Nitin Chopra, who documented one such tent city, said there was anecdotal information that out-of-status immigrants from India were working for cash, and that fly-by-night operators were opening bureaus for marriages of convenience.

Activists call for action on immigration crisis

Groups such as the Naujawan Support Network, which advocates for workers’ rights, are planning protests in January to highlight the crisis caused by expiring permits. Bikramjit Singh, a Toronto-based activist with the Network, said they were working to “build momentum” to address the plight of immigrant workers without legal pathways to remain in Canada.

The Network’s campaign slogan, “Good enough to work, good enough to stay,” reflects its call for reforms that would allow temporary workers and students to remain legally in the country.