(CANADA) Canada is rejecting most India study permit applications in 2025, with IRCC data showing about 74% of Indian study-permit files refused in August and a sharp drop in the number of people applying from India compared with two years ago. The rejection rate for Indian nationals stood far above the overall rate of around 40% that month and well above the roughly 24% rejection rate for Chinese applicants, underscoring how the system’s new integrity checks are landing unevenly across countries. Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) has tightened review standards after uncovering widespread fraud, and Canadian universities are now grappling with steep declines in Indian enrollments.
Authorities say the crackdown follows the discovery in 2023 of about 1,550 fraudulent study-permit files, many tied to fake admission letters and unregulated education agents in India. Since then, IRCC has layered new verification steps onto the process, from checking acceptance letters and the legitimacy of Designated Learning Institutions to examining the source of funds more closely. Officials also raised the financial threshold for living costs, a shift that has priced out many middle-income families who previously met the bar. The result is a sudden narrowing of the pipeline from India, long the largest source of international students in Canada.
The scale of the change is stark. Indian applicants fell from roughly 20,900 in August 2023 to just 4,515 in August 2025, according to figures cited in the source material. At the same time, IRCC data cited elsewhere shows that nearly 80% of Indian student visa applications were rejected in 2025, with the overall rejection rate for all nationalities around 62% and just 24% for Chinese applicants. While the precise percentages vary across datasets and time frames, all point in the same direction: the rejection rate for Indian students has spiked in 2025, and the volume of applications has plunged.
In defending the tougher stance, the government points to integrity risks that escalated in recent years. Immigration Minister Lena Diab, speaking in support of Bill C-12, said:
“There’s been a number of international student frauds. The good news is, we are seeing that come down. We are introducing integrity measures to strengthen the integrity of the international student program and better protect the students themselves, as well. … The point of the bill, but also the measures that were taken before, is that not only is the system catching fraud, but it is also deterring it.”
The Royal Canadian Mounted Police and the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre are tracking suspicious financial flows and coordinating with partners abroad to disrupt networks sending fraudulent study-permit files, according to the source material.
A key element is stricter document verification. As of April 23, 2025, Designated Learning Institutions must verify Letters of Acceptance directly to IRCC before a study permit can be issued. Files with unverified LOAs are now being returned rather than processed, closing a loophole exploited by unauthorized intermediaries. IRCC has also imposed tighter compliance requirements on schools, requiring regular reporting of enrollment status and reserving the right to suspend DLIs that fall short of the rules. These steps aim to prevent non-genuine admits, reduce misuse of admissions letters, and ensure students actually attend the programs that brought them to Canada.
Finances are another pressure point. Starting September 1, 2025, single applicants must show at least $22,895 CAD in living expenses on top of tuition and travel, up from prior levels, with higher thresholds for dependents. Acceptable proof can include bank statements for the last four months, Guaranteed Investment Certificates, education loans, and receipts for tuition or housing payments. The higher bar has reshaped the profile of who can apply, hitting families who previously cleared the old thresholds but now fall short. Officers also probe the source of funds more deeply, a change that has turned minor inconsistencies into reasons to refuse.
Beyond screening and finances, IRCC has limited overall intake by capping new study permits at 437,000 in 2025, a 10% drop from 2024, according to the source material. The cap compounds the effect of tougher screening by restricting the total number of approvals available, a reality that universities are feeling as admit cohorts shrink. Institutions across the country report a 46% drop in approvals for Indian students, leading to sudden enrollment gaps and budget stress for programs that rely heavily on international fees.
For students in India, the turbulence is upending a well-known path. The “study-to-work-to-PR” route, where a study permit can lead to a post-graduation work permit and eventually permanent residency, now faces tighter scrutiny at the front gate. The source material notes that applicants using unauthorized agents or incomplete financial evidence face near-certain rejection. That has added risk for families, some of whom have previously sold property or taken loans only to learn their consultant used forged or unverified papers. While the crackdown is intended to protect would-be students from predatory agents, the immediate impact falls on genuine applicants who must now navigate deeper checks and higher costs.
IRCC’s selective approach is reshaping student mobility. Canada hosted more than 1 million international students in 2024, and the source material puts the Indian share at 41%. But Canada’s popularity among prospective Indian students has slipped from 18% in 2022 to 9% in 2024, while Germany now ranks as the top choice for 31% of Indian respondents in the cited surveys. With rejections rising and approvals slowing, families are spreading bets to the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia, and parts of Europe. Recruiters say Germany’s expanding English-language programs and clear post-study options are drawing interest from students who once would have focused on Canada.
The Canada-India education corridor is feeling the strain. Canadian authorities say fraud prevention is the driver; Indian families hear that message but worry that legitimate students are being swept up in a broad net. Universities report that some high-achieving applicants with clean financials are still being refused without clear explanations, feeding concern that officers are erring on the side of refusal in ambiguous cases. Advocates for students argue that rapid policy shifts—like LOA verification and higher living-cost thresholds introduced within months of each other—leave little time for schools and applicants to adjust.
In India, the turmoil has revived calls to regulate overseas education agents and standardize credential checks. The source material points to an urgent need for coordination between New Delhi and destination countries, to reduce the risk of fake offers and to hold intermediaries accountable. Unregistered consultants have long been a weak link; they promise quick approvals, charge steep fees, and sometimes rely on forged admission letters or fabricated bank balances. Stricter oversight in India could reduce the supply of fraudulent files and align with Canada’s integrity push, potentially lowering the rejection rate without closing doors to genuine students.
The effects go beyond campuses. The source material notes that Canada’s Indian diaspora—more than 1.8 million people—could face knock-on effects such as tighter family sponsorships or longer processing for dependents. Those trends, if they take hold, would mark a broader tightening of mobility channels connecting India and Canada and could deter some students who planned on bringing spouses or children later. Universities, meanwhile, have financial decisions to make. Some are cutting back on programs that depended on India’s steady inflow, while others are doubling down on recruitment in Southeast Asia, Africa, and Latin America to diversify risk.
The government’s message is that the new system is not only catching fraud but deterring it.
“There’s been a number of international student frauds. The good news is, we are seeing that come down,” Immigration Minister Lena Diab said. “We are introducing integrity measures to strengthen the integrity of the international student program and better protect the students themselves, as well. … The point of the bill, but also the measures that were taken before, is that not only is the system catching fraud, but it is also deterring it.”
The emphasis on deterrence is visible in how officers are reviewing documentation and in the warnings that applications routed through unauthorized agents will fail.
For would-be students, the lessons are clear from recent trends. Applications are more likely to be refused if Letters of Acceptance are not verified by the issuing school, if bank statements do not match declared income or lack a clear source, or if the chosen program and the applicant’s background do not align. Genuine files supported by traceable finances and enrollment at compliant DLIs stand a better chance. IRCC publicly outlines eligibility and documentation requirements, and applicants can review current rules and trusted procedures through IRCC study permit guidance. That official source remains the baseline for what officers look for and what can trigger a refusal.
The future of the India study permit pipeline hinges on whether integrity measures stabilize without permanently shutting out qualified candidates. If fraud volume continues to fall, the rejection rate could ease from the levels cited in 2025. For now, the numbers are sobering: roughly three out of four Indian applications were refused in August, Indian approvals are down sharply, and universities report a 46% decline in Indian student approvals this year. The cap of 437,000 new permits further limits opportunities, even for strong files, and the higher living-cost threshold leaves some families on the sidelines.
What began as a response to a fraudulent study-permit problem is now reshaping the choices of students and the finances of schools. The immediate objective—rooting out fake applications—has collided with the expectations of a generation that saw Canada as an open route to study, work, and residency. The policy’s defenders say deterrence is working and is necessary to protect students from scams. Critics counter that a system calibrated for maximum caution is producing high collateral damage, reflected in a rejection rate that dwarfs those for other nationalities.
In the coming months, attention will center on how consistently the new rules are applied and whether genuine applicants from India see more approvals as institutions adapt to LOA verification and stricter reporting. Universities are revising admissions workflows to meet IRCC’s checks and building direct channels with students to reduce reliance on unauthorized agents. If those efforts reduce document fraud, the balance between security and access may improve. Until then, the Indian share of Canada’s international student body is likely to fall further, and the pattern of refusals suggests that even strong applications can stumble on minor documentation gaps.
Canada’s shift from quantity to quality is now a defining feature of its international education policy. The goal is a program that resists fraud and serves genuine students. Whether that stabilizes the India-Canada education corridor—or cements a long-term pivot to other destinations—will depend on how fast rejection rates recede, how schools adapt to compliance demands, and how effectively both countries clamp down on the fraudulent study-permit trade that triggered the crackdown. For families weighing applications this year, the message is unmistakable: the bar is higher, the scrutiny is deeper, and the odds—judging by the current rejection rate—are tougher than they have been in a decade.
This Article in a Nutshell
In 2025 Canada tightened study-permit integrity checks after detecting about 1,550 fraudulent files in 2023, driving refusal rates for Indian applicants to roughly 74–80% and cutting application volumes sharply. New steps include mandatory LOA verification by DLIs from April 23, higher living-cost proof ($22,895 CAD from Sept 1, 2025), deeper source-of-funds scrutiny, and a 437,000 cap on new permits. Universities face enrollment and budget impacts while authorities pursue fraud networks and defend deterrence-focused measures.
