Announcement by the Minister of Immigration, Refugees and CitizenshipOn October 27th, the Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship, Marc Miller, announced his plans to change the International Student Program to include more measures protecting prospective applicants from fraud. Most of these cases were identified during processing, however 450 were not caught and ultimately resulted in the issuance of a study permit. Since then, over 600,000 study permit applications have been submitted to IRCC, a very significant number that almost certainly includes fraudulent applications. Foreign students still represent a key source of growth for the country and Canada will continue to welcome their study permit applications. [1] “Changes to International Student Program aim to protect students”, Government of Canada, https://www.canada.ca/en/immigration-refugees-citizenship/news/2023/10/changes-to-international-student-program-aim-to-protect-students.html[2] OSMAN,Laura, “Immigration minister announces new rules to curb international student fraud”, October 27th 2023; https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/international-student-fraud-rules-1.7010427[3] “Designated learning institutions list”, Government of Canada, https://www.canada.ca/en/immigration-refugees-citizenship/services/study-canada/study-permit/prepare/designated-learning-institutions-list.html

Source: CBC News November 08, 2023 18:38 UTC