Amid Political Row, 86% Drop in Indian Students to Canada

Canadian Immigration Minister Marc Miller recently said the number of study permits Canada issued to Indian students fell sharply late last year after India ejected Canadian diplomats who would have processed the permits. Additionally, fewer Indian students applied due to the diplomatic dispute between India and Canada over Hardeep Singh Nijjar’s murder. Indians have formed the largest group of international students in Canada in recent years, with more than 41% or 225,835 of all permits going to them in 2022. Over half of these students are from Panjab. The Sikh population in Canada has doubled in the last two decades. In the third quarter last year, Canada issued 108,940 visas, but after geopolitical tensions began in the fourth quarter, issued only 14,910 visas – a drop of 86%. Miller believes the number of study permits to Indians is unlikely to rebound soon. In another interview, Miller said the Canadian government is considering a cap on the number of international students. He expressed concern about the current volume of around 900,000 international students. Miller argued that this is a conversation the federal government will need to have with provincial wings ‘to make sure that the provinces that have not been doing their jobs actually rein in those numbers on a pure volume basis.’ He continued, ‘It’s really a system that has gotten out of control.’ According to Immigration Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC), 62,410 foreign students became permanent residents of Canada in 2023. (SDW Vol. 1 Issue 14, Story 4)