Over 10,000 fraudulent student acceptance letters found this year by Canada’s Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) department as mentioned in a media report.
How Did This Happen?
This is the result of stricter verification measures which follows intensified scrutiny of international student applications, where they reviewed 500,000 documents in 2024.
Moving ahead, approximately 80% of these fake letters were linked to students from Gujarat and Punjab as highlighted in the media report.
This all started after a 2023 incident where international students were issued fraudulent acceptance letters by an unlicensed consultant in India leading to deportation risks.
In response to this incident, Canada has made it compulsory to have a designated learning institutions (DLIs) to verify acceptance letters through an online portal.
This verification process flagged fraudulent documents in 2% of cases, while another 1% involved cancelled admissions, said Bronwyn May, director-general of IRCC’s International Students Branch in a parliamentary committee.
Extremely Alarming Situation
These findings are described as “extremely alarming” by Jenny Kwan, Canada’s New Democratic Party immigration critic.
Further Kwan said, “Canada has a responsibility to ensure that international students who have been defrauded are protected.”
Besides this, there are increased concerns over potential complicity by some educational institutions, as several colleges and universities reportedly failed to authenticate letters.
Ramped Up Investigations By IRCC
It appears that IRCC has ramped up investigations, including a probe into 2,000 cases involving students from India, China, and Vietnam.
Interestingly, around 1,485 students submitted fraudulent documents out of these leading to entry refusals or deportations.
According to the Minister of Immigration, Marc Miller, “International students should have a positive, successful experience in Canada, and the important changes made today will help with that.”
As of December 1, 2023, almost 529,000 letters of acceptance have been verified, out of that over 17,000 flagged as invalid or cancelled.
It appears that DLIs must submit biannual reports confirming student enrolment.
Their non-compliance could result in suspension from admitting new students for up to a year.
Those students who drop out or fail to meet permit conditions face investigation and enforcement action.
