ISLAMABAD: Major education destinations, including Canada and the United States, are tightening scrutiny of student visa applications from India amid a surge in fraudulent applications and misuse linked to recruitment agents and forged documents.

According to CTV News, citing Reuters, Canada reduced international student permits for the second consecutive year in early 2025 as part of efforts to curb fraud and control temporary migration. Data from the immigration department shows that 74% of Indian student visa applications were rejected in August 2025, compared to 32% a year earlier. In contrast, only 24% of Chinese applications were turned down.

The number of Indian applicants also declined sharply, from 20,900 in August 2023 to 4,515 in August 2025, even though India has been Canada’s top source of foreign students for more than a decade.

Canada’s new immigration legislation, Bill C-12, empowers the government to cancel or suspend study and work permits en masse to tackle large-scale visa fraud. Immigration Minister Lena Diab, addressing the House of Commons Standing Committee on Citizenship and Immigration, said the bill targets “people who are going to be committing large-scale fraud,” adding that the measures aim to “strengthen the integrity of the international student program and better protect the students themselves,” according to UniversityAffairs.ca.

Internal documents obtained by Canada's largest broadcaster, CBC News, reveal that Canadian and US authorities have formed a joint working group to identify and cancel fraudulent visas, singling out India and Bangladesh as “country-specific challenges.”

Background

Canada’s tougher measures stem from investigations launched in 2023 and 2024, when hundreds of fraudulent student visa cases involving Indian applicants came to light. According to the Government of Canada, a special task force was created to review these cases and determine which students were genuine and who had entered the country using fake admission letters arranged by agents.

In April 2024, the task force had reviewed more than 108 cases, of which 41 (about 38%) were found to be non-genuine, while others were still under review. The findings prompted Ottawa to strengthen immigration oversight and lay the groundwork for wider reforms.

US visa approvals also plunge

In the US, student visa approvals have also dropped sharply. AFP reported that 313,138 student visas were issued in August 2025, a 19% decrease from the same month a year earlier. Indian students, who became the largest foreign student group in 2024, saw a 44.5% decline in new visas.

The fall coincides with the Trump administration’s stricter visa policies, which include social media vetting and the revocation of thousands of student visas on grounds of national security or political sensitivity.

President Trump has also imposed a hefty new fee on H-1B visas, widely used by Indian technology professionals, and restricted applicants from seeking visas outside their home consulate jurisdictions. The measures reflect a broader shift in Washington’s approach toward India, once seen as a strategic counterbalance to China.

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