Two Out Of Every Five People Applying to Study in Canada Are Turned Away by Immigration Officials
While Canada is widely considered one of the top countries for international students to come study, a recent report reveals that a shockingly high number of study permit applicants are being turned away.
According to the Vancouver Sun, 39 per cent of all student visa applications were rejected in 2019 alone. This is more than a 10 per cent increase from 2014, when the rejection rate was just 28 per cent.
In fact, overall, Canada has turned down more than 100,000 student visa applicants every year since 2016.
As for why so many applications are being rejected, the Vancouver Sun article cited fraud as the reason for refusal of one in 10 applicants. The remainder of applicants are rejected because the applicants were unable to prove they had enough money to pay for their tuition fees and living expenses in Canada, or, their study plans don’t make sense to immigration officials.
However, study permit applications can also be refused if the applicant is not medically healthy or is unable to convince a visa officer their “main purpose in Canada is to study,” or that they plan to leave Canada after completing their education.
The report states that these rejections are significantly more common amongst Indian applicants, which is interesting considering India produces the largest groups of foreign students in Canada.
In fact, 30 per cent of foreign students in Canada are Indian nationals, while 37 per cent of all Indian applicants are rejected and unable to obtain a study permit.
Chinese nationals make up the second largest group of study permit holders, with 24 per cent of Canada’s international student population originating from China, and only 14 per cent of applicants rejected by visa officers.
South Korea, France, and Vietnam are all tied for third place, with each country representing four per cent of Canada’s international student population.
Besides India, Africa has also been hit particularly hard when it comes to study permit rejections.
Eighty-six per cent of Algerian applicants had their applications rejected in 2019, followed by:
- 82 per cent of Cameroon applicants
- 81 per cent of Nigerian applicants
- 75 per cent of applicants from the Democratic Republic of Congo
- 70 per cent from Kenya
- 62 per cent from Ghana.
Despite such high rejection rates, Canada is currently ranked as the world’s fourth biggest destination for global education, with a total of 572,000 international students studying in Canada by the end of 2018.
Total foreign enrolment in Canadian educational institutions has also doubled since 2014.
This surge has been cited as a result of the United States enforcing stricter limits on student and work visas.
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Arghavan Gerami
Arghavan Gerami is the Founder and Senior Counsel at Gerami Law Professional Corporation ('PC'), a full-service immigration law firm in Ottawa, Ontario. Since 2011, Ms. Gerami has focused her practice on immigration and refugee litigation. Prior to that, Ms. Gerami worked at the Ministry of Attorney General and the Department of Justice and had the privilege of serving the Honourable Mr. Justice M. Evans at the Federal Court of Appeal on immigration and administrative law appeals. Ms. Gerami contributes to the Immigration Law Section of the Canadian Bar Association, the Canadian Association of Refugee Lawyers, and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. Ms. Gerami has also published numerous journal articles and presented at various immigration and refugee law conferences and events across Canada.