Study Permit investigations rose to 150,000 but few were acted upon

Article By : Acme Immigrations

A new report was published today, which confirmed that study permit investigations by and large were not acted upon by IRCC as it only has funding for a small number of investigations (about 4,000). In 2023 and 2024, the Department flagged approximately 150,000 files where there was irregular activity suspected. Often, these files were flagged because the international students were not attending their academic classes.

Auditor General Karen Hogan said in a statement made today that high risk cases received no follow up, and that weakens the integrity of the international student program. Minister Diab accepted the Auditor General’s concerns and said that they would work diligently to improve the process, including follow up with cases of grave concern where study permit conditions are clearly not being met. The audit also found that 800 international students were found to have used fraudulent documents in their original study permit application, which constitutes fraud and misrepresentation and yet IRCC did not follow up or hold anyone to account, said the Auditor General. The report found that most of these people went on to apply for other immigration processes unchecked. Some had claimed that they had attended education overseas and earned credentials that are fake or false. Many have gone on to become permanent residents and have successfully received extensions either to work or study in Canada.

The Auditor also looked at the number of international students in the country and found that most were allowed to stay in Canada. Out of those that were asked to leave Canada, only a fraction have actually left, with many choosing to stay without status.

The report highlights the woefully inadequate amount of checks and balances to combat fraud. As March 2026 is fraud prevention month, we urge others to follow the rules and ensure they comply with all study permit conditions and apply for study permit extensions well within the timelines to avoid unnecessary issues with IRCC.

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