Canada’s Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) has identified 47,175 international students as “non-compliant”, meaning they have failed to meet the conditions of their study permits — mainly by not attending mandatory classes. Reports indicate that Indian nationals make up the largest share of these violations.
According to Ayesha Jaffer, Chair of the House of Commons Committee on Immigration Integrity, the data comes amid Canada’s stricter enforcement of visa regulations. The National Post reported that these students may now be residing illegally in Canada.
The IRCC gathers this data primarily from compliance reports submitted by Canadian colleges and universities, which are legally required to notify authorities when international students stop attending classes. These reports are then forwarded to the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) for potential enforcement action.
However, IRCC officials have acknowledged a significant oversight gap: if an institution fails to report a student’s absence, there is currently no direct way to track non-compliant students.
Ayesha Jaffer admitted that it remains difficult to accurately measure the total number of foreign students violating their visa terms, as investigations within Canada fall under the jurisdiction of the CBSA.
Earlier this year, IRCC revealed that about 50,000 foreign students were reported as “non-attendees” during the spring 2024 semester alone — including nearly 20,000 Indians and over 4,200 Chinese students.
These revelations have sparked a growing debate about the effectiveness of Canada’s international student monitoring system, especially as the country increasingly relies on foreign students to sustain its higher education institutions and strengthen its workforce.
Meanwhile, Canada has seen a sharp decline in new study permits issued to Indian nationals.
According to data from ICEF Monitor, between January and July 2025, only 52,765 study permits were issued to Indians — compared to 188,255 during the same period in 2024.
By the end of 2025, total study permits are expected to remain below 90,000, marking a 67.5% year-over-year decline.
Under Canada’s Immigration Levels Plan 2025–2027, the government aims to reduce its temporary resident population to less than 5% of the total.
To meet this goal, arrivals — including international students and foreign workers — have dropped by roughly 57% in the first half of 2025, compared to the same period last year.
This decline has been especially steep among international students, with 214,520 fewer arrivals recorded — a drop of more than 70% compared to the first half of 2024.
During the same time, foreign work permits also fell by about 50%.
The impact on Indian applicants has been particularly severe, as 80% of study permit applications from India in 2025 have been rejected, making them one of the most affected international student groups in Canada’s tightened visa landscape.
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