Canada Tightens Student-Visas as Mass-Cancellation Bill Looms – What Indian Applicants Should Know

Key Points

On 4th November, 2025, in a striking move affecting thousands of Indian students, the Canadian government sharply increased rejection rates for study permits and is now considering a law that could allow "mass cancellation" of visas for groups of applicants, including those from India. The dual shift marks a major turning point for Indian aspirants who once viewed Canada as a leading destination for higher education abroad.

Data from Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) shows that in August 2025, about 74 per cent of study-permit applications from India were rejected—up from roughly 32 per cent in August 2023. At the same time, the number of applications from Indian students plunged from about 20,900 in August 2023 to just 4,515 in August 2025.

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Separately, media reports based on internal Canadian documents indicate that Canadian authorities — IRCC and the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA), in collaboration with U.S. partners — have drafted a bill enabling them to cancel entire cohorts of temporary visa holders in certain “country-specific” scenarios. India and Bangladesh are singled out in those documents, though publicly the minister has said the powers are intended for “pandemic or war” situations.

Advocacy groups have raised concerns: over 300 civil-society organisations caution that the bill could give the government a “mass-deportation machine”.

Why is this happening?

The Canadian government says the changes reflect two main pressures:

• Fraud and misuse of student visas: Internal documents show a sharp rise in asylum and temporary-resident claims tied to Indian nationals—from fewer than 500 per month in May 2023 to about 2,000 monthly by July 2024.Canadian authorities report that in 2023 they detected nearly 1,550 applications with fake letters of acceptance, most of them linked to India.

• A broader clamp-down on temporary migration: Canada has been reducing the number of study permits it issues and raising financial proof requirements. Applicants now must demonstrate more than just bank statements, they may need to show the origin of funds.

 In short, what was once a relatively open path for international students is now under far more scrutiny.

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What does it mean for Indian students?

For Indian applicants, the implications are significant:

• A 74 per cent rejection rate means only about one in four applications from India were accepted in August 2025.

• Application volumes have also declined. The steep drop from over 20,000 to just over 4,500 suggests many potential students are discouraged or redirected to other destinations.

• The proposed legislative power to cancel visas en masse adds another layer of uncertainty: even granted permits could be revoked under new rules, making future planning more difficult.

The Indian High Commission in Ottawa has acknowledged the trend of rising rejections but emphasised that visa-issuance remains the prerogative of the Canadian government. There have been no official Indian statements directly addressing the proposed mass-cancellation bill.

This move comes against a backdrop of diplomatic strain between the two countries, driven in part by Canadian allegations of Indian government involvement in the killing of a Canadian citizen in 2023, an allegation India rejects.

These policy changes suggest Canada is prioritising its immigration-integrity concerns over international student intake from key source countries such as India.

For now, students and families should keep a close watch on evolving visa rules, ensure they apply through genuine designated-learning institutions, and be cognisant of the increased risks and complexities. [Rh/MY/VP]

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