CIMM – Letter of Acceptance Verification – December 05, 2023

Key Facts And Figures

Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) launched a Letter of Acceptance Verification Project (LoAVP) in February 2018.
From February 2018 to February 2022, IRCC conducted 30,241 Letter of Acceptance (LOA) verifications. Of these verifications, 4,260 were confirmed as being either fraudulent, altered, or no longer valid.

IRCC takes the issue of program integrity seriously. We are strengthening International Student Program integrity and enhancing protections to address student vulnerability and unethical recruitment, and to eliminate non-genuine-actors in the program.
To protect prospective students from LOA fraud, IRCC will implement an enhanced tool to verify LOAs issued from post-secondary Designated Learning Institutions (DLIs) before a study permit is issued. This solution will be launched December 1, 2023. The LOA verification will be mandatory for overseas study permit applications requesting to attend a post-secondary DLI. The DLIs must complete the verification in 10 calendar days following receipt of the application by IRCC. If the LOA verification is not complete in the 10 calendar days, the application will be returned and the processing fee will be refunded.
We recognize the immense contributions that international students make to our country and we are committed to providing a path to Canada that is honest and transparent. All applicants must continue to ensure that, before applying for a study permit, they do their research, have an LOA from a DLI, and refer to the official IRCC website to get information about our programs and fraud prevention.
If an individual believes they have been deceived by an unscrupulous consultant, we urge them to come forward and report fraud.

IRCC has several layers of verification to identify fraudulent products and integrity trends, including case-by-case LOA verification when required. Currently, IRCC determines whether LOA fraud has occurred by manually conferring with DLIs. If a processing officer has concerns about the LOA’s authenticity, they email the DLI to confirm the student’s acceptance. Once the DLI responds, the officer continues processing the application.
In the enhanced LOA verification process, when a study permit application is received, IRCC will automatically send the DLI a request to verify the LOA in the IRCC portal. The DLI will have 10 calendar days from the date of application receipt to complete the verification activity.
Consultation with national education associations and DLIs has been ongoing. To prepare DLIs for their role in this verification process, IRCC has been offering information/training sessions since October 30, 2023 and these will continue into December. Detailed instructions have been posted on IRCC's website for DLIs to review as needed.
Systematic verification of all post-secondary LOAs associated with overseas study permit applications benefits all stakeholders:
- IRCC: Ensures that we are dealing with legitimate LOAs.
- Students: Limits the chance of exploitation by unscrupulous agents.
- DLIs: Ensures that fake LOAs bearing the DLI’s name are not being used for nefarious purposes.

2024-04-03