CIMM – Fraud and Compliance in the International Student Program – May 04, 2026

Key Messages

• IRCC has taken actions over the last several years to strengthen the integrity of the International Student Program (ISP) and has deployed a multi-layered approach to prevent, detect, and address fraud in study permit applications. This approach targets fraud in individual applications, as well as coordinated fraud schemes to prevent systemic abuse and hold bad actors accountable.
• IRCC now requires students to apply and be approved for a new study permit when changing learning institutions. Additionally, learning institutions must participate in mandatory letter of acceptance verification and student compliance reporting or face possible consequences.
• When it comes to fraud, IRCC is primarily focused on two issues: (1) identifying organizers of coordinated fraud and (2) individuals who knowingly commit fraud or attempt to deceive IRCC.
• IRCC collaborates closely with domestic and international enforcement bodies, as well as provincial and territorial partners, to identify cases of concern and program integrity issues and to promote effective cross-jurisdictional information sharing.

If Pressed on Addressing Auditor General Findings

• The Department has already begun to action the Auditor General’s recommendations regarding integrity in the International Student Program, such as:
  • Centralizing functions responsible for pursuing potential misrepresentation related to letters of acceptance and adding 1274 information alerts to files flagged by the Auditor General.
  • Initiated Designated Learning Institution (DLI) Compliance Verifications on 114 DLIs.
• To strengthen the integrity of its student visa program, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) will develop and implement a strategy to increase visibility and take action on non-compliance in the student stream for those files mentioned in the report and ongoing. IRCC will also work with the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) to determine appropriate enforcement action.
• IRCC is optimizing risk assessment in study permit extension processing and will conduct compliance investigations on those applications that are higher risk.

Key Facts And Figures:

• In the Fall of 2025, 587 out of 648 Designated Learning Institutions (DLIs) (91%) answered IRCC’s request to report on the enrolment status of 454 667 international students.
  • 90% of the international students (409,454) were reported on as compliant, while 38 394 (8%) were reported on as potentially non-compliant and 6 819 (2%) were not reported on at all.
  • IRCC is finalizing the list of cases with a status suggesting non-compliance that will be included in the Fall 2025 student compliance investigations.

If pressed

• IRCC has completed its review of the results of the Fall 2025 DLI reporting cycle. This captures results of LOA verification and student enrollment reporting. DLIs suspected of being non-compliant have been identified and notified that the Department is conducting verifications into their suspected non-compliance. PTs have been notified of their list of suspected non-compliant DLIs as well. Findings are expected to be available in summer 2026.
• In the spring of 2025, 655 out of 707 DLIs (93%) answered IRCC’s request to report on the enrolment status of 605 810 international students.
  • 91% of the international students (548 605) were reported on as compliant, while 47 175 (8%) were reported on as potentially non-compliant and 10 030 (1%) were not reported on at all.
  • IRCC undertook compliance investigations on 1 335 applications flagged with a status suggesting non-compliance. Findings indicated that:
    • 287 (21.5%) were found to be compliant,
    • 309 (23.1%) students had a new valid status in Canada at the time of the investigation,
    • 50 (3.8%) we confirmed to have already departed Canada at the time of the investigation,
    • 31 (2.3%) investigations are in progress,
    • 11 (0.8%) were found to be non-compliant and enforcement actions are underway,
    • 133 (10%) were exempt from study permit conditions as they had claimed refugee status,
    • 502 (37.6%) did not respond to requests and flags were added to their files,
    • 9 (0.7%) were not assessed as contact information was no longer valid; and
    • 3 (0.2%) are undergoing removal process with CBSA.
    • data as of March 5, 2026
• In 2025, IRCC verified over 368 000 LOAs with DLIs among which, 4 900 were flagged as “no-match”. In January 2026, over 15 700 LOAs were verified, of which 265 were flagged as “no-match”.
  • All “no match” cases are further reviewed by an officer and procedural fairness is offered before a decision is made on the application. This means that the officer requests a new LOA from the applicant.
  • In 2025, about 35% of “no match” cases were resolved as IRCC requested a new LOA, which we then verified, and confirmed a match with the DLI. In January 2026, about 3.7% of “no-match” cases were similarly resolved. In many cases, the initial “no match” was the result of applicant or DLI error.
  • The remainder of “no match” cases in 2025 were either withdrawn or refused, thereby preventing these applicants from entering Canada as students.
  • Fewer LOA verifications in 2025 produced “no-match” results than in 2024 (1.3% compared to 2.2% of overall verifications). As well, in January 2026, about 1.7% of LOA verifications produced “no-match” results. This suggests that the system is not only catching fraud but may also be deterring it.
• The refusal rate for new study permit applications increased to 59% between January and December 2025, compared to 52% in the same period in 2024. As of February 28th, 2026, the new study permit refusal rate is 62%.
• The total percentage of refusals for misrepresentation reasons increased in 2024 but has since remained stable:
  • January to December 2025: 1.8%
  • January to December 2024: 1.8%
  • January to December 2023: 1.4%
• As of February 28, 2026, the percentage of refusals for misrepresentation for 2026 so far is 1.7%

If pressed on the “150 000” students mentioned in the OAG report

• We have conducted an initial review of all 153K identified in the report.
• Over 78% were students who were compliant because they had:
  • Transferred schools
  • Transitioned to another immigration status, or
  • Sought asylum.
• The remaining 22% involve individuals whose status has expired. These individuals may have already left Canada or have remained in Canada without having applied for a new permit.
• IRCC will continue to follow up to take action on these cases and improve our processes to respond to non compliance in the future, noting that since 2025, IRCC is following up with 100% of non compliant cases. Applicants who have valid study permits but have been identified as noncompliant will have info alerts added to their UCI. This work is in process and expected to be completed imminently, this week.
• In 2023, IRCC introduced new amendments to the international student program. We now verify 100% of cases to ensure a clear understanding of expectations for student permit holders. With these measures in place, obligations are well-defined and communicated. There is no longer an excuse for misunderstanding the rules for these permit holders.

Fraud

• IRCC employs a range of tools and technologies to identify and detect trends, monitor individual study permit applications for fraud indicators, and take timely action against potential risks.
• The use of biometrics is an integral part of Canada’s immigration screening and border management practices. Set against the backdrop of an increasing number of immigration applications to Canada, changing international travel patterns and greater sophistication in identity fraud, the accurate determination of identity is key to optimizing positive outcomes for both IRCC and Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA), which share the administration and enforcement of the immigration programs.
• IRCC conducts administrative investigations where concerns of fraud exist. The information gathered is used in collaboration with the CBSA, who is responsible for pursuing enforcement action related to foreign nationals in Canada, to intercept applications in progress, deter fraud, and inform decision makers on emerging trends.
• Canada mitigates fraud by using tools and by training decision makers in detecting and addressing fraud. Under the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act and Regulations, individuals found guilty of fraud under misrepresentation are subject to removal and/or a 5-year ban from entering Canada.
• When IRCC uncovers or is informed of individuals abusing our programs, we are able to flag cases to our processing offices to prevent further abuse and work with partners such as CBSA and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police to take enforcement action.
• IRCC also responds to reported tips where there is evidence to support suspected organized or coordinated fraud. Tips may be flagged by local or international partners, members of the education sector or the public. Evidence relating to potential fraud is investigated and may lead to further penalties.

Updated Regulations to Address Misconduct by People who are Paid for Representation or Advice

• The Government established the College of Immigration and Citizenship Consultants (CICC) in 2021 to regulate immigration and citizenship consultants and protect the public from fraud.
• If applicants use a paid representative who is not authorized, their application may be refused or returned. To verify whether someone is a licensed immigration consultant in Canada and whether there are current proceedings or previous disciplinary actions against a consultant, applicants can visit the CICC website.
• IRCC has proposed new rules to deter those providing paid advice on immigration applications from breaking the rules by misrepresenting or advising their clients to misrepresent themselves, or by providing paid immigration advice without a license.
• Under the new regulations, unauthorized immigration practitioners and those counselling misrepresentation would face monetary penalties of up to a maximum of $1.5 million and a name publication for advising clients to misrepresent themselves. These rules would apply to any individual who provided paid immigration advice or representation.

International Student Compliance Regime (ISCR)

• In 2014, IRCC introduced the ISCR as an integrity tool to identify potentially non-genuine students and to gather additional data and trends on international students in Canada.
• International students are required to actively pursue their studies at educational institutions designated by their Province or Territory. Designated Learning Institutions (DLIs) are required to participate in twice yearly student compliance reporting exercises, where they report to IRCC on the enrollment status of study permit holders associated with their institution.
• IRCC also conducts verifications of study permit holders reported by their DLI as potentially non-compliant (e.g. not engaged in studies) and takes enforcement action on study permit holders confirmed to be non-compliant.
• The enrolment statuses should only be considered an indication of compliance or potential non-compliance. Depending on the specifics of each student’s situation, the student may or may not be non-compliant. IRCC must still verify the study permit holders’ statuses, and procedural fairness may be undertaken to inform the compliance assessment.
• When non-compliance is suspected, an info-alert is added to the individual’s file. This triggers a mandatory referral for secondary examination at a port of entry and may have implications to future applications (such as post-graduate work permit, study permit extensions, other temporary and permanent visas).
• Student non-compliance can only be confirmed through follow-up verifications. Individuals found to be non-compliant may be subject to enforcement action and removal by CBSA.
  • Approximately 1,000 compliance verifications are undertaken following each student compliance reporting period and on an ad hoc basis when concerns are flagged by officers.

If pressed

• [Redacted]. We continue to work to enhance program delivery and expand verification volumes to address identified risks.

If pressed on onboarding Quebec to compliance regime

• IRCC is working with the province of Quebec to onboard the DLIs in Quebec to the ISCR and include enrolment status of international students in Quebec