LANG – Quebec International Students – March 28, 2022
Key messages
The Government of Canada is committed to ensuring that all applications are treated fairly and without discrimination.
The approval rate for study permit applications from clients residing in French-speaking countries in Africa destined to Quebec is comparable to those destined to other provinces.
Canada is committed to supporting the French language in Quebec and its distinct francophone identity through immigration.
Supplementary messages
Temporary residents
Approval rates for international students destined to Quebec vs. destined to the rest of Canada
The Department is reviewing ways to address Quebec’s concern about approval rates for international students destined to Quebec.
In 2021, of all students who declared English or French as an Official Language, 57% of those destined to Quebec declared French as an official language while only 3% of those destined for the rest of Canada did the same.
When comparing Quebec to the rest of Canada, the approval rates for students with French as a declared language are similar (41% QC and 40% to the rest of Canada). This also holds true when examining the approval rate between declared language for French and English students destined to Quebec (41% for French and 42% for English).
In 2021, the overall approval rate for students destined to Quebec is 41% and 62% for the rest of Canada.
There are two primary factors that partially explain this difference:
India is the top source country for all student permit applications. Indian residents had a 63% approval rate for the rest of Canada in 2021, but only 24% for Quebec. That approval rate has dropped since 2019 when it was at 51% due to instances of fraud associated with 10 designated learning institutions in Quebec whose clientele was largely made up of Indian students.
The mix of source countries for applications destined to Quebec versus the rest of Canada are different and have different approval rates. Applications from Indian residents, with 63% approval rate in 2021 represented 46% of all applications for the rest of Canada, followed by residents of China with an 84% approval rate. These two source countries made up over 50% of all applications destined outside Quebec. Among the remaining source countries, only France had an approval rate of over 50%. Other countries have traditionally had lower approval rates, regardless of the province or territory of destination due to integrity concerns as well: Algeria was at 18% and Morocco at 46%.
Refusal Rates for international Students from Francophone African countries
IRCC is committed to address the low visa issuance and study permit rates from French speaking countries in Africa and elsewhere to support Quebec’s Immigration Plan for 2022 and Canada’s competitive edge in the world.
The department also takes measures to address unconscious bias and ensure consistency in decision making. All decision-makers processing applications from Africa have completed Government of Canada training to recognize and counter unconscious bias.
IRCC is reviewing immigration program outcomes to identify all possible institutional mechanisms that may contribute to inequitable outcomes for clients to further mitigate against bias and racism entering into final decisions.
IRCC maintains quality assurance measures to ensure program integrity and achieve consistency in decision making. The Department continues to analyze data, refine guidelines, and design tools to improve decision making and ensure that genuinely admissible students are able to study in Canada.
As part of our well-managed immigration system and in order to maintain the integrity of the international student program, study permit applicants must demonstrate that their primary purpose for coming to Canada is to study, and that they will leave Canada at the end of their authorized stay.
IRCC has made efforts to attract eligible students in Africa and therefore increase the acceptance rates, by engaging in outreach to partners as well as at public events. IRCC offices located in Africa participate in events such as EduCanada and EduQuebec and regularly host webinars to explain the study permit application process and requirements.
In 2019, both Morocco and Senegal were added to the Student Direct Stream, an expedited processing stream for study permits. Applicants receive faster processing if they submit additional documents in advance with their study permit application.
In 2021, the Department’s offices across Africa have formed a continent-wide Diversity, Inclusion and Anti-Racism Committee to identify and address issues of systemic racism and unconscious bias.
Approval rates in many African countries are historically lower than global averages. Due to economic circumstances in many countries where a visa is required, some applicants for study permits are in fact seeking opportunities in Canada other than studies, for example, seeking to work without studying, this would result in the rejection of their application.
Many applicants seeking a study permit do not present sufficient funds for their studies, or do not satisfy the visa officer that the studies are a reasonable expense given limited assets and low income, which can explain in part the high refusal rates that are observed for these applicants.
However, in 2021, the approval rates in African source countries are consistent between applicants from traditionally-English speaking countries (33%) and French-speaking countries (27%). The overall approval rate was 30% in 2021, which represents an increase when compared to 2019 at 26% and 2020 at 22%.
In contrast, India is Canada’s top source country for international students and has ranged between approval rates of approximately 47% to 63% over the past 3 years. These rates reflect our efforts to ensure program integrity for our student programs.
Background
Recruitment
In countries with a high interest in Canada, there are entrenched networks of unscrupulous recruiters and consultants who drive a prolific industry in fraudulent documents. IRCC officers are experienced in detecting fraud and non-genuine applicants, while striving to facilitate genuine visa applicants and maintain program integrity.
Moreover, approval rates are generally correlated to political (instability, corruption) and economic conditions in specific countries along with levels of fraud and non-compliance associated with the caseload.
An investigation into ten Quebec designated learning institutions (DLIs), associated with Rising Phoenix International, and program integrity issues related to the applications destined to those DLIs, resulted in lower approval rates. Of note, in the last pre-pandemic year, 2019, Indian applications destined to Quebec had a lower approval rate (51%) than those destined to the rest of Canada (65%) but the difference was much smaller.
