SECU – S-32―Regarding international students in Canada – April 30, 2026

Inquiry of Ministry

Question N^O.: S-32

By: Honourable Senator Downe

Date: February 3, 2026

Peter Fragiskatos, M.P.

Question

Regarding international students in Canada: 1.For each of the past ten years: (a)How many international students have applied to study in Canada? (b)How many of these applications have been approved? (c)How many of those applicants underwent security/criminal record checks? (i)How many of those were granted access to Canada? (ii)How many were denied? (d)How many of these, having been admitted into Canada on the basis of letters of admission from educational institutions, never showed up to attend these institutions upon their arrival in Canada? (e)How many students were the subject of removal orders? (f)How many were actually removed from Canada? 2.How is Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada working with other agencies to address the possible misuse of the international student program by organized crime groups?

Reply

Insofar as Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) is concerned:

1 (a) Study Permits Applications Received between January 1, 2015 and December 31, 2025, by Year of Received Date and Application Type (in Persons)

The above table captures new permits applications received from 2015 to 2025. Please note that values are rounded to the closest multiple of 5 for to prevent individuals from being identified when Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) data is compiled. Compared to other publicly available statistics, data may not sum to the totals indicated, as a result of rounding. Data up to December 31, 2025.

1 (b) Study Permit Applications Approved between January 1, 2015 and December 31, 2025, by Final Decision, Year of Final Decision Date and Application Type (in Persons)

The above table captures new permits approved from 2015 to 2025. Applications received in a calendar year may be approved in the subsequent calendar year. Please note that values are rounded to the closest multiple of 5 for to prevent individuals from being identified when Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) data is compiled. Compared to other publicly available statistics, data may not sum to the totals indicated, as a result of rounding. Data up to December 31, 2025.

1 (c) (i) and (ii)

All foreign nationals are screened before coming into Canada to determine their eligibility and admissibility, which includes a review for criminality concerns. IRCC officers assess permanent and temporary resident applications against departmental databases and risk indicators to ensure applicants are not inadmissible on grounds of security, human or international rights violations, or organized criminality. Inadmissibility findings that result in refusal may be as a result of various reasons, including but not limited to section 34 (security) section 35 (human or international rights violations), section 36 (serious criminality), section 37 (organized criminality), sections 38 (health grounds), and section 40 (misrepresentation). Applications requiring in-depth review are referred to Public Safety partners for additional screening.

The table below captures how many new study permit applications underwent an additional security screening, and how many were subsequently granted or denied access to Canada or were otherwise withdrawn.

Study Permits Applications Processed between January 1, 2015 and December 31, 2025, by whether they underwent Additional Screening by Public Safety partners, by Final Decision, Year of Final Decision Date and Application Type (in Persons)

Please note that all values between 0 and 5 are shown as --. This is done to prevent individuals from being identified when IRCC data is compiled and compared to other publicly available statistics. All other values are rounded to the closest multiple of 5 for the same reason; as a result of rounding, data may not sum to the totals indicated. Data up to December 31, 2025.

Over a 10-year span (2015-2025), IRCC received 4,734,445 study permit applications:

All applications were assessed for admissibility, including criminality checks. Out of five million applications received over 10 years, 41,410 applications (0.9%) were sent to public safety partners for additional screening.

How many of those were granted access to Canada?

• Out of the 41,410 applications that underwent additional screening from 2015 to 2025, 37,760 were approved (91%) .

How many were denied?

• Of the 41,410 applications that underwent additional screening from 2015 to 2025, 3,010 were refused (7%). Applications can be refused for multiple reasons including inadmissibility provisions such as danger to public health or safety, misrepresentation, or failing to comply with any requirements.
• The remaining 645 applications (i.e., 2%), were withdrawn.

1 (d)

IRCC's international student compliance regime (ISCR) is based on data received from post-secondary Designated Learning Institutions (DLIs) as part of bi-annual reporting. DLIs are obligated to report on the enrollment status of the international students associated with their institution. When DLIs report students as potentially not actively pursing their studies, IRCC may undertake follow-up verifications to determine whether or not the students are compliant with the conditions of their study permit.

Although the compliance reporting process was implemented in 2018, DLI participation only became mandatory following regulatory changes introduced in November 2024. As such, DLI participation in the compliance reporting has been voluntary up until very recently, and therefore, the data below is based on information provided by those DLIs who elected to report.

Notes:

• Compliance reports are only available for confirmed study permits. A study permit is confirmed and printed by the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) at a point of entry upon a student's arrival in Canada.
• The number of students who are reported as being potentially not actively pursing their studies is not the same as the number of students who are confirmed as being not-compliant. Potential non-compliance needs to be verified by IRCC, and the student is always afforded procedural fairness and given the opportunity to explain their situation, before IRCC can make a decision about their compliance status.
• 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.

The table below captures the number of study permit holders who were reported by their DLI as potentially not having shown up to attend their classes upon their arrival to Canada. The table also provides the number of international students who hold a study permit each year, given that non-compliance is assessed against the latter data point rather than the number of permits approved in a given year.

Please note that values are rounded to the closest multiple of 5 to prevent individuals from being identified when IRCC data is compiled. Data up to December 31, 2025. Data is preliminary estimates and subject to change.

2)

The Department works closely with the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) and other enforcement partners, as well as with provinces and territories, designated learning institutions, and regulatory bodies, to detect and disrupt organized fraud, safeguard program integrity, and protect bona fide students. These collaborative efforts are supported by information-sharing mechanisms, targeted compliance and enforcement activities, and international engagement aimed at reducing vulnerabilities across the student lifecycle.

All intelligence that is gained from these collaborative efforts is used to support better front-line decision making and to proactively support decision makers in identifying applications with potential fraud and deter program misuse. This includes:

1. Shared Investigations and Intelligence
   • IRCC conducts administrative investigations into high-risk applications and facilitators.
   • IRCC shares relevant fraud intelligence with CBSA and other law enforcement partners to inform enforcement decisions.
   • Where fraud is detected (especially coordinated or organized fraud), disruption mechanisms are deployed and may influence evaluation of future applications or trigger enforcement referrals.
2. Information from Designated Learning Institutions (DLIs)
   • DLIs report on student enrollment status under the International Student Compliance Regime (ISCR), which helps identify individuals who entered Canada on a study permit but did not appear at the DLI and clarify patterns of non-compliance.
3. System Enhancements
   • IRCC has introduced systematic letter of acceptance (LOA) verification where DLIs must authenticate all LOAs before study permits are issued, significantly reducing the ability of fraud networks to use fake documentation.
4. Collaboration with the College of Immigration and Citizenship Consultants
   • IRCC works in the broader federal framework with the College of Immigration and Citizenship Consultants, which regulates immigration representatives and can discipline or seek injunctions against unauthorized or unethical consultants who exploit prospective students.
   • Strengthening oversight of representatives helps disrupt organized schemes that rely on fraudulent representation.
5. Public Awareness and Prevention Campaigns
   • IRCC runs public outreach and awareness campaigns nationally and internationally to inform prospective students about the risks of fraud and how to recognize and avoid unscrupulous agents or schemes. This includes campaigns in key source countries.