74% visa refusal rate: Has Canada stopped welcoming Indian students?
Canada’s tightening of international student admissions has dealt a major blow to Indian applicants, according to new government data, as what was once a dream study destination loses its appeal for many in India.
Ottawa reduced the number of study permits for the second consecutive year in 2025, part of a broader effort to curb temporary migration and combat student visa fraud.
But the impact has been disproportionately felt in India.
According to data shared with Reuters by Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC), nearly 74% of Indian student visa applications were rejected in August 2025, compared to just 32% a year earlier.
By contrast, the overall rejection rate for all study permit applications remained steady at around 40%, while only 24% of Chinese applications were turned down.
The number of Indian applicants has also plummeted, from 20,900 in August 2023, when Indians made up over a quarter of all applications, to just 4,515 in August 2025.
For over a decade, India has been Canada’s single largest source of international students.
Yet in August, it recorded the highest refusal rate of any country with more than 1,000 approved applicants.
Diplomatic tensions
The surge in rejections comes amid strained Canada–India relations, still recovering from the diplomatic rift that followed former Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s 2023 allegation that India was involved in the killing of a Sikh separatist in British Columbia, an accusation New Delhi has consistently denied.
Canadian authorities say the tougher screening is driven by concerns over fake documentation. In 2023, they discovered around 1,550 fraudulent study permit applications linked to fake acceptance letters, mostly originating from India.
Last year, an enhanced verification system flagged more than 14,000 suspicious letters across all applicants, media reports said.
IRCC said Canada has strengthened document verification and raised financial proof requirements for prospective international students.
The Indian High Commission in Ottawa acknowledged the increased rejection rates, but stressed that visa decisions are “the prerogative of the Canadian government.”
“Some of the best quality students in the world come from India,” it said in a statement, adding that Canadian universities “have greatly benefited” from Indian talent in the past.
Canadian Foreign Affairs Minister Anita Anand told Reuters during an October visit to India that Ottawa remains committed to welcoming Indian students while ensuring the “integrity of the immigration system.”
Sharp decline in Indian enrollment
Universities across Canada are already feeling the impact. The University of Waterloo, home to the country’s largest engineering school, reports a two-thirds decline in Indian student enrollments over the past three to four years.
“This government cap on foreign student visas has significantly changed our student demographics,” said Ian VanderBurgh, the university’s associate vice-president for strategic enrolment management. “We pride ourselves on being an international university.”
The University of Regina and the University of Saskatchewan have also reported notable drops in Indian enrollments.
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